Throughout its history, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) has had a focus of providing quality support to working class men survive the harsh conditions that they were facing. When it was founded in 1851, the YMCA had strong goals to bring support and services to the working class. Unfortunately, the services and lodgings that were offered by the YMCA were heavily segregated. When William Hunton became the first black full time secretary of the YMCA in 1888, he faced the challenges of establishing a place for African Americans under the YMCA’s segregated policies. This led to the birth of a movement that focused on creating “semi-autonomous African American YMCA system,” that no longer focused on the “seemingly futile goals of participation with whites, and instead advocated self-help and racial solidarity.” YMCAs built under this philosophy were to serve as pillars in African American communities and would “Shield black men from the humiliations of lingering racism and segregationist policies.” This required Hunton and others to fundraise and attract benefactors willing to offer aid to those communities seeking to build their YMCA. After a lengthy process of successfully fundraising the required funds to purchase a site and having the structure built, the Pittsburgh’s African American YMCA affiliate officially joined this legacy as the Centre Avenue YMCA in 1923.
The Centre Avenue YMCA, located on the corner of Francis Street and Centre Avenue, served as a cultural and institutional beacon of the Hill District, offering many amenities such as a swimming pool, gym, boxing ring, and community center. The YMCA also provided lodging. These lodgings were often used by black athletes who could not stay at the white only hotels. Among its 86 rooms, many famous figures have claimed residency at some point or another such as baseball hero Jackie Robinson, jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie, and champion-boxer Joe Louis. The Historic YMCA also hosted several speeches and lectures from prominent African Americans such as W.E.B DuBois, Langston Hughes, and Paul Robeson. Even famous Pittsburgh playwright, August Wilson used the Y’s meeting spaces earlier in his career to meet with his group the Centre Avenue Poets, which included fellow writers Charlie Williams and Rob Penny. The YMCA offered many great programs for community members. One such program provided college scholarships to local students, on the basis that they would return and work and work at the YMCA in some capacity after graduation.
Regardless of the opportunities and services the Central Avenue YMCA provided the residents of the Hill District, membership began to steadily decline in the late 1950s. The changes began with the Urban Renewal projects in the Lower Hill, forcing many members to relocate. As the “separate but equal” doctrine in the YMCA’s policy on membership and attendance dissipated due to the success of the Civil Rights movement, many middle class African Americans chose membership at the better funded YMCAs that had once been segregated. The later collapse of the steel industry in the 1970s and 80s meant more people could not afford to use the Y’s services. This turmoil would cause an upsurge in substance abuse and criminal activity in the late 80s and early 90s for the Hill. The Central Avenue YMCA provided a place for transitional housing and provided support services for people fighting substance abuse and mental illness, causing a shift from recreational and community activities to community services. However it was designated a City Historic Infrastructure in 1995.
Later, in 2012, a new YMCA was built on Central Ave and named after Thelma Lovette. Lovette was a prominent activist in Pittsburgh who heavily involved herself with the local YMCA as the first woman on the Central Ave Board. (Secondary suggestion: we could provide a link to Lovette’s article on the Hill CDC website in addition to this as a continued read if that is possible) As of today, the Centre Avenue YMCA, no longer functions in the same capacity as it once did. This does not mean that it has lost all of its original principles. In 2020, it was announced that a partnership between the YMCA and ACTION Housing, with help from $7.4 million provided by over 20 agencies, would transform the Historic Centre Avenue building into a low-income residency for African American men. This renovation allowed the building to continue its mission of being a safe refuge to African American men who require the safety of its walls.
Images
Teenie Harris Photograph Collection, 1920-1970 Creator: Harris, Charles Teenie Date: c. 1950-1960