Known as "McBurney's Folly", the West Side branch of the YMCA of Greater New York began in November 1896 on West 57th Street. The building's nickname developed because no one believed that a YMCA of the size and scope of the West Side branch would ever be needed, especially one so far from New York City's population center.
The structure was built on land donated by Cornelius and William H.
Vanderbilt and had separate facilities for boys and men, including gyms,
swimming pools, and bowling alleys. Although it added a 300 bed residence in
1912, the branch moved to a new location in April of 1930. The new building,
between 3-11 West 63rd Street and 6-12 West 64th Street opened near Central
Park West, with a capacity for 10,000 members and a cost of $3,250,000. Soon
after, an addition was constructed to house the Trade and Technical School of
the Educational Department. In the 1950s the Educational Department decided to
focus its efforts on developing a college preparatory school, abandoning its
other educational work. The McBurney School became the school thought to have
been the model for the school attended by Holden Caulfied in
Designed by Dwight James Baum, who made his professional reputation building houses for the rich in Riverdale's Fieldston section in the Bronx, Westchester County suburbs and in Florida, the West Side YMCA structure was the world's largest YMCA building. With fourteen stories and 600 guest rooms, the West Side Y boasted a medieval theme, with polychrome tile, battlements and irregular balconies spaced to resemble a 12th century Italian fortified town.
The land on which The McBurney School stood had become increasingly valuable, in part because of its proximity to Lincoln Center. The school closed in 1988 and the YMCA of Greater New York then sold the building and the air rights to a developer who opened a 41-story condominium tower cantilevered over the West Side Y. The YMCA reportedly received $23 million dollars in new facilities and cash payments despite the bitter opposition aroused in the neighborhood by the project.
This branch of the YMCA of Greater New York has a long history of athletic prowess, and its gymnastics, handball and basketball teams have been well-regarded during this branch's 100-plus year history. Like other YMCAs in New York City with residential programs, the West Side YMCA provided a temporary home to a number of future celebrities, including Fred Allen, John Barrymore, Montgomery Clift, Lee J. Cobb, Kirk Douglas, Eddie Duchin, Douglas Fairbanks, Dave Garroway, Bob Hope, Elia Kazan, Jack Kerouac, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dan Rather, Norman Rockwell, Andy Rooney, Robert Penn Warren, Johnny Weismuller, Malcolm X and Tennessee Williams.
(Information taken from
Records of the West Side YMCA consist of minutes of the Board of Managers, Executive Committee and many operational committees and departments such as the Boy's Work Committee, the Physical Department and the Education Deparptment. Also included are annual reports from the period before 1933, program brochures and flyers, press clippings and correspondence. The majority of the material is from the period before the opening of the West 63rd Street building, although there are some items from the 1960s and 1980s.
These documents are organized into the following sections:
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, March 2008.
Catalog Record ID number: 5285161
The following section contains a detailed list of the materials in the collection. To request materials, please note the corresponding box number.
Drafted by Beyer, Blinder Beele, Architects and Planners. For a proposed residential addition to the 63rd Street building.
Primarily manscript drafts of annual reports.
Listings of members of the Board of Managers with a summary of the number of meetings attended.
Includes material on the Knights of the Round Table program.
Includes minutes, printed material, correspondence and financial reports of the World's Fair Committee.
Includes discussion of investment policy.
Also includes minutes from Building Committee and Clinton Youth Center Committee.
The name of the Executive Committee changed to Business Committee in 1925.
Includes drafts, notes and final copies of monthly and periodic reports of West Side branch operating departments and committees.
Final copies of monthly reports for branch departments.
Basketball.
Includes cards and brochures for programs and speakers sponsored by the Religious Work Department.
Includes advertising material for lectures by Anthony Comstock and Booker T. Washington.
Exchange of letters regarding the suitability of boxing pictures.
Discussions of zoning and membership rates.
Includes correspondence and memos about gifts and memorials, the Trade and Technical School, contents of the cornerstone and financial information about bonds and accounts.
Includes printed material, programs and correspondence relating to the first, fifth, ninth, fortieth, fiftieth, anniversary for 63rd Street building, and Founder's Day.
Thanksgiving Day, 1903; New Year's Day Celebrations, 1906-1908, 1926, 1927;Eight Thousand Membership Celebration, 1917.
Includes printed material, programs and correspondence related to the opening of the West Side YMCA building at 5 West 63rd Street in 1929.
Newspaper clippings, brochures, invitations, cornerstone contents and material about WWII memorial plaque.
Ticket for Carnegie Hall event with addresses by Andrew Carnegie and Lyman J. Gage.
Includes member survey, dedication of the Kingsley Chapel, membership list.
Includes brochures for summer programs, religious work programs and anti-gambling tract.
Reprint of article about the 1929 West Side building.
The West Side YMCA apparently was the first in the world to sponsor a program for drivers and owners of automobiles. The school opened in 1903 and provided instruction on both driving and caring for automobiles. Included are program brochures for 1905-1906 and 1909-1910.
General program brochures and marketing material.
Includes building plans (1924),
A planning project focused on identifying ways the West Side branch could benefit from the nearby development of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the hoped-for revitalization of the area.
Press clippings, press releases and publicity packets regarding addition to branch building.
Sam Freeman, who trained at the West Side branch of the YMCA, ran across the United States at age 67. File includes photos and press releases.
A outside evaluation of the cardiovasular health program at the West Side branch.
See also the photographs of the West Side branch of the YMCA of
Greater New York, separately catalogued at 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.