Our History

The West Side YMCA opened in 1896 on West 57th Street at Eighth Avenue, constructed on a site that Cornelius and William H. Vanderbilt purchased for $165,000 at the time. The edifice became known as "McBurney's Folly," after Robert Ross McBurney, the New York YMCA's first general secretary and considered by many to be one of its greatest leaders. The nickname stuck because the location was considered to be too far uptown to attract members, and because construction commenced before funds were fully secured. Yet, despite its critics, the West Side Y was a true New York trendsetter, and became the first general YMCA to offer a dormitory wing. The branch also boasted separate facilities for boys and men, and included gyms, swimming pools, and bowling alleys.