Today we're touring the Washington Athletic Club.

I know this might not look like your typical athletic club.

That's because we're in the library.

The WAC is actually on the National Registry of Historical Landmarks.

And even better, today we're taking a behind the scenes tour of the history of this building.

Think of it as the back of the WAC.

All right.

Today we're talking with Bill.

Bill, how long have you been here at the WAC?

Only 67 years.

Only 67 years.

Well, today we're going to explore the kitchen on the second floor, which actually used to be a bowling alley.

Okay, Bill.

Now, where are we?

Okay, we are one floor below the first floo.. what's called S level; stands for Shipping and receiving.

We are now in what's called the receiving room, because practically everything that comes into the club comes in through this area.

And then the people who work in the receiving room, they notify the different departments.

Hey, you've got a shipment.

And the doors that are over here are there's four of them.

There's walk in refrigerators and the doors and the interiors are original 1930 equipment.

Okay.

We're one floor lower.

What do you call this level Bill?

Oh, we call this garage floor because originally it was a parking garage.

When, before they built a Hilton hotel, garage and a hotel.

They had an opening in our south wall back there, so cars could drive in here.

And some places you will see the remnants of the yellow ones on the floor that mark the parking spaces.

Okay.

We’re.. What does this machine do?

Okay, this machine over here is our towel folder.

It folds the towels that are used on the athletic floors.

And it does a pretty good job, but not a perfect job.

So the towels that are used in our hotel rooms have to be perfect.

So they are folded by people by hand on this table here.

Okay.

We are now i..

Originally, when it was the built part of the building was built in the year 1930.

This was called the cigar stand because they sold mostly tobacco products.

Not only cigars, but cigarettes.

Any any kind of smoking material.

And they included aromatic pipe tobacco.

And so help me I'm not I'm not manufacturing this.

One of the aromatic pipe tobacco was called baby's bottom.

And just like any great story, it ends with wine.

Bill, can you tell us about this room?

Okay.

We are in the basement of the club, and this is the club's main wine storage area.

We have smaller, wine storage places, other locations.

But this is the main wine storage area, including where individual members of the club want to share their own wine stock.

They can store it in here.

Awesome.

It's very cool.

Well, thank you so much for this amazing tour.

Amazing back of the WAC tour.

I'm Angela, thank you for exploring.

I'll see ya.

Wait wait wait wait!

Stop the ending for a second.

I was getting ready to leave then Bill did this.

Now.

When we do these tours for members of the club, we conclude the tour with a ghost story, which goes like this.

When people ask me where I work, and I tell them at the WAC.

Most people will say, oh, you know, we've heard of WAC.

It's been there a long time, hasn't it?

And I tell him, yes, it's been there a long time, since 1930.

Well, hearing that, some people then ask, well, a building that old is that haunted?

And I tell them, no, it's not haunted yet, but I intend for it to be haunted after I die.