The Gary “Y”
The original Gary Young Men’s Christian Association (Gary YMCA) building (225 W. 5th Avenue) was built in 1909. It was also known as the Metropolitan Gary YMCA or the Central YMCA of Gary. The architect behind its design was Joseph Silsbee. The building was made of stone, with the entrance facing north towards the Gary Public Library.
It had a sporting/recreation center, cafeteria, library and dorms for temporary living. Though it was for the enjoyment of young males, the vast majority of Gary’s male population was excluded from a lot of its services.
It also contained a gym with a spectators gallery, a cork running track (28 laps to a mile), exercise room with machines, punching bags and wrestling mats. It had a handball (wallball) court, basketball court, a regulation bowling alley, shower baths (senior members had full access, junior members only a few hours out the day) and a pool.
In Gary’s earliest years, the majority of businesses and places of entertainment were owned by whites. Its large black population was banned from entering most of these places. In 1919, Clergyman/Inland Steel superintendent John W. Lee advocated for construction of a separate “Y” building for blacks in Gary at 19th & Washington Street. It was built, yet forced to close during the Great Depression.
The Gary YMCA remained segregated — as were YMCA facilities elsewhere in the country. It wasn’t until the 1940s before segregation was ‘officially’ abolished. However, Gary and other places steadfastly ignored this policy until the 1960s.
Clifford Minton, Gary Urban League executive director and black Civil Rights activist, was responsible for forcing the Gary “Y” to integrate. Yet soon after integration (within a year) the old “Y” building in Gary was closed.
The original “Y” building was razed in 1964. Its assets were publicly auctioned off on Saturday, September 12. Items included metal bedroom sets, beds, dressers, writing desks, wooden chairs, pillows, blankets, tables, hat racks, lighting fixtures, fireplace heads, etc.. Meanwhile the Gary YMCA operated out of 30 E 6th Avenue in Gary.
The new “Y” was constructed in 1965 at a cost of $780,000 (roughly $6,470,270 in today’s money). It opened in September of 1966. At the same time a separate YMCA was opened (in the then mostly white Glen Park neighborhood) at 4800 Harrison Street. It is now a Salvation Army. In 1976 the Gary “Y” became a part of John Will Anderson Boys Club. In 1977 it was the second club to accept girls and became Boys and Girls Club of Northwest Indiana. In the 2010s, the Boys and Girls Club building closed and was later converted to Bethel Church. The building still stands today in great condition.
Update: 4/23/2021
The original Gary YMCA was personally paid for by Judge Gary. Its upkeep, maintenance and payroll was banked by US Steel. Additionally, when the old “Y” was torn down, the basement was left untouched. It is also possible the majority of its foundation is original as well. The new “Y” was built on top of the old “Y”’s basement. I happened to take a tour of the basement once when the current occupant, Bethel Church, moved in. The original pool is still there. The original gun range is still there. This includes lockers and other spaces. The basement is a maze of different rooms. I don’t know how Bethel Church utilizes the basement today. There is also a time capsule inside of one of the cornerstones. I believe it was placed inside a cornerstone when the old “Y” was torn down.