The Milwaukee Athletic Club (often referred to as The MAC), is a private, social and full-service athletic club.

History

Eight young men founded the Milwaukee Athletic Club on September 18, 1882, for the express purpose of "developing of the bodily powers through gymnastic and other exercises." Soon thereafter, the MAC joined the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU); members participated in several early Summer Olympics, including the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

held in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, where its

tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

team won the gold medal. As part of the AAU, the MAC formed basketball, swimming, track, baseball, and other teams, which competed throughout the United States. The MAC was housed in nine different buildings before establishing its present clubhouse in 1917. The total investment in land, building and equipment was over two million dollars at the time. In 1954, the club performed a nine-year restoration. In that year the club constructed the 13-story building, designed by Armand Koch with its exterior in

Neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...

, resembling a column with the bottom three stories (the column's base) sheathed in stone veneer, the middle stories plain brick, and the top two in stone veneer - the column's

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

. Beneath the veneer is a steel skeleton. In 1954 a renovation of the interior was designed by

Eschweiler & Eschweiler Alexander Chadbourne Eschweiler (August 10, 1865 – June 12, 1940) was an American architect with a practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He designed both residences and commercial structures. His eye-catching Japonist pagoda design for filling st ...

, adding the Bali Room, the Men's Lounge, and the Elephant Room.

Renovation

In 2021, the club finished a four-year $65 million investment to renovate the entire 12-story building by developer
J. Jeffers & Co
an
Interstate Development Partners.
CG Schmidt was the general contractor and Kahler Slater was the architect. The transformation includes 54 apartments, a rebuilt pool, new athletic facilities, a rooftop restaurant, an updated lobby, virtual golf suites, and more. The redesign also opens the ground floor to the street level to club members, guests, residents and the public. The building's new apartments are a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units located on the top five floors. This project stands as the second-largest development to be financed with State of Wisconsin historic preservation tax credits.

Clubhouse

The club is headquartered at 758 North Broadway, at the corner of East Mason Street. On the club's facade is a noted limestone sculpture, " Diana," installed in 1954. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2019.

The Elephant Room

The mid-century cocktail lounge built in 1948 is popular among members and available to the public.

Rooftop Bar

On the 13th floor of the Milwaukee Athletic Club is a restaurant and outdoor terrace overlooking downtown Milwaukee where members have exclusive access.

Affinity Clubs

The. Milwaukee Athletic Club offers specialized groups called "affinity Clubs" where their members connect based on their shared interests such as books, sports, or community outreach.

Culture

The Milwaukee Athletic Club promotes socializing and networking aimed at business professionals with numerous events throughout the year.

History

Eight young men founded the Milwaukee Athletic Club on September 18, 1882, for the express purpose of "developing of the bodily powers through gymnastic and other exercises."Milwaukee Athletic Club (official site) - History
Soon thereafter, the MAC joined the

(AAU); members participated in several early Summer Olympics, including the

held in

, where its

, resembling a column with the bottom three stories (the column's base) sheathed in stone veneer, the middle stories plain brick, and the top two in stone veneer - the column's

. Beneath the veneer is a steel skeleton. In 1954 a renovation of the interior was designed by

, adding the Bali Room, the Men's Lounge, and the Elephant Room.

Notable members

* T C Esser, entrepreneur * Patrick Flanagan, American Olympic athlete * Sidney Johnson, American Olympic athlete *

Herb Kohl Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. Alongside his brother and father, the Kohl family created the Kohl's department stores chain, of which Kohl went on to be president and CEO. Kohl also served as a ...

, U.S. Senator * Conrad Magnusson, American Olympic athlete * Charles Manegold Jr., entrepreneur * Oscar Olson, American Olympic athlete * Richard R. Pieper, entrepreneur *

George Poage George Coleman Poage (November 6, 1880 – April 11, 1962) was an American track and field athlete. He was the first black and the first African-American athlete to win a medal in the Olympic Games, winning two bronze medals at the 1904 game ...

, first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

athlete to win a medal in the Olympic Games *

Henry Seiling Henry Seiling (born May, 1872, date of death unknown) was an American tug of war athlete who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He was born in Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin i ...

, American Olympic athlete *

Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...

, Baseball Hall of Fame *

Christian Steinmetz Christian Steinmetz (June 28, 1882 – June 11, 1963) was an American basketball player. He played forward for the University of Wisconsin from 1903 to 1905. He was college basketball's leading scorer in the game's first 25 years from 1895 to 1 ...

, early basketball star * Frank Waller, American Olympic athlete * Hugo Teweles, Milwaukee Business Owner * Sidney G Courteen, Milwaukee Business Owner, and former MAC president

References

{{Coord, 43, 02, 25.1, N, 87, 54, 27.4, W, type:landmark_region:US-WI, display=title Buildings and structures in Milwaukee National Register of Historic Places in Milwaukee