YMCA of Greater New York. Vanderbilt Branch.

The Vanderbilt Branch of the YMCA of Greater New York was established in 1875 as the Railroad Branch of the YMCA of the City of New York. Also known as the Grand Central Branch, it was started with the support and encouragement of New York Central Railroad chairman Cornelius Vanderbilt II. First located in the basement of Grand Central Depot, the Railroad Branch existed to improve and elevate the rapidly growing number of men working on the nation's railways who passed through New York City. Although the Grand Central branch was initially intended to be used by the employees of the New York Central Railroad, it became a place where in-transit railroad men from around the country would go. At first, the branch offered Sunday services, a library and reading room, and occasional programs and entertainment. Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was the initial branch chairman, personally led Sunday Bible classes for the railroad workers and their families. The name of the branch changed to Vanderbilt YMCA in 1972 in recognition of the role played by the Vanderbilt family throughout the branch's history.

The first secretary, Orlin R. Stockwell, visited the sick and talked with men in engine houses and cabooses. The personal touch offered by Stockwell was one of the many reasons for the popularity of the YMCA among railroad men, and additional railroad Y locations were established in short order: the 30th Street Depot, 72nd Street Roundhouse, Weehawken, New Durham and Mott Haven. All of these locations were collectively known as the Railroad Branch.

In 1886, Mr. Vanderbilt engineered the purchase of land and the construction of a building at the corner of Madison Avenue and 45th Street. Growth in membership and use resulted in a project to double the building's capacity in 1893. By 1912, the railroads had other uses for the site, and plans began for a new building, this one on the east side of Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Street. The old site is the current location of the Roosevelt Hotel, which replaced the YMCA building on that block. The new building, dedicated in 1914, was quickly outgrown, and once again commercial interests, this time in the form of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, made their interest in the land known. The new building was demolished 15 years after it opened.

A third building, still in use, was constructed in 1931, opening on January 1, 1932. The building, on East 47th Street, was ten stories high and included a swimming pool, eight bowling alleys, a billiard room, a barber shop, tailor shop and laundry. It also boasted a pipe organ, a chapel, a roof garden and a 24-hour dining room to cater to the needs of traveling men. Guest rooms occupied eight stories.

Today, the Vanderbilt Y operates as a hotel, a fitness center with two pools and a very popular child care center. Its proximity to Grand Central Terminal is the only reminder of the branch's history as the Railroad YMCA.

(Information taken from The YMCA at 150: A History of the YMCA of Greater New York, 1852-2002 by Pamela Bayless, and from the Vanderbilt YMCA records)

From the guide to the Vanderbilt YMCA records., 1886-1980s., (University of Minnesota. Kautz Family YMCA Archives. [ymca])