About 40 years later, the Chelsea YMCA was renamed in honour of Robert Ross McBurney, an Irish immigrant who started out as librarian of the NY Association in 1862, and worked his way up to be Chief Executive in 1883 – a position he held until his death, fifteen years later.
At the McBurney YMCA, men could work out, play basketball, swim, take classes, and find cheap housing.
Charles Merrill met Edmund Lynch in the YMCA’s swimming pool in 1913, and they founded their financial management company the following year. The Club also counted Andy Warhol and Al Pacino amongst its celebrity customers.
But the McBurney YMCA truly achieved iconic status in the 1970s when The Village People’s cowboy (Randy Jones) moved to the city and took out a membership. Jones would often visit the clubhouse with his producer, Jacques Morali , who was so impressed with the popularity and diversity of the place that it only took him 20 minutes to pen what would ultimately become the Village People’s biggest hit (with the cheesiest dance moves).
The historic 23rd Street building was sold in 2000 and was redeveloped into 207 units for persons with disabilities. In early 2003 the McBurney YMCA reopened in a large, modern building on West 14th Street, by bustling Union Square.
