William Sloane House YMCA records

The William Sloane House was named after William Sloane (1873-1922), chair of the Army and Navy International Committee throughout WWI and of the National War Work Council of the YMCA. Founded in 1930 to provide inexpensive lodging and hospitality to members of the armed services, reflecting the war work of William Sloane, the branch on West 34th Street operated the largest YMCA residential program in the City of New York. Designed by New York architects Cross and Cross, the William Sloane House opened under the direction of long-time executive Arthur E. Hoffmire with 1,595 rooms, the second largest residential YMCA in the United States. Although remodeling and altered program directions resulted in changes in the number of sleeping rooms, the facility continued to provide at least 1,400 rooms. By 1945, women and girls could become official members of the Sloane House.

The large capacity of the building became a problem for the William Sloane House YMCA in later years. Changing demographics and a reduction in the number of servicemen visiting New York forced William Sloane House to provide long-stay accommodations to welfare recipients, college students, and neighborhood residents. A 1972 fire that killed four people reinforced the impression that William Sloane House had become a much different institution from the one that opened in 1930. Despite a major fund-raising effort in the 1980’s, William Sloane House closed in 1993, and short-term visitors to New York were housed in the West Side and Vanderbilt YMCA branches. In 1994, the building was offered for sale, and finally purchased for about five million dollars, significantly less than the YMCA of Greater New York had hoped to realize. Even under new ownership, the building retained its focus on youth by providing rental apartments geared toward young people new to New York.

(Information taken from historical notes in the William Sloane House YMCA records and from web sites)