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1931 Canal Square landmark rededicated tonight

YMCA brings in the gang on its 75th

By Jim Carney

Beacon Journal staff writer

Sam Cohen wastes no time answering the question of why, at 93 years old, he still works out at the Canal Square YMCA several times a week.

``All my buddies are here,'' said Cohen of Akron, a former YMCA assistant athletic director.

Cohen, Dr. Sam Levey, 91, of Fairlawn, and Fred Salhany, 85, have been members of the Canal Square YMCA for more than 60 years each.

Tonight at 6, the historic building erected in 1931 will be rededicated in a 75th anniversary ceremony.

All three longtime members, who still consider the building a home away from home, are expected to be in attendance.

Salhany, a Goodrich retiree from Springfield Township, has been going to the downtown YMCA since it opened in 1931, when he was 10 years old.

``It was a nice facility, you know,'' said Salhany. ``It was really something.''

Levey, a retired oral surgeon, said he lived at the YMCA in the dormitories in the mid-1930s. After coming home from World War II, where he served as a lieutenant commander in the Navy, he joined the downtown YMCA.

``I joined the YMCA and the Athletic Club,'' he said. ``I played handball here for many years. This was a wonderful thing. I have always felt that way about the Y.''

The Canal Square YMCA was opened on March 10, 1931.

In a letter written to the YMCA by President Herbert Hoover on the opening of the building in 1931, Hoover wrote: ``The dedication of the Young Men's Christian Association marks the culmination of an enterprise of permanent value to the city of Akron.... The erection of this building from voluntary contributions and its dedication without a dollar's indebtedness is impressive testimony of the community's recognition of the vitality and value of the association's work.''

Douglas Kohl, president and CEO of the Akron Area YMCA, said he has always been struck by ``what a landmark piece of architecture it is.''

The rededication of the building comes as the YMCA is studying whether the time has come to build a new downtown YMCA.

``There is a good deal of exploration going on,'' said Kohl. ``But there is nothing imminent.''

There are volunteers, Kohl said, who are asking if there's ``a way to be involved in the renovation of downtown that meets the needs of today's youth and families and the 30,000 people who come to work in downtown (Akron) every day.''

The YMCA officials have conducted personal interviews with individuals and in the coming months will send out mail and electronic mail questionnaires as part of the process of deciding whether to build a new YMCA, Kohl said.

Kohl said the Canal Square YMCA was built for $1.26 million without a mortgage in the middle of the Depression.

He said a new downtown YMCA would be a collaborative effort of the Y and other organizations.

``Then it becomes who is willing to come together,'' he said. ``The YMCA should not do it on its own,'' he said.

The YMCA operates nine branches and just broke ground on a new $9 million Lake Anna YMCA Community Center in Barberton.

The Art Deco YMCA building was closed from 1980 to 1986 during a $10 million renovation that resulted in the conversion of the old dormitory rooms into apartments.

The YMCA owns about a third of the building, and the remainder is owned by Canal Square Limited.

The swimming pool at the YMCA was closed in December after concrete sections of the roof began to fall onto the deck of the pool.

After a $500,000 structural repair of the beams, roof and ceiling, the pool was reopened in January.

The YMCA was established in Akron in 1870. The organization's first headquarters were in a building on South Main Street where the Mayflower Hotel, now Mayflower Manor, was built.

Lou Farris, 75th anniversary co-chairman, said he grew up at the YMCA.

``The purest part,'' said the 57-year-old Farris, a real estate developer, is ``they don't turn anybody away.''

The YMCA, he said, isn't just a place to work out. ``It's a culture,'' he said. ``That is the real draw at the Y.''

YMCA officials would like to borrow photos and historic items and hear YMCA stories from members of the public for the anniversary event.

A book on the Y's history will be published in the spring of 2007.

To contact the YMCA, call 330-376-1335 or go to www.akronymca.org.