Since its establishment 114 years ago, the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) has played a crucial role in the amazing history of the City of Detroit. Originally a club for amateur athletes, it was reorganized in 1913 by prominent automobile and industrial leaders. In that year, Albert Kahn, a renowned architect, designed the magnificent six-story clubhouse that still stands in the heart of Detroit's theatre and sports district. Beginning with the birth of the original club on Woodward Avenue in 1887, this book chronicles the history of the DAC up to the present, in over 200 vintage photographs-many never before seen outside of the club. Images gathered from the club's archives cover the formative years at the first club, the building and opening of the new club, the DAC's great athletic traditions, its membership and staff, social activities, the art of the DAC and its magnificent restoration at the end of the 20th century.
Detroit on Stage traces the extraordinary history of Detroit’s The Players Club from its beginnings in 1910 until present. Founded in 1910, Detroit’s Players Club is an all-male club devoted to the production of theater by members for other members’ enjoyment. Called simply "The Players," members of the club design, direct, and act in the shows, including playing the female roles. In Detroit on Stage, Marijean Levering takes readers behind the scenes of the club’s private "frolics" to explore the unique history of The Players, discover what traditions they still hold dear, and examine why they have survived relatively unscathed through changes that have shuttered older and more venerable institutions. The Players developed during a nationwide vogue for community and art theater and also as Detroit’s auto elites were in the midst of forming new private clubs to add to their own sense of prestige. By the 1920s, The Players had built their own playhouse and established most of their significant traditions, including the monthly frolics, at which the members perform for each other. At the frolics, members in the audience would wear tuxedos and drink beer out of personalized mugs, customs that remain to this day. Prominent Detroiters have always been among the ranks of the Players, and several well-known auto industry figures were members from the beginning, including banker Henry B. Joy, Oldsmobile sales manager Roy D. Chapin, and Ford executives James Couzens and Edsel Ford. Over the decades that followed the club’s founding, its membership and traditions have remained strong despite major world events that shook Detroit such as Prohibition, the Great Depression, and World War II. In looking at The Players of today, Levering explores the camaraderie and sense of history that has kept the club together and relatively unchanged throughout the years. She also examines the club’s notable members and its unique place in Detroit history. Detroit on Stage places The Players club in the broader contexts of social clubs, explaining how these organizations originate and function. Readers interested in Detroit cultural history and theater studies will enjoy this rare glimpse inside a long-standing Detroit cultural institution.
Since its establishment 114 years ago, the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) has played a crucial role in the amazing history of the City of Detroit. Originally a club for amateur athletes, it was reorganized in 1913 by prominent automobile and industrial leaders. In that year, Albert Kahn, a renowned architect, designed the magnificent six-story clubhouse that still stands in the heart of Detroit's theatre and sports district. Beginning with the birth of the original club on Woodward Avenue in 1887, this book chronicles the history of the DAC up to the present, in over 200 vintage photographs-many never before seen outside of the club. Images gathered from the club's archives cover the formative years at the first club, the building and opening of the new club, the DAC's great athletic traditions, its membership and staff, social activities, the art of the DAC and its magnificent restoration at the end of the 20th century.
A unique new reference work, this encyclopedia presents a social, cultural, and economic history of American sports from hunting, bowling, and skating in the sixteenth century to televised professional sports and the X Games today. Nearly 400 articles examine historical and cultural aspects of leagues, teams, institutions, major competitions, the media and other related industries, as well as legal and social issues, economic factors, ethnic and racial participation, and the growth of institutions and venues. Also included are biographical entries on notable individuals—not just outstanding athletes, but owners and promoters, journalists and broadcasters, and innovators of other kinds—along with in-depth entries on the history of major and minor sports from air racing and archery to wrestling and yachting. A detailed chronology, master bibliography, and directory of institutions, organizations, and governing bodies—plus more than 100 vintage and contemporary photographs—round out the coverage.
Founded in 1887, the Detroit Athletic Club left an indelible stamp on the city even as it was helping that city find its place in the country at large. Always a powerhouse for individual and team amateur athletics, the DAC helped give its members the strength to serve as soldiers and compete as Olympians. They fueled the manufacturing frenzy that created the Motor City and brought home the professional sports teams that were its due. In this chronicle of the DAC's long history, readers will discover the unique world of a private club that remains one of the finest in the world, an enduring home to community leaders, amateur athletes and one of Detroit's architectural jewels.
Since its establishment 114 years ago, the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) has played a crucial role in the amazing history of the City of Detroit. Originally a club for amateur athletes, it was reorganized in 1913 by prominent automobile and industrial leaders. In that year, Albert Kahn, a renowned architect, designed the magnificent six-story clubhouse that still stands in the heart of Detroit's theatre and sports district. Beginning with the birth of the original club on Woodward Avenue in 1887, this book chronicles the history of the DAC up to the present, in over 200 vintage photographs-many never before seen outside of the club. Images gathered from the club's archives cover the formative years at the first club, the building and opening of the new club, the DAC's great athletic traditions, its membership and staff, social activities, the art of the DAC and its magnificent restoration at the end of the 20th century.
