McBurney's Tower Room, c. 1876

A photograph of the "tower" room McBurney used in the the old 23rd St YMCA building in New York City, c. 1876. When Robert McBurney arrived in the United States from Ireland in 1854, he took a room at a YMCA and eight years later, he became the only employed staff person of the New York City YMCA. He was responsible for taking care of the library and programs in the few rented rooms that made up the association. Under McBurney’s leadership, the association grew and moved several times into larger quarters. In 1870, the YMCA moved into its own building, designed by McBurney, to accommodate the specific membership and program needs of the Y. Over the next seven years, McBurney oversaw the development of nine more facilities as well as a dramatic increase in membership. He was an outspoken advocate of the “fourfold purpose,” incorporating physical activity as part of the Y’s mission when the idea was controversial. He developed the “Metropolitan Association” model of a semi-autonomous branch network with one central administrative authority. Robert McBurney also served in senior leadership roles for the International Committee, the precursor of today’s YMCA of the USA. One of his biographers wrote that McBurney’s influence on the YMCA movement was “profound, exceeding that of any other man.” In 1991, McBurney was inducted in the YMCA Hall of Fame.The photograph is mounted on 29.5 x 24.5 cm. cardboard which is damaged in the upper right corner