Harry Payne took over as executive director, a position he held until 1966.
Executive Director Harry Payne concluded his tenure, keeping the branch open as a safe haven as the first phase of neighborhood urban renewal came to an end.
1956
1960-1966
1966
Yoritada “Yori” Wada became executive director of the Buchanan YMCA. Yori carried on the ideals of the founders of the Japanese YMCA and worked tirelessly to meet the needs of the community. He took hundreds of children to camp and influenced the lives of countless young people in the neighborhood. He is best remembered for his efforts to make the Buchanan YMCA a neutral zone for children, using the YMCA’s history, facilities, volunteers, and staff to improve the human condition.
1950s
Programs serving the needs of the community continued, and the building was filled with community-building activities.
1957-1959
Under Harry Payne’s direction, programs adjusted to the neighborhood’s shifting demographics. The facility hosted multicultural youth sports programs, local basketball clubs, and emergency community services to support the families who remained amid the ongoing displacement of the late 1950s.
1964
The city’s massive redevelopment projects physically surrounded the facility. Photographs from August 20, 1964, show the YMCA building at 1530 Buchanan Street standing alone and intact while the city aggressively cleared hundreds of neighboring Victorian homes that had housed families for generations.
1968
The Buchanan YMCA launched a pioneering, experimental summer program designed to bridge neighborhood divides and build interracial understanding between African American and Japanese American students in the changing Western Addition.