Founded in 1885, the McGaw YMCA is committed to learning from our past, listening to our present, and making changes that will create a feeling of being welcome for generations to come.
The YMCA was founded in London, England, in 1844 as the Young Men’s Christian Association to help young white men develop character and avoid the unhealthy social conditions of the times. The YMCA Movement reached the United States in 1851 during an era of legalized segregation and was open to young white men. By the early 1900s, the YMCA began serving white boys and older white men, as well. After World War I, the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) expanded its programs and eventually its membership to include white women and girls.
In the 1940s, the Y-USA sought to desegregate its facilities across the country, yet segregation persisted in many YMCAs. In 1967, the Y-USA banned racial discrimination in all YMCAs, as many Black YMCAs became meeting places and rallying points for the Civil Rights Movement. The 1967 ban led to the eventual inclusion of people of color in all YMCA programs and membership across the country.
In recent decades, the YMCA has risen to the challenges of several world crises as well as renewing its focus on healthy living and activating lifestyles across the country with new programs and partnerships designed to assist young people and families. The YMCA engages more than 10,000 neighborhoods across the U.S. As the nation’s leading nonprofit organization committed to helping people and communities learn, grow, and thrive, our contributions are both far-reaching and personal—from influencing our nation’s culture during times of profound social change to the individual support we provide an adult learning to read.
Since its founding, the YMCA has grown into one of the largest volunteer organizations in the world, serving more than 45 million people in 120 countries. YMCAs in the U.S. have played a key role in the growth and strength of our global organization and continue to partner with YMCAs around the world to address critical social issues. YMCAs have the expertise and commitment to strengthen communities and bring about positive change.
The History of the YMCA in Evanston
The Evanston YMCA, known today as McGaw YMCA, was founded in 1885 and open to young white men with a mission to “promote mental, moral, physical and social welfare.” In 1898, the Evanston YMCA moved to a site at 1611 Orrington Avenue that had a pool, gymnasium, classrooms, and space for vocational training programs as well as rooms that provided short-term housing options for white men. Y members were offered classes in electricity, photography, shorthand, manual training, and commercial law.
Emerson Street Branch
In 1908, Rev. James Rayford Talley asked that Black youth be allowed to participate in the programs and services at the Evanston YMCA. After the request was denied by the Evanston Y’s white leadership, Talley convened a small group of community leaders and volunteers to organize activities for young Black men in Evanston. The group held these activities behind Tim Harland’s blacksmith shop off West Railroad (now Green Bay Road) and Foster Street.
In 1909, plans were underway to establish the Emerson Street Branch YMCA in Evanston’s 5th Ward. The Emerson Street YMCA opened its doors in 1914 and would serve as a beloved hub for social and civic life for Black Evanstonians for 60 years. Over the years, the Emerson Street Y programs would include something for everyone, from family events to chess matches to dances, musical concerts, team sports, clubs, and swim lessons.
In 1929, the Emerson Street Branch YMCA was expanded, doubling the size of the original building and adding a new swimming pool. The Emerson Street Y was the only location for short-term stays for Black men visiting in Evanston. By 1929, the Emerson Y expanded its housing program to include 19 dorm rooms with a total of 22 beds for Black men who were students at Northwestern University. Many Black male students lived in these rooms over the next several decades, until Northwestern desegregated its dormitories in the 1960s.
Grove Street Branch
In 1930, the Evanston YMCA moved to its current location at 1000 Grove Street, where it became known as the Grove Street Branch YMCA. In the 1930s, the Grove Street Y would follow the direction of the YMCA of the USA and expand its programs and eventually its membership to include white women and girls. At the Grove Street Y building, the Men’s Residence program grew to include more rooms and long-term stay options, and eventually, case management and supportive services.
In 1963, the Grove Street Branch YMCA integrated its facilities following the Y-USA’s desegregation efforts across the country, leading to the inclusion of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the Grove Street Branch Y programs and membership. The merge symbolized an end to segregation within the Y facilities, but also led to the eventual closing of the Emerson Street Branch Y in 1969, which left a sense of profound loss for Black people in Evanston who built a deep sense of community at the Emerson Street YMCA. While Evanston is a racially and ethnically diverse city overall, this diversity is not evenly spread across the community, reflecting how the history of Evanston’s racial segregation persists today.
McGaw YMCA
The Evanston YMCA’s Grove Street Branch was renamed the McGaw YMCA in 1984. The McGaw YMCA Children’s Center opened its doors in the St. Mary Parish building on Maple Avenue and Lake Street in 1987 to provide year-round, full-day early learning programs for infants through preschool as well as its School’s Out afterschool program. The Grimm Family Aquatic Center was added to the main building in 1994, and in July 2002, the facility expanded again with the completion of the Sebring-Lewis Center, which includes the 30,000-foot gymnasium, indoor running track, and multi-purpose rooms. In 2015, McGaw Y opened MetaMedia, its innovative digital media and maker space for middle school youth. In 2017, the Y opened a satellite location in the Family Focus building on Dewey Avenue for its Head Start, MetaMedia, and School’s Out Foster afterschool programs.
McGaw YMCA Camp Echo
The history of camping programs at the McGaw YMCA can be traced to 1899, and camps for Evanston youth were soon held at Camp Hope, now known as Camp Phantom Lake, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1902, the Evanston YMCA began its own camp program along the shores of Black Lake in Michigan, eventually moving to White Lake, Michigan in 1905, and then to Bear Lake, Michigan in 1906. The Y embarked on a search for a more permanent location in the early 1920s and found a peninsula at the south end of Ryerson Long Lake in Fremont, Michigan. McGaw YMCA Camp Echo was founded in 1924 at the site, and the beautiful, wooded peninsula at Ryerson Long Lake became home to summer camp.
Timeline of the YMCA in Evanston
YMCA Founded in London
The YMCA was founded in London, England, in 1844 as the Young Men’s Christian Association to help young men develop character and avoid the unhealthy social conditions of the times. The YMCA Movement reached the United States in 1851 during an era of legalized segregation and was open to young white men.
Evanston YMCA Founded
The Evanston YMCA, known today as McGaw YMCA, was founded in 1885 and open to young white men with a mission to “promote mental, moral, physical and social welfare.” The original building was located at the corner of Davis Street and Chicago Avenue.
Evanston YMCA Moves to Orrington Ave.
In 1898, the Evanston YMCA moved to a site at 1611 Orrington Avenue that had a pool, gymnasium, classrooms, and space for vocational training programs as well as rooms that provided short-term housing options for white men. Y members were offered classes in electricity, photography, shorthand, manual training, and commercial law.
Emerson Street Branch YMCA Opens
The Emerson Street YMCA opened its doors on July 5, 1914, and would serve as a beloved hub for social and civic life for Black Evanstonians for 60 years. Over the years, the Emerson Street Y programs would include something for everyone, from family events to chess matches to dances, musical concerts, team sports, clubs, and swim lessons. The Emerson Street Y was the only location for short-term stays for Black men visiting in Evanston. By 1929, the Emerson Y expanded its housing program to include 19 dorm rooms for Black men who were students at Northwestern University.
Camp Echo Founded
The history of camping programs at the McGaw YMCA can be traced to 1899, and camps for Evanston youth were soon held at Camp Hope, now known as Camp Phantom Lake, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1902, the Evanston YMCA began its own camp program along the shores of Black Lake in Michigan, eventually moving to White Lake, Michigan in 1905, and then to Bear Lake, Michigan in 1906. The Y embarked on a search for a more permanent location in the early 1920s and found a peninsula at the south end of Ryerson Long Lake in Fremont, Michigan. McGaw YMCA Camp Echo was founded in 1924 at the site, and the beautiful, wooded peninsula at Ryerson Long Lake became home to summer camp.
Evanston YMCA Moves to 1000 Grove St.; Becomes Grove St. Branch
In 1930, the Evanston YMCA moved to its current location at 1000 Grove Street, where it became known as the Grove Street Branch YMCA. At the Grove Street Y building, the Men’s Residence program grew to include more rooms and long-term stay options, and eventually, case management and supportive services.
Emerson Street Y Doubles Building; Expands Housing
In 1929, the Emerson Street Branch YMCA was expanded, doubling the size of the original building and adding a new swimming pool. The Emerson Street Y was the only location for short-term stays for Black men visiting in Evanston. By 1929, the Emerson Y expanded its housing program to include 19 dorm rooms with a total of 22 beds for Black men who were students at Northwestern University. Many Black male students lived in these rooms over the next several decades, until Northwestern desegregated its dormitories in the 1960s.
Grove Street Y Programs Expanded to White Women and Girls
In the 1930s, the Grove Street Y would follow the direction of the YMCA of the USA and expand its programs and eventually its membership to include white women and girls.
Grove Street Branch Integrates Facilities
In 1963, the Grove Street Branch YMCA integrated its facilities following the Y-USA’s desegregation efforts across the country, leading to the inclusion of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the Grove Street Branch Y programs and membership.
Emerson Street Branch Closed
The desegregation of the Grove Street Branch YMCA symbolized an end to segregation within the Y facilities, but also led to the eventual closing of the Emerson Street Branch Y in 1969, which left a sense of profound loss for Black people in Evanston who built a deep sense of community at the Emerson Street YMCA. While Evanston is a racially and ethnically diverse city overall, this diversity is not evenly spread across the community, reflecting how the history of Evanston’s racial segregation persists today. Learn more about Emerson Street YMCA.
Grove Street Branch becomes McGaw YMCA
The Evanston YMCA was renamed the McGaw YMCA in 1984 thanks to a major gift by Foster McGaw.
McGaw YMCA Children's Center Opens
The McGaw YMCA Children’s Center opened its doors in the St. Mary Parish building on Maple Avenue and Lake Street in 1987 to provide year-round, full-day early learning programs for infants through preschool as well as its School’s Out afterschool program.
Aquatics Center added
The Grimm Family Aquatics Center was added in 1994 and features 4- and 6-lane pools. Water temperature is kept at a cool 80 degrees. The aquatics center offers instructional, fitness, and recreational activities, including swim lessons, aqua fitness, a competitive swim team (MYST), lifeguarding, and CPR courses.
Sebring-Lewis Center added
In July 2002 the McGaw YMCA facility expanded again with the completion of the Sebring-Lewis Center, which includes the 30,000-foot gymnasium, indoor running track and multi-purpose rooms.
MetaMedia Digital Studio and Maker Space opens
In 2015, McGaw Y opened MetaMedia, its cutting-edge digital media and maker space for middle school youth. Learn more about MetaMedia.
McGaw Y Satellite Location Opens in Family Focus Bldg.
In 2017, the Y opened a satellite location in the Family Focus building on Dewey Avenue in the 5th Ward for its Head Start, MetaMedia, and School’s Out Foster afterschool programs.
Men's Residence Renovation
Learn more about our Men's Residence Renovation Project.
Find your history. Find your Y
Founded in 1885, the McGaw YMCA is committed to learning from our past, listening to our present, and making changes that will advance racial justice, health, and healing, and create a feeling of being welcome for generations to come.
Acknowledging Past Harm
In the 1940s, the YMCA of the USA sought to desegregate its facilities across the country which led to the eventual closing of the Emerson Street Y Branch in 1969. A history of the segregation in Evanston and the Emerson Street Branch YMCA was written by Dino Robinson for the Shorefront Journal.
In 1963, the Grove Street Branch YMCA integrated its facilities. It closed the Emerson Street Branch Y in 1969, but failed to publicly recognize the significant impact the Emerson Y had made on six decades of Black people in Evanston and subsequently failed to acknowledge the related harm that was caused by the closing of the branch. While we—the McGaw YMCA—can’t erase the harms of this integration or the decades of degradation and dehumanization of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color throughout the history of the YMCA in Evanston, we can acknowledge our mistakes and our role in upholding white supremacist culture and help envision a path to ensure that McGaw YMCA is an anti-racist, multicultural space where everyone can thrive.
In 2010, the McGaw YMCA celebrated its 125th anniversary by honoring the legacy of the Emerson Street Y. In 2011, community and civic leaders turned out for a dedication of an honorary street sign for the segment of Emerson Street where the beloved branch once stood. That same year, McGaw YMCA and Filmmaker Susan Hope Engel released the film, Unforgettable: Memories of the Emerson Street Branch YMCA, to honor the unforgettable legacy of the Emerson Street Branch YMCA. Through photos and oral histories, the film chronicles Emerson’s 60-year influence still resonating in the lives and hearts of those who lived it, and for those who benefit from the life lessons passed on today.
Land Acknowledgement
Both the McGaw YMCA and McGaw YMCA Camp Echo occupy the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. In Evanston, Illinois, the YMCA resides on land ceded in 1829. In Fremont, Michigan, Camp Echo resides on land ceded in 1836. We recognize the federally recognized Native Nations in Michigan and Illinois, historic Indigenous communities in both states, Indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and those who were forcibly removed from their homelands. In offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm Indigenous sovereignty, history, and experiences.
Becoming an Anti-Racist, Multicultural YMCA
Building upon the learnings from our past, the McGaw YMCA will continue to make strides every day as we work to be a place of belonging for all people at every stage of life. We do this by acknowledging past harms and by creating equitable and inclusive programs and services that support our commitment to our mission while honoring both histories of the YMCAs in Evanston. We do this by removing barriers and working to eliminate systemic racism and oppression in all that we do.
The McGaw YMCA is committed to becoming an anti-racist, multicultural organization that intentionally leads and boldly models diverse and inclusive cultures that impact and strengthen the foundations of our community. While Evanston is a racially and ethnically diverse city overall, our community is still deeply segregated. We must actively work to address root causes of community trauma, including racism, housing and food insecurity, health inequities, and exposure to violence, among others. We will work each day to build an Evanston where all people, especially the young, will have the opportunity to thrive.