Kansas City Missouri 18th & Vine Paseo YMCA

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The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was formed in England in 1844. The YMCA sought to improve opportunities for young men by stressing spiritual, social, and physical development. By 1851, the YMCA started forming branches in the United States and over the decades YMCA chapters were founded in most major cities in the United States. The YMCA buildings included lodging, meeting rooms, and gymnasiums.

Black YMCA branches were formed as early as 1853 and black and white leaders supported the creation of a YMCA in Kansas City. By 1907, city leaders raised $10,000 and the YMCA moved into three small buildings on the Paseo, in a predominantly African American section of Kansas City. In only a short three years, the YMCA started to outgrow its three original buildings.

In 1910, Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish philanthropist from Chicago, announced that he would offer $25,000 to any city that would raise $75,000 for a YMCA building built specifically for African Americans. Kansas City met this challenge and the black community raised $30,000 and white residents donated another $50,000. By 1914, a large four-story brick building was completed and was named the Paseo YMCA. The new YMCA building featured meeting rooms, dormitories, a cafeteria, and offices. The rear wing housed a gymnasium and an indoor swimming school was located in the basement. The YMCA provided services for hundreds of homes in the black community. The YMCA organized and sponsored basketball teams and swimming teams in order to promote physical activity and sportsmanship. The YMCA also sponsored youth groups, the Boy Scouts, and Bible classes.

The Paseo YMCA was influential in the black community. It was operated by an all-black Committee of Management comprised of twenty-one residents, who oversaw the day-to-day operations. It provided the only meeting place for African American Clubs and study groups and the pool was the only indoor pool available for African Americans. During the 1920s and 1930s the YMCA was the major social center for black residents. By 1941, the YMCA provided community services to 162 groups, which held 3,650 meetings, with a total attendance estimated at over 76,000 people.