Long before every actor had a strength coach, Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp was doing his own stunts, tripping and slipping across the silver screen. One imagines such athletic feats required the actor to maintain a workout regime, and he certainly frequented the Los Angeles Athletic Club‘s Blue Room. In fact, members such as Will Rogers, Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Busby Berkeley and Harold Lloyd also congregated there for drinks and discussion on the fourth floor in the downtown club’s current location (at 7th Street and Olive Street). Now the space has been reworked for the CrossFit set by London antiques dealer and furniture reproductionist Timothy Oulton. Vintage trophies sit beside historic images of LAAC members, all lit by crystal chandeliers. A sculpture made of wooden tennis racquets, glossy images of boxing teams, and multiple shots of bathing beauties adorn the walls. And naturally—the room is a post-workout gathering place after all—the space includes a cocktail bar manned by Aidan Demarest and Marcos Tello of Liquid Assets. Oulton even devised a bookcase door that conceals a rediscovered hidden staircase (a prohibition holdover) that can be accessed from the third floor bar. Surely Chaplin managed to make the trek up and down those steps—even if it took hours of slapstick moves to complete.

By Elizabeth Varnell

 

Pictured: The Blue Room at the Los Angeles Athletic Club designed by Timothy Oulton.
Photo by Antonio Diaz with Life & Thyme

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