A Brief History of The Denver Athletic Club
The Denver Athletic Club was founded in 1884 by a small group of Denver "gentlemen interested in athletics." The Club made its original home at the First Baptist Church on 18th Street near Curtis.
In 1889, the Club membership of 156 voted to look for "permanent and more commodious quarters." The result was the construction of the original building at 1325 Glenarm Place, designed by architects Varian and Sterner. The Club moved to its new facility in the fall of 1890, with a membership that had grown in one short year to 405. By 1892, the second section of the building was completed, to create what now appears to be a single structure built at one time. In those days, The DAC was one of the tallest buildings in Denver.
At the same time The DAC was building its new home, it leased a 15-acre site at the end of the East Colfax streetcar line (where East High School is now) which became Colorado's leading outdoor sports complex. DAC Park contained a race track, ball fields, a cricket field, and seating for 4,000. On November 15, 1890, The DAC played its first football game, in which it crushed the University of Colorado team 34-0. During the 1890's The DAC's football team dominated the region, against opposition from colleges, universities, and other athletic clubs. Eventually, the Big Eight Conference teams gained a stronghold and, in 1905, The DAC left big time football to the colleges and universities.
Although not as successful in the win-loss column, The DAC maintained an active baseball team until the 1970's, when it switched to softball. In 1983, the softball team won the Denver Metro Recreational League championship.
As the founding generation of DAC members aged, the library, bar, barber shop, dining room and billiard room began to see heavier usage, while the athletic facilities were increasingly left to junior members. During the 20th century, the Club has continued to offer its members a balance of social functions and athletic opportunities. In 1900, the Club expanded its library and enhanced other social areas, while resisting pressure from some members to convert some of the athletic facilities to social purposes.
The Denver Athletic Club was founded as a men's club. During the early years, "ladies accompanied by members" were admitted to the outdoor facilities, the ladies reception room and dining room in the Club building, and to the bowling alleys. In 1931, the Club amended its rules to admit unmarried women or widows as "Lady Members" at a reduced fee with the same privileges as wives of male members. Even today, some women members remember the days when, to get to the squash courts, they were marched through a men's locker room with towels wrapped around their heads. Some of those women have since confessed, "We peeked."
After a devastating fire that destroyed much of the Club building in 1951, The DAC committed not only to rebuilding the facility but to an aggressive expansion that included the addition of a new eight-lane bowling center. The new lobby featured a controversial "abstract athlete" sculpture by artist Marian Buchanan, which led to an exchange of barbs between the artist and a Rocky Mountain News reporter over whether the sculpture, or the reporter's head, was more full of holes. A giant swordfish was another prominent addition to the new lobby decor, until it disappeared mysteriously one night. Some years later, an actor named Robert Redford confessed to masterminding (and carrying out) the caper as part of a rivalry among University of Colorado fraternities. The thieves scaled the side of the building and climbed in through a second story window. After nabbing the nine-foot swordfish and escaping from the building undetected, they drove back to Boulder with the giant fish sticking out the window.
The Club has experienced numerous remodeling projects and several more major additions: a new west wing in 1973, the addition of the parking garage in 1982, and the four-story athletic wing completed in 1984, which added the atrium, the Olympic-sized swimming pool, eight world-class racquetball/ handball courts, the present Strength & Conditioning Center, and the sun deck.
Throughout its 112-year history, The Denver Athletic Club has continuously tried to balance tradition with modernization. For many members, The DAC still provides a welcome haven from the rest of their hectic lives. The Club still hosts social events that hark back to a more genteel time. At the same time, the Club has recognized and stayed at the forefront of trends in athletics and fitness, changes in family and social structures, and changing lifestyles.
With the $4 million expansion of its facility in 1996, The Denver Athletic Club reaffirms its commitment to the Denver community and prepares for the next century of its history.