In 1853 a group of young men came together with an idea. An idea of transforming the lives of those who lived and worked in Cincinnati. Their goal was to improve their overall health, well-being, and day to day lives at both work and at home. And these young visionaries saw the growing athletics movement as a way of achieving their aim. Their organization, then known as the Young Men's Gymnastic Association (YMGA), would transform both themselves and their community and subsequently become a landmark institution in Cincinnati. Over the years the organization has gone through many transformations, changing both it's name and location on several occasions. The Cincinnati Athletic Club, as the group is now known, constructed the current building in 1903. It has been a bedrock of Cincinnati culture ever since. The Cincinnati Athletic Club has had many notable Cincinnati personalities as members, including US presidents Rutherford B. Hayes, James A Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, and William Howard Taft. Today the Cincinnati Athletic Club continues to be home to Cincinnati's best and brightest in business, politics, education and the professions. As the oldest athletic organization in the country, the Cincinnati Athletic Club has set the standard in athletic and fitness excellence for 150 years. The Cincinnati Athletic Club has a rich history of athletic competition, and community involvement and offers a broad range of fitness facilities to improve the lives of its citizens.