For a century, Central Y has played central role in Valley
As the Central YMCA on Champion Street in the heart of downtown Youngstown crosses the century mark this month, it’s no exaggeration to trumpet this vibrant community institution as one that’s grown only more healthy, more vibrant and more valuable with age.
As its name illustrates, the Central Y has been central to enriching the physical and spiritual health of hundreds of thousands of Mahoning Valley residents over the past 100 years.
As its address suggests, the Y has also reigned as a champion for enhancing the quality of life on multiple levels for downtown and our community at large.
As such, we join a host of others this week in proudly congratulating and saluting the Y’s endurance. This stalwart community mainstay has earned the right to rave about its proud past, productive present and promising future.
The Central Y has long nourished the health and vitality of the city’s central business district. As other major anchors of downtown life – major department stores, theaters and businesses – have exited for the suburbs, the Central Y has remained strongly intact.
It stands just as awe-inspiring as one of the largest Ys in the nation as when former U.S. President William Howard Taft dedicated it on Nov. 12, 1915, to replace its former space on East Federal Street. The Ohio-born chief executive called the new structure “especially inspiring to me.”
Over the ensuing 10 decades, the downtown affiliate of the Young Men’s Christian Association has continued to inspire its membership by building upon its bedrock foundation of a “healthy spirit, mind and body for all.” It does so largely via indirect means by encouraging compassion, responsibility, family bonds and camaraderie. And it does so in programming that assists all ages and strata of the community – from its innovative Success After Six after-school program for children to its Silver Sneakers fitness and social programs for senior citizens.
Y IMPROVES WITH AGE
Yet the face of the Y has changed dramatically in those 100 years. No longer is it exclusively young, male and Christian. The Youngstown YMCA membership of more than 21,000 is now nearly 50 percent women, its age parameters range from toddlers to nonagenarians, and its beneficiaries cross a diversity of faiths and races. Such diversity strengthens the institution and all of its members.
Signs of that strength have been evident in its growth. Additions and major renovations have taken place at Central in 1926, 1930, 1953 and 1970. Over the years, the Y acquired Camp Fitch, a one-mile stretch of land along the shores of Lake Erie in North Springfield, Pa. The campsite has provided fun, learning and adventure for tens of thousands of young people.
Closer to home, the Youngstown Y opened a satellite in Boardman 12 years ago, which underwent a major expansion and renovation five years ago due to explosive growth in its membership and use.
Collectively, all three Youngstown Y facilities complement one another well. But the Champion Street anchor always will remain the start and the heart of the institution and its mission.
Its paramount role will be celebrated with a Central Centennial Open House from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at its 17 N. Champion St. digs. It will provide all a chance to reunite, reminisce and celebrate the facility’s 100 glorious years. Among activities will be tours, old-time movies, hot dogs and cherry Cokes and a program and presentation at 5 p.m.
$5 MILLION RENOVATION SET
The open house will enable hundreds to reflect on unforgettable memories of their experiences and to relish exciting plans for a $5 million revitalization and modernization of the landmark fitness, learning and social center.
Construction is scheduled to begin in February on the adult fitness and weight training areas, which will be relocated to renovated space on the second floor. The building’s front lobby and fa ßade will receive a major facelift, complete with new lighting and large pane-glass windows, allowing members in the cardio studio to overlook the downtown.
These renovations will open up space for a dedicated aerobics studio, an exercise and play area for children and a newly renovated area for teen programs, including a music recording and performing arts studio.
Clearly, the immediate future bodes well for the downtown centenarian. As the Youngstown Y enters its second hundred years, it shows absolutely no signs of slowing down as a central champion for bettering the quality of life for all in Greater Youngstown.