History

YMCA West Federal Youngstown - Historical Image

An Important Legacy for Youngstown

The Youngstown Young Men’s Christian Association opened a new West Federal Street Branch in 1931, replacing an earlier structure. This building, funded by over 100 local townspeople as well as a grant from Julius Rosenwald, served as a vibrant social and cultural center for the Youngstown African American community. Over the decades many influential people both locally and nationally were part of the “Y” history.

Community Social Hub

Over the generations, the West Federal Branch of the YMCA had a significant social impact on the citizens of Youngstown. It was a true community center for African American activities in the City. Boys and men participated in physical fitness programs such as swimming, basketball and table tennis. Dances, parties and other social events were held in the second-floor ballroom. On Sunday afternoons well-known local and national African-American spiritual, education and professional leaders gave lectures in the gymnasium.

The "Y" in Community:

  • Served as a social hub for African-Americans that facilitated meetings, lectures, swimming, and sports activities
  • Public figures including Civil Rights era publisher Simeon Booker as well as Judge Nathaniel Jones spent time at the West Federal Y
  • During an era of segregation, the Green Book traveler's guide listed this location as a place Black travelers could find a place to stay
Judge Nathaniel Jones
Judge Nathaniel Jones

Judge Nathaniel Jones was born in Youngstown and met civil rights leaders who spoke at the YMCA. He became an attorney, US district court judge, and law professor. As general counsel of the NAACP, Jones fought to end school segregation.

Tudor Gothic Style Architecture Circa 1930/31

Youngstown architects Barton E. Brooke and Harold R. Dyer designed an impressive Tudor Gothic Style building to house the West Federal Branch, which was built at a cost of almost $200,000. The four-story building’s exterior was finished in brick, with buff and grey stone foundation blocks, pilasters, doorway arches, water tables, window lintels and sills, and a slate roof with copper flashings and ridge caps. The interior plan included social rooms, locker rooms and a swimming pool on the first floor, a banquet room and gymnasium on the second floor and dormitory rooms that accommodated 60 people on the second, third and fourth floors

The Youngstown YMCA held a cornerstone laying ceremony for the new West Federal Branch on December 28, 1930. Charged with setting the stone were Youngstown Councilman William S. Vaughan, the first African American to serve the City in that capacity, and Simeon S. Booker, Jr., the 12-year-old son of the branch’s Executive Secretary. Construction continued through the following spring and summer, leading up to the building’s dedication on August 16, 1931. Numerous local dignitaries, clergy, and board members and management of the Youngstown YMCA prayed, sang hymns, and welcomed addresses from Ohio Governor George White and Senator Camilo Osias, Representative of the Philippine Islands in the United States Congress.

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