Our History

The St. Louis JCC began as the YMHA (Young Men's Hebrew Association) in 1880. The first location was close to where the St. Louis Gateway Arch is located now. The Arch symbolizes St. Louis as the Gateway to the West, and due west is the direction that the Jewish community, and the YMHA, began to move.  By 1897, after a couple of changes in location, the YMHA moved west to Locust Street. 

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But the Jewish Community kept expanding and moving. By 1915, we moved west into larger quarters at 3645 Delmar, with space to meet, access to tennis courts, ball fields and swimming pools. The minute the doors were opened, the Y became the "meeting place" for the Jewish people of St. Louis.

3645 Delmar Boulevard

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The Jewish Community kept moving west, and, in less than 12 years, the Delmar location was inconvenient. In 1927, the YMHA-YWHA moved west again to Union and Enright. At that time, the Union Avenue location was the geographical center of the St. Louis Jewish population.

724 Union Boulevard Dr., 1927

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In 1952, the YMHA-YWHA was incorporated as the Jewish Community Centers Association (JCCA), the J. Times changed, and the Jewish Community continued to move west. In 1961, both the Yalem Building at Olive and Hanley and the outdoor facilities at Lindbergh and Schuetz Roads were completed. In 1963, the Carlyn H. Wohl Building on the I. E. Millstone Jewish Community Campus at the Lindbergh and Schuetz site in Creve Coeur opened.

Yalem Building, 1961

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To the present...

On January first 1998, we became the Jewish Community Center (JCC). We continue to extend our programming and our facilities to provide services where the Jewish community is rapidly going and growing.

The Marilyn Fox Building, on the J's 11.4 acre plot of land (The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Campus) at the corner of Baxter and Wild Horse Creek Roads, is a full service, 70,000 square foot facility equipped to serve West St. Louis County residents.

The J has been the center of Jewish life in St. Louis since the 1880's. Our new facility is an opportunity to build on that tradition, to continue offering programs for years to come... continuing our commitment and our goal to offer Jewish opportunities for everyone, everyday, at the J.