4 August 10-16, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents I f you go to church, even occasionally, you’ve likely been introduced to the notion that “the church” is not the building where like-minded folks meet to commune with their God. Rather, it is the group of people doing the communing that is really “the church.” Dallas’ church buildings range from un- adorned units in strip malls to traditional structures with stately steeples to gleaming, gargantuan arenas with dancing fountains, coffee shops and parking garages. Post-pan- demic, plenty of local churches livestream Sunday services on their websites or Face- book pages, so going to church might in- volve avoiding the church building altogether these days. Whatever the building looks like or what size it is, you will no doubt be reminded that the walls surrounding you are simply a place for the church to do what its members feel spiritually led to do. For the better part of 2023, an increas- ingly hostile discussion has played out in downtown Dallas. It doesn’t, however, in- volve the modern, feel-good Fellowship Church, First Baptist Dallas or the historic Cathedral Guadalupe. This showdown does involve an old building that has housed gen- erations’ worth of tradition and good works, but instead of Bibles, choir robes and offer- ing plates, the tools of worship used there are weight machines, squash racquets, swim trunks and basketballs. The T. Boone Pickens YMCA on North Akard Street has been the go-to fitness facil- ity for a diverse membership for several de- cades, although there’s a strong chance that will not be the case for much longer. In May, the board of directors for the YMCA of Met- ropolitan Dallas began negotiating with a buyer for the Akard Street building, one who will not use the property to continue run- ning the downtown Y. When talking to those who are in favor of the sale and possible relocation of the T. Boone Pickens YMCA out of downtown, there’s a distinct “the church is the people, not the building” vibe in their messaging. “The mission work and the programs we can do will continue, with or without a building,” said YMCA of Metropolitan Dal- las President and CEO Curt Hazelbaker. “Most people don’t know that about two- thirds of the people the Y serves annually don’t come into our buildings.” But some longtime members think Ha- zelbaker and the board are on a different mission and aren’t really worried about the people who do enter the downtown Y’s building. “You know why people go to this gym?” asked Dr. Michael Schlesser, who has been a member of the downtown Y since 1980. “It’s the best gym in Dallas. It isn’t perfect, but no place is,” he said before adding, “[Hazelbak- er’s] on a mission to get rid of it. He’s aban- doned the mission of the YMCA.” T he YMCA came to Dallas in 1885, and the T. Boone Pickens building, which opened in 1982, is the third downtown location for the Y. With more than 200,000 square feet, it is unquestionably a unique fit- ness destination in the central business dis- trict. The multi-floor structure looks modern enough on the inside without sacri- ficing a character-lending grit that screams “Sweat! Athletics! Activity!” The lighting can be a little dim sometimes in certain ar- eas, but the energy propelling those who take advantage of the facility is anything but. A weekday lunch hour offers a frenzy of hustling in the aerobics classrooms and in- door basketball pickup games. Make no mis- take, the Y is a large national chain, but this downtown location feels like a standalone spot, one that can’t be replicated elsewhere. Unlike the squat, oft-cramped and usually ill-equipped fitness rooms in nearby hotels and high rise condo buildings, the plentiful weight and cardio machines at the T. Boone Pickens Y stretch for what seems to be an entire city block. You’d find it difficult to locate a single address in all of Dallas, let alone anywhere near downtown, with courts for racquet- ball, squash and basketball sharing the same floor plan with a lap swimming pool, a three-lane indoor walking and jogging track, a sprawling selection of weight ma- chines, free weights and dozens of fitness class offerings. If the day comes when the YMCA does not have a downtown gym facility in Dallas, Big D will be one of the very few major American cities without one. In Texas, San Antonio lacks such a facility, but that’s an exception. The closest Y locations downtown members, residents and workers would have available without the Akard building are 3.5 miles away in South Dallas and five miles away in East Dallas or in Highland Park. None of these facilities has the scope of offerings available at the T. Boone Pick- ens location. The mission of the YMCA can be inter- preted in different ways by different people. But according to the Y’s website, the official mission is “to put Christian values into prac- tice through programs that build a healthy spirit, mind and body for all. We feel strongly about the for all part of our mission as we believe that all community members should have access to all that we offer, re- gardless of income.” (Emphasis theirs.) Ask two different religious people what heaven is and how one gets there, and you’ll likely get two different answers, even though both agree there is some sort of heavenly af- terlife worth striving for. Schlesser and oth- ers, such as longtime member Paul Lindenberger, agree with Hazelbaker that the downtown Y is more than just a gym, but the similarities in belief end at that point. “I 100% agree that T. Boone Pickens [YMCA] is not just a facility,” Lindenberger says. “It’s much more than that. It’s a com- munity center that brings all these people together. It’s a collective with a lot of differ- ent types of people doing a lot of different things. There’s no way they [YMCA of Met- ropolitan Dallas] are going to be able to serve the community as they’re doing now, or especially, as they’ve done in the Nathan Hunsinger | UNFAIR PARK | BUT WHY? Planned sale of the downtown YMCA has its members arguing over the meaning of its mission. BY KELLY DEARMORE Nathan Hunsinger The T. Boone Pickens YMCA building on North Akard Street in downtown Dallas. The YMCA downtown brings together a diverse community. Among its members are (from left) Malik Brown, Tonya Garrison, Payton Bruce, Christian Shaw, Paul Hoffmeyer and Danaan Wallace. >> p6
