Don Nash Community Center
History
The Chicago Park District purchased the Don Nash Community Center, a former YMCA, in 1991. At the time, the surrounding South Shore community suffered from a severe shortage of recreational facilities. The area parks included neither gymnasiums nor swimming pools. The former YMCA offered both a central location in the community and approximately 35,000 square feet of space, nearly twice that of the average modern Chicago park fieldhouse. After purchasing the property, the park district extensively remodeled the building, which had been constructed by the YMCA in the 1940s. Using funds from the Government Assistance Project of the Chicago Community Trust, the park district also developed wide-ranging programming for the site. Today, Don Nash Community Center, with its gymnasium, swimming pool, kitchen, and club rooms, is popular gathering place for South Shore residents.
Donald Jordan Nash (1935-1992), for whom the park is named, joined the Coca Cola Company in 1962 as a route helper, rising through the ranks to become the company's first African-American to serve as Vice President of Community and Governmental Affairs. A native Chicagoan, Nash demonstrated a great commitment to children in Chicago Park District programs, volunteering as a mentor and teacher in his spare time.
