Bay City Daily Tribune - March 24, 1889 - Page: 5.
FINE NEW QUARTERS.
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The Young Mens' Christian Association Soon to Take Possession of the Walton Block.
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It Will be Fitted Up as a First-Class and Complete Association Building.
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Settled at last.
The Y. M. C. A. will soon vacate the building at the northwest corner of Washington and Center avenues.
The Walton block will be taken possession of.
Everything is settled and everybody is happy.
It will be four years next June since the association was organized, and since then have used the present rooms. While the present quarters have been adopted to a certain extension of the work, on the whole the association has been hampered because of insufficient room.
There has been talk of building more or less ever since the association was organized, but the way has never opened for the carrying out of that project.
About four months ago the association began to look around for quarters which might be rented, and in looking over the different locations it was found that none was so suitable as the Walton block.
At Thursday's session of the board of trustees a committee was appointed to negotiate for the leasing of the block with power to act.
The building was yesterday leased from the owner, A. W. Walton,
for a term of three years with the privilege of buying. The terms are $1,300 per year.
The work of remodeling the building will be commenced early in April, and possession will be taken June 1.
The privileges of the association will be $5 per year, and it is expected that there will be at least 300 young men join the association the first of the year.
The plans for the hall were yesterday prepared by Architect D. P.
Clark.
"The building I think," he told THE TRIBUNE, "is better adapted for the purpose than any building in the city. While some changes are required, removing partitions, changing the location of the same in the form of rooms and by the way of additional light, the expense of making said changes is trifling in comparison with the amount of room and the conveniences to be obtained.
"How much will it cost to remodel the building?"
"About two thousand dollars."
It will readily be seen that the new hall will be arranged in first class style in every respect.
The large hall will have a seating capacity for about 400 persons and the small hall for 100.
They will be arranged with sliding sash between so that they may be united whenever occasion requires it.
