Detroit Athletic Club The Detroit Athletic Club , often referred to as the DAC , is an athletic club in the heart of Detroit ' s theater , sports , and entertainment district designed by Albert Kahn and inspired by Rome ' s Palazzo Farnese . Clubs of this type usually maintain reciprocal agreements for their members worldwide . These clubs typically have athletic training facilities , swimming pools , recreation , fine restaurants , elegant ballrooms , guest rooms for members , and exclusive member services . Members may include executives and professional athletes . Ty Cobb is among the athletes to have been a member of the DAC . The building is visible beyond center field from Comerica Park . Over the years , the Detroit Athletic Club has provided financial assistance and training opportunities for a number of amateur athletes preparing for the Olympic Games . At the 1956 U . S . Olympic Team Trials , springboard divers Jeanne Stunyo ( a native of Gary , Indiana ) and Mackenzie High School graduate Barbara Gilders - Dudeck were sponsored by the DAC . Stunyo and Gilders - Dudeck qualified for the Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne , Australia . At the Games , Jeanne Stunyo won the springboard diving silver medal , and Barbara Gilders - Dudeck finished in fourth place - less than one point from a bronze medal . DAC . Many organizations have left their mark on Detroit ’ s 300 years as a city , but few have impacted the community as much as the Detroit Athletic Club ( DAC ) . Like a boulder in the middle of a river , the DAC has shaped more than 100 years of Detroit history since it was established in 1887 . The original club , founded by a group of privileged young men under the spell of amateur athletics sweeping the country at the time , was later reborn in 1913 by a group of the city ’ s prominent automotive and industrial leaders . They reorganized the DAC and commissioned famed architect Albert Kahn to design the magnificent six - story Clubhouse that stands today in the center of the city ’ s theatre and sports district . The original DAC clubhouse , which no longer exists , was located just south of the cultural heart of Detroit along Woodward Avenue . That first facility was designed primarily as an athletic center with a cinder running track , baseball diamonds , bowling alleys and , later on , a full gymnasium . Many of the members of the original club would later be instrumental in the creation of the current Detroit Athletic Club . As the 19th century rolled into the 20th , the DAC fell on hard times — many of its young members , some of whom went off to fight in the Spanish - American War , began to lose interest in amateur sports and focused instead on business development and the growing automobile industry . The first club might have closed down , save for the efforts of John Kelsey , who personally funded it for a number of years . When the new clubhouse opened in April of 1915 , it was the culmination of the careful plans and dreams of more than 100 prominent Detroiters , many of whom were automotive pioneers . Names like Chalmers , Jewett , Kelsey , Joy , Lodge , Metzger , Hughes , Navin and Scripps will forever be associated with the Club ’ s 20th - century rebirth and its place as a home to industrial titans . Traditionally , the new DAC was born on Jan . 4 , 1913 , when 109 leading citizens of Detroit met at the Pontchartrain Hotel to sign articles of association and organize a framework of committees to start the club on its way . It made sense for the new club to carry forward the name and traditions of the first group — Henry Joy , who called that meeting together , and John Kelsey , president of the old club for many years , worked diligently to reach that milestone date . Nearly a year before the meeting , men like Abner Larned , Harry Jewett and Charles Hughes clamored for the organization of a new club catering to business and community leaders . By the end of 1912 , an organizational structure was in place , leading to that 1913 gathering . The group hired automotive architect Albert Kahn to design the new clubhouse . So spectacular was the interior beauty of Kahn ’ s Madison Avenue building that the official opening in 1915 became a major milestone in Detroit history . The DAC , wrote a major national magazine at the time , “ is an expression of Detroit ’ s greatness . . . nowhere but in Detroit could it be done . ” In the ensuing 90 years , the Club and its clubhouse have stood the test of time — no major structural overhauls to the building have been needed . Membership remains strong , with more than 4 , 000 current members in various categories , including 3 , 000 voting resident members . Today the DAC membership truly reflects the diversity of Detroit as it enters its fourth century as city . Several years ago the Club began spending millions to restore the fine art details of the interior rooms , shining a fresh light on the greatness of what many saw on that day in 1915 when the clubhouse originally opened its doors . Over the years the Club has been honored as one of the finest in the nation , and countless community leaders have strolled its halls , swum in its pool , eaten in the fabulous Grill Room or attended a gala black - tie event within the grandeur of the Main Dining Hall . Being a hub of greatness in a great city , the DAC has seen its share of the famous , from U . S . presidents to foreign kings , from famous aviators and war heroes to athletes and entertainers . Tradition is a watchword at the DAC — business , social , athletic — with succeeding generations in many families taking membership with the Club , holding dear the memories of events and activities in the clubhouse and creating a sort of " corporate memory . ” First and foremost the DAC remains an athletic club . It has always been home to world - class Olympic and amateur athletes as well as professionals , with the clubhouse playing host to regional , national and international tournaments and exhibitions of all types , from boxing and fencing to swimming and squash . While many of Detroit ’ s institutions have come and gone , the Detroit Athletic Club remains a rock - solid force in the city where it was born , providing a center for community leadership and a focal point around which many important decisions have been made . While spanning three centuries , the Detroit Athletic Club has been , and remains , a Detroit original .