Historically St. Pete Podcast | Vanessa Wheeler
Historically St. Pete: The incredible story of downtown St. Pete’s 99-year-old YMCA building
Featured in St. Pete Rising – Originally published July 28, 2026
Historically St. Pete is a monthly column on St. Pete Rising written by Rui Farias, Executive Director of the St. Petersburg Museum of History, which covers everything from the legend of underground mobster tunnels to the buildings and people that created the Sunshine City.
This month, we explore the history of the 99-year-old YMCA building at 116 Fifth Street South and its nearly 75-year run as one of the city’s most popular community centers.
In a city nearly surrounded by water, there was one place on Fifth Street South where, for decades, thousands of St. Petersburg children dunked their heads underwater for the first time during swim lessons.
At least until an older cousin decided the next lesson would take place off a dock in Big Bayou, where it was sink or swim.
It took seven years, but on June 20th, 1927, the St. Petersburg YMCA officially opened its doors.
Formed in 1920, the city’s chapter of the Young Men’s Christian Association went to work raising funds to build a home on the corner of Fifth Street and Second Avenue South in downtown St. Pete.
Reflecting the community’s commitment to creating a center for recreation, education, and fellowship, $550,000 was raised, allowing for the construction of the city’s first publicly funded civic building.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Fundraising began during the height of the city’s 1920s boom.
By the time construction was complete, St. Petersburg was about to enter a land and housing bust it wouldn’t see again for 90 years.
The beloved downtown building was designed in the popular Mediterranean Revival style by University of Minnesota professor Clarence H. Johnson, who teamed up with local architect Archie G. Parish.
Parish also designed Christ United Methodist Church, Mound Park Hospital, Jordan Park Housing Project, and the First Church of Christ, Scientist, now the Palladium Theater.
Edward S. Moore & Sons was brought on to build the four-story YMCA — six stories if you count the tower and basement.
It was constructed with arched windows and doorways, wreathed columns, ornamental iron railings, a changing roofline with barrel tiles, and interior tiles imported from Seville, Spain.
Built across Fifth Street from the newly completed Florida Power Building, the YMCA was an architectural beauty from the moment it opened.
As striking as its exterior was — and remains — it was the activities and amenities within its walls that made the building the city’s most popular recreational facility for decades.
The YMCA housed a full-size gymnasium that accommodated basketball, judo, boxing, gymnastics, wrestling, volleyball, and badminton. It also featured locker rooms, a weightlifting area, and an indoor running track.
Beneath these facilities, in the basement, was one of the largest indoor swimming pools in the city.
It also provided reading rooms, dining facilities, and 54 dormitory rooms for men.
Team athletics were also a big part of the YMCA. In 1956, the St. Pete Y gymnastics team won the national championship in New Orleans.
By 1957, the St. Pete YMCA wanted to expand the scope of services it provided to city families and created its first program for girls as part of its Family Y portfolio.
The YMCA also hired European-trained ballet instructors and started a Thursday Family Night program.
By the end of 1957, the YMCA on Fifth Street South was serving 4,000 people a week.
The YMCA served generations of residents before dormitory operations ended in 1989. In 2001, the organization relocated to the new YMCA on the corner of 32nd Street and 1st Avenue South.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and designated a local landmark in 1991, the regal building at 116 Fifth Street South has been vacant for two decades.
Past legal battles over ownership deterred progress on the building. Current owners have floated ideas for a boutique hotel and wedding venue.
Before the era of 24-hour television, computers, and the internet, the historic YMCA played a central role in the lives of St. Petersburg families. Today, the building remains an important part of the city’s architectural heritage and a lasting symbol of its civic history.
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