Our story is still being written.
The Riviera Club has never just been about a pool. If it were, it probably wouldn’t still exist. Like many long-standing institutions, the Club has faced its challenges. And yet the pool has opened every season since 1933 because people have continuously fought for it. Members stepped up. Volunteers gave their time. Leaders made hard decisions. Families stayed invested. And today, that story continues being written.
Why members keep coming back.
The Riviera Club brings families and neighbors together. Parents teach their kids to swim here, teenagers become lifeguards here, friendships form here. Traditions quietly repeat summer after summer until they become part of people’s lives.
The Rivi continues to bring people together today not only through aquatics, but with fitness, racquet sports, kids programs, and shared experiences designed for every stage of life. People join for the amenities and stay for the memories.
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The Riviera Club is a member-owned recreational club that brings families and neighbors together. We are committed to preserving what makes The Rivi special while building a stronger, more sustainable future for the next generation of Members.
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Rivi Members represent all generations and stages of life — but they tend to have one thing in common: they’re looking for more than just a gym or a pool membership.
About 75% of memberships are made up of young families looking for a place where their kids can grow up spending summers outdoors and making lifelong friends. Others are adults focused on fitness, wellness, and staying active year-round. Some grew up at the Rivi themselves and are now bringing their own children and grandchildren back.
Our community is comprised of diverse demographic profiles from all over Midtown Indianapolis and beyond. All are welcome here.
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The Riviera Club is a member-owned organization led by a Board of Directors made up of Members. They are elected by the membership and serve up to (2) 3-year terms to help guide the strategic direction and overall health of the Club.
According to Club bylaws, the Board works closely with the Club leadership and staff to support operations, member experience, and long-term sustainability. Like many successful member-owned clubs, the Rivi depends on both professional management and engaged members working together to help the Club continue evolving.
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In January 1933, in the depths of the Depression, Indianapolis Businessman James H. Makin had a vision. He gathered ten friends at the Butler University Campus Club and asked each of them to bring ten more. He needed 1,000 families to make a private recreational club work.
The early pledges fell through as fast as he could collect them. The club survived its first months only because Mrs. Makin put up her $10,000 life savings to keep it going.
Groundbreaking happened April 1, 1933. Six weeks later, with the clubhouse nearly built, the White River rose and collapsed the concrete forms for the big pool. The crew rebuilt them. The clubhouse was finished May 18. The pool opened in June and has been opening every summer since.
Like any 100-year-old organization, The Rivi has faced financial, cultural and operational realities that cannot be ignored. We’re committed to approaching the future with transparency, responsibility, and optimism, and doing the work necessary to be regarded as a community that welcomes all.Read more about our history here.
Who We Are
The Riviera Club is a social and recreational club formed in 1933. It is a 501(c)(7) not for profit.
Community. Then and now.
For much of its early history, The Riviera Club reflected the realities and inequities of the time in which it was founded. Like many private clubs and institutions across the country, access and inclusion were not always extended equally.
That history is important to acknowledge honestly.
But the Rivi’s story did not stop there.
Over time, the Club evolved alongside the community around it, shaped by changing values, new leadership, and generations of Members who believed the Club could become more welcoming, more inclusive, and more connected.
One of the most tangible examples of that evolution is the creation of The Riviera Club Foundation and its commitment to water safety and swim education for children across Indianapolis. What began as a recognition that access to swimming instruction had not been equitable became an opportunity to create meaningful impact. Today, the Foundation helps provide water safety education and teaches life-saving skills to children who might not otherwise have those opportunities.
That work matters.
The Rivi cannot rewrite every part of its past. But it can choose what kind of community it continues striving to be — one that invests in future generations and understands that community is strongest when more people feel welcome within it.
Committed to a world where everyone swims safely.
The Riviera Club and The Riviera Club Foundation are proud supporters of the water literacy movement led by Where Everyone Swims — an organization dedicated to expanding access to swimming and water safety for all.
The film, When Everyone Swims, shares powerful personal stories that explore why access to water matters. It highlights how water literacy can help people of all backgrounds build safe, lifelong relationships with the water.
The Rivi is honored to support efforts that help ensure more children and families across Indianapolis have the opportunity to experience the life-changing benefits of swimming and water confidence.
From The Rivi Archives
Make The Rivi yours.
Membership is open to everyone. Whether you’re looking for a summer home base, year-round fitness options or a community for your kids to put down roots in, we’d love to meet you.