An Inside Look At The Iconic Members-Only Los Angeles Athletic Club’s Multimillion-Dollar Renovation

Photo Credit: Wonho Frank Lee

The Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC), the iconic members-only club in downtown LA founded in 1880, has just unveiled a multimillion-dollar renovation, inclusive of an all-new 7th-floor fitness facility, the opening of its Famous Players cafe, a restaurant helmed by Top Chef alum Marcel Vigneron. But what else should  guests expect from this historic haven?

Photo Credit: Wonho Frank Lee

The 10,000-square-foot facility features the latest in cardio machines, free weights, and a new indoor track surface. Overlooking LAAC’s historic beaux arts indoor pool and iconic basketball courts, the space is also equipped with new Indoor Air Quality Meters. This advanced air filtration system is designed to monitor and optimize indoor air quality by simultaneously measuring particle counts (such as debris and smog), overall temperature, relative humidity, and barometric pressure while filtering out unwelcome organic compounds for a safe and healthy environment. The refreshed look is a complementary combination of the space’s concrete and steel elements mixed with pops of warm finishings and bold lighting, reflecting an atmosphere that is both classic and exuberant.

Photo Credit: Wonho Frank Lee

Then, there’s the return of Famous Players, a full-service café and restaurant under the guidance of Vigneron. Celebrating California’s rich culinary landscape, the menu features elevated yet approachable dishes, including tableside Caesar salad, Petaluma Farms organic roast chicken, sustainable Coho salmon, and a ras el hanout cauliflower steak with a spicy date gremolata. The arrival experience is a new bistro counter for quick takeaway orders by day (including espressos, smoothies, and juices), which transforms into a wine station by night, offering an array of select California wines. The new interior honors LAAC’s heritage with a completely new design, tables, chairs, custom banquette seating, ornamental ceiling, and lighting treatments, taking particular care to maintain the original tile flooring and millwork. The space incorporates earth tones, leather, wood, marble, mixed metals, and vibrant deep blue accents. Curated historic portraits of sports figures, Olympians, early Hollywood entertainers, artists and literary figures from Los Angeles were digitized from original black and white photos adorn the wall on 98″ 4K Frame TVs.

Photo Credit: Wonho Frank Lee

Additionally, the private club has installed a cutting-edge NextGen pool filtration system featuring drought-compatible chlorine generation technology, using less water, and resulting in a reduction of total solids typically found in pools. This system provides an ultraviolet light-purified swimming experience, ensures pH-neutral water, and delivers a more stable and effective chlorine treatment for the near Olympic-sized lap pool. The club also offers private training, group sessions, and over 20 weekly fitness classes; array of athletic courts (squash, handball, and racquetball); expansive co-working spaces; an indoor lap pool; 17,000 square feet of meeting and event space; the Invention Bar & Lounge restaurant, as well as two bars, Blue Room and Duke’s Sports Bar; the Neptune Spa, which features a full suite of wellness services with locker rooms, sauna, steam rooms, cold plunge pool, and jacuzzi; a nail salon and barber shop; a rooftop patio & deck; weekly live musical performances from jazz to DJs, wellness programming, vision boarding, speaking panels, and sports viewing parties; and 72 hotel guest rooms and suites.