REGIONAL FAMILY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTI history

Chicago also became a national center of education for Y staff workers with the construction of a training school, later named George Williams College (1915), on the South Side.

Young white migrants could find rooms at the YMCA Hotel (1916), located just south of the Loop.

Unemployment had been worsening before the stock market crash, and in 1928 these associations began using direct relief to alleviate the plight of those out of work.

After 1945 the YMCA continued to expand as an institution, but even high-ranking YMCA officials noticed that the movement's ideas and approaches were in need of revision.

The Protestant faith remained central to the YMCA's programs until 1947, when leaders enacted a policy designed to encourage people of all faiths to practice the customs of their own religions.

In 1958, with Canadian Ys, under the rubric “Buildings for Brotherhood,” the Y raised $55 million to renovate or build almost 100 buildings at home and abroad.

Zald, Mayer N., Organizational Change: The Political Economy of the YMCA, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.

However, starting around 1975, thanks to a growing health consciousness in America, there was a resurgence of interest in physical training programs and facilities of the Ys.

Starting in 1984, the refurbishing and updating of the Ys brought them under the scrutiny of federal and local tax authorities.