Indianapolis Athletic Club, Private athletic club building in Indianapolis, United States.
The Indianapolis Athletic Club is an eight-story building with Italian Renaissance architectural style, featuring elaborate decorations and grand halls throughout. The complex contained multiple athletic spaces including a basketball court, swimming pool, racquetball courts, and specialized training areas for various sports.
The Indianapolis Athletic Club was founded in 1886 as a private club for Indiana businessmen and society elite, and it was active in Democratic politics. It fielded one of Indiana's first football teams and hosted early games, promoted baseball and boxing, and on January 21, 1888, became a founding member of the Amateur Athletic Union. Its clubhouse at 350 N. Meridian Street, designed by Robert Frost Daggett, was built between 1922 and 1924. The club closed in 2004 and the building was converted to condominiums; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
The building served as a gathering place where business leaders, politicians, and athletes of the region met through sports and social gatherings. This role shaped the city's social life for many decades.
Visitors should know that the building now functions as residential units and is not open to the public as an athletic facility. The Renaissance architecture remains visible from the street and the structure stands in a central downtown location.
The club's Frank McKinney Pool, Frank McHale Room and Robert V. Welch Lounge were named after members; the building also held three floors of guest rooms. A February 5, 1992 fire caused by faulty refrigerator wiring killed one overnight guest and two firefighters. The building joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2015, after the club closed in 2004.
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