 92nd Street Y founding meeting minutes with Dr. Simeon Newton Leo. Click to enlarge.
133 years ago today, the 92nd Street Y—or Young Men’s Hebrew Association, as we were known then—was born. The very first Board of Directors meeting was held in the home of founding Board member Dr. Simeon Newton Leo, above. Click the image to read the first page of the meeting minutes.
The Y’s first home was a former private residence at 112 West 21st Street. It had parlors, a reading room and a gymnasium. Fifty years after that 1874 founding meeting, Dr. Leo wrote:
“There is something about Jewish youth which has ever made a strong appeal to my sympathy. To my mind they represent an element destined, if properly guided, to reach great achievement… Hence it became a matter of how best to reach our boys and win their good will and determination to seek proper associates with enticing entertainment of a kind that, while amusing, would broaden their minds and lead them in elevating paths, creditable to themselves.”
In 1900, the Y moved to the corner of 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. In 1930, the current building opened and in 1945, the Young Men’s Hebrew Association and the Young Women’s Hebrew Association merged to form the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association. Today the Y has evolved into a world-renowned community and cultural center that reaches out to people of every race, ethnicity, religion, age and economic class.
A whole lot happened in between. Scroll through our timeline for the full story.
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