St. Pete YMCA Celebrates 100 Years

BY MONICA KILE

In 1920 St. Petersburg was a sleepy tourist town on the verge of a tremendous population boom. Motivated by a desire to meet growing social needs in the community, a small group of citizen leaders met on a late spring evening to form the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg.

Like its counterparts at home and abroad, the St. Petersburg YMCA sought to provide safe refuge, fellowship, sport, and life skills to its members. Within a few short years it was serving thousands of young men through gymnastics, swimming and fitness programs, as well as camping and church groups. One hundred years later, the organization still shines as a beacon of health and community spirit.

Today’s YMCA offers a wide variety of programming from its state-of-the art facility on 1st Avenue South, but many still fondly remember its original ornate downtown location, built just a few years after its founding. With its 1925 opening, the grand Mediterranean Revival style building began to serve as a community gathering place, hosting dignitaries and important events alongside youth basketball games and swimming lessons.

Its dormitory provided accommodation to young men new to town or just getting on their feet, and during WWII housed thousands of servicemen paying 50 cents a night while on short leave from nearby airfields. The Y’s popular summer camp Ma- Wi-An (its name taken from the first two letters of the daughter of Dr. A.W. Anderson, who donated the land for the camp) was a place where young boys learned outdoor skills like archery and canoeing, and took their daily swim.

Yet, like all of early St. Petersburg, the YMCA did not welcome all citizens equally. The grand downtown building was off limits to black members. After prodding from the community, the Colored Branch YMCA opened in 1945, later renamed the Melrose Park YMCA. Its beloved leader, Dean Mohr, was Florida’s first black YMCA Director, and he led an organization at the heart of the city’s vibrant African American community. Even after the downtown location integrated in 1966 the Melrose Park YMCA remained an important community center.

Over the years the Y has nurtured a spectrum of athletes, some of whom have reached the pinnacle of their respective sports. YMCA athletes in gymnastics, wrestling, and judo have achieved state, national, and in the case of the 1984 Olympic judo competitor Dewey Mitchell, world recognition. Doctors, lawyers, and judges played badminton on their lunch hour, while thousands of children learned to swim in the YMCA pool. In recent years, the YMCA Dance Academy has garnered acclaim from the community and devotion from its dancers.

With the grand opening of the Jim and Heather Gills YMCA on 1st Avenue South in 2001, a new era dawned. The bright and airy facility is centrally located and features a full sized gymnasium, state-of-the-art cycling studio, heated pool, and the same commitment to fitness, family, and community that the YMCA is known for.

The YMCA’s reach in the community has continued to expand over the years, with an additional wellness facility - the Bardmoor YMCA in Largo - expanding into a new building in 2014, and several Resource Centers opening at Childs Park, Lealman Exchange, and Harbordale. Today’s YMCA is also closely associated with early education and childcare, opening three Pre-school Academies and multiple after-school programs at schools throughout the county.

Over the past 100 years the YMCA has reflected the best of our community, while sometimes serving as a place to address our flaws. From its early days of camping, youth groups, and basketball, through gender and racial integration, the YMCA has kept its finger on the pulse of the community and today offers a warm welcome to all who pursue health, fellowship, and a chance to serve their community.