The Woman's Athletic Club was the first women's athletic club west of Chicago when it opened in 1917. After it expanded in 1923, it was the largest such club in the country . It was the catalyst for the emergence of a women's club district in the 1920s.

The architectural firm of Bliss & Faville based the façade on that of the St. Gabriel's Branch of the New York Public Library designed by McKim, Mead & White. Both buildings are derived from early Renaissance palazzi in Florence.

The name of the club was changed to Metropolitan Club in 1966.

Excerpted from the NRHP nomination approved 28 July 2004.