A year before the state of Arizona turned 100, the owners of the historical buildings in Bisbee were encouraged to research and display the history of their buildings so that in early 2012 when Arizona celebrated her centennial, visitor to Bisbee could get better sense of what it was like 100 years ago. I was able to find a lot of information on the Gym Club which I eventually made into two 11×17 posters. It was very satisfying to learn the history of this beautiful building. It was the pride of the town and a place filled with laughter.
Of all the newspaper stories and photo archives in the Bisbee Mining Museum, I did not see a single photograph of the inside of the Gym Club prior to the 1960’s when it was the Rec Center. None of the people I talked to, who used to live in Bisbee, had any pictures of the inside of the building when it was the Gymnasium Club or the YMCA.
I got lucky last year. A gentleman, Mr. Hugh Huntington, came to visit Bisbee armed with pictures from his grandfather wanting to see the places where the pictures were taken. His grandfather’s name was J.B. Huntington. He was the Physical Director of the Y.M.C.A. back in 1907. One of the pictures of taken inside the Gym Club building on Thanksgiving Day 1907. We took Mr. Huntington inside the building to try to find out where the photograph was taken. It was determined that it was taken inside the gymnasium where it is now suites 104, 105, 106. The gymnasium in those days was also used for big social events such as concerts, dance parties, and banquets, such as this picture of a Thanksgiving dinner. I was told that Mr. J.B. Huntington was the gentleman standing in front of the tieback. But I could not see anyone standing in this picture.
The four windows with lots of light coming in is the back of the gymnasium, facing east. The far left of these four windows is now a door allowing access to the little yard in the back. During the 1984-85 renovation, new floor was constructed four feet above the gymnasium floor to gain much needed space to run plumbing pipes, electrical conduits and water heaters for the seven apartments being built. You can still see the original gymnasium floor inside that crawl space. What is shown here is Suite 106 of the Gym Club Suites.
The three windows on the left of the pictures are three of the six windows on the north side of the building facing Central School. Later, the last window was also made into a door to allow access from the gymnasium to the alley. It was closed during the 1985 renovation.
A distinctive feature of this gymnasium was the running track on the upper level of the gymnasium. Enhanced photo below makes it easy to see where the track was with the spindles on the railing. Children were allowed to roller skate up there in the 60’s.
It is fun to look at old photos of the Gym Club and try to figure out what it was like before. This is the only photo of the inside of the Gymnasium prior to 1960s. If anyone has old photos and stories he/she would like to share with us, please contact us via facebook (see link below). We love to hear from you.
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A blog about Bisbee and Bisbee events by Gym Club Suites:
About us: Originally built in 1903 as the YMCA, it is a registered historical landmark. Renovated in the 1980′s into a 17-unit apartment building; now it is a popular vacation rental for long and short term stays.
For more info: www.gymclubsuites.com
To view our suites: www.gymclubsuites.com/suites–rates
For Bisbee Events: www.gymclubsuites.com/coming-events
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Bisbee AZ Lodging - Gym Club Suites 