Venerable Athletic Club closes doors

[IndianaGreen]

Democrats, many of whom were of Irish descent, were a significant part of the Athletic Club. The WASPish Columbia Club was the bastion of Republicanism. It is a sad end to an era!

Venerable Athletic Club closes doors
Once a hub for the powerful and famous, struggling facility calls it quits after 8 decades.

By J.K. Wall
September 18, 2004

After 80 years of morning swims, business lunches and visits by presidents and celebrities, the Indianapolis Athletic Club has closed.

With its membership dwindling, its finances frayed and its suppliers skittish, the club suspended operations indefinitely "with an extremely heavy heart," according to a letter sent to its 915 members Friday afternoon.

The club's leadership still hopes for a "white knight" to come and save the club. Or it may consider reorganization under bankruptcy that would allow the club to reopen.

But John Durbin, president of the club's board of directors, could promise nothing to the club's 70 employees when they gathered in a third-floor room Friday afternoon to hear the long-rumored news.

http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/179784-4110-092.html