40 years later: Centre Y still evolving after rising from the ashes of devastating fire

Fred Galloway walks through the front door of the Centre branch YMCA at King and Waterloo streets in downtown London, Ont.

It’s a sentimental homecoming of sorts for the former general manager of the facility.  For he was the very first GM at the site, which sprung from the ashes of the historic YMCA, which burned down on New Year’s Day, 1981.

Forty years later, his son Colin holds the very same position of general manager of the centre branch. 

“I remember the day he called me,” recalled Fred. “He said ‘I have an interview at the Y.’ I said ‘what job is that?’ He said ‘centre branch manager.’ I said ‘oh I can’t believe that. That’s so exciting.’”

Colin added that it’s “incredibly special” to be following in his father’s footsteps.

“This is the place where I had my first swimming lesson, where I did my first day camp, you know the counsellors would return me to my dad’s office at the end of the day,” he said.

Centre Y general manager Colin Galloway checks out the memory wall in London, Ont. on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)But this story is not about family ties, rather, it’s about resurrection and keeping pace with the changing times.

Centre Y will soon mark 40 years since its grand re-opening.

“There was sadness over the loss of our heritage and an iconic building,” said Fred. “But everybody worked very, very hard and they knew it was going to be a new era. It was going to be unique and different, and that’s what it turned out to be.”

Today, the centre branch Y is still very much a fitness centre, complete with a gymnasium with a new floor, a workout room, an aerobics room, a children’s play area, a pool, and much more.

But it’s also a community hub, said Andrew Lockie, the CEO of the YMCA of Southwestern, Ontario.

“We have a school based here with one of our school boards, and we have a partnership with Wellspring and physiotherapy, and a number of programs we run,” said Lockie. “So, lots going on at the Y.”

Right now the centre Y has about 2,700 members. In its heyday in the 80s and 90s, it boasted 10,000 members. Of course, that was long before people were drawn to the newer YMCAs in London’s suburbs.

The Stoney Creek YMCA and Community Centre in North London has about 7,500 members, the Startech.com Community Centre and YMCA in southwest London has 5,500 members, and the Middlesex Centre YMCA in Komoka has roughly 500 members.

The Centre Y in London, Ont. on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London) Further competition comes from within the downtown itself, as several luxury condo towers have sprung up, each with its own gym, and oftentimes its own pool.

Meantime, the pandemic presented a whole new set of challenges, said Colin.

“Obviously during COVID the numbers would go down naturally with COVID and different things,” he said. “We’re located downtown and so we’re constantly waiting for people to come back to work, come back to the offices that they used to occupy.”

The YMCA will mark the 40th anniversary of its grand re-opening on Friday, Jan. 20.

It’s hoped that milestone will also signal the next generation of Y members, staff and volunteers, to take the celebrated fitness centre and community hub into the next four decades.  

The memory wall at the Centre Y in London, Ont. on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. (Bryan Bicknell/CTV News London)