The Flushing branch of the New York YMCA opened as a branch of the Brooklyn and Queens YMCA in 1926 with total construction costs of $740,956. From the beginning, membership in the Flushing Y was open to women and girls, and in 1927, 893 women and girls were listed as members. In 1968 the branch added a large wing that included an Olympic swimming pool, reflecting the importance of swimming at the Flushing branch. 1960 Olympic medalist Lynn Burke learned to swim at the branch, where her parents were swim instructors. Flushing has produced other notable swimmers, including Wayne Anderson, a breast stroker who swam in the 1964 Olympics.
Information taken from
The photographs of the Flushing YMCA focus on the 1960s, although the collection also includes images from the 1940s and before. The primary subject of the photographs is the building -- its construction, dedication and enlargement. There are also a significant number of photographs documenting athletics at the branch, including images of Lynn Burke, 1960 Olympic medal winner who learned to swim at the Flushing YMCA.
These documents are organized into the following sections:
Building.
Programs.
Events.
People.
This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright, ownership, and to obtain all the necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials.
Processed by: Louise Merriam, May 2009.
Catalog Record ID number: 5464340
The following section contains a detailed list of the materials in the collection. To request materials, please note the corresponding box number.
Includes ground-breaking, demolition, cornerstone laying.
Cornerstone laying.
Images of interior construction, dormitory rooms, office.
Includes images of men's calisthenics, stretching, women's gym class, youth high jump, bowling, basketball, soccer, football, rope climbing, gymnastics, aquatics, swimming instruction with Lynn Burke
Group activity, painting a church basement, youth being inducted into the Pioneers.
Images of cornerstone laying, ribbon cutting, dorm addition opening, Holiday Hills executive cabin.
Ribbon cutting, Lynn Burke, awards.
Awards, groups outside YMCA building.
Images include ribbon cutting, body builder, "our longest resident", presentation of bowling trophy, youth with rocket and military personnel.
See also the records of the Flushing YMCA Branch, separately cataloged in
the Kautz Family YMCA Archives.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.