New York Athletic Club - History and Images

The New York Athletic Club (NYAC) was founded on September 8, 1868, in a tavern, the Knickerbocker Cottage on 6th Avenue, in the City of New York. The Club was incorporated in 1870 for "the promotion of amateur athletics, physical culture and the encouragement of all manner of sport". It is a private social club and athletic club in New York with two facilities: The Manhattan City House at 180 Central Park South and Travers Island, in Westchester County, on Long Island Sound. It consists of the main house and other facilities that sit on 30 acres of landscaped grounds.

In 1868, the first headquarter was a flat at 200 6th Avenue, on the corner of 14th Street. About 1886, was completed the 5-story building of the City Quarters for the New York Athletic Club, on the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 55th Street.

In 1888, NYAC purchased a site on Travers Island in Pelham Manor and the two-story clubhouse was built in 1889, on the Island. The original club house was devastated by a fire on January 5, 1901. Later, another clubhouse was built.

In 1898, a new clubhouse of the NYAC opened on 59th Street, corner of Sixth Avenue. This building was demolished about 1928 to erect the Hotel St. Moritz, completed in 1930.

Construction of a new 24-story building for the New York Athletic Club started in 1927, on 59th Street (180 Central Park South), corner of 7th Avenue, a site formerly occupied by the Navarro Flats, just one block from the former site. The building was completed in 1930. It was designed by York & Sawyer. The athletic facilities were gathered together in the building's lower floors. The ninth floor was the principal social floor with a lounge and library and the private dining rooms were on the tenth floor.

The Club has evolved to become worldwide renowned in sports like wrestling, fencing, judo, water polo, rowing and track and field. It also hosts receptions and weddings, and has 187 overnight guest rooms.