Lunch at the Old YWCA



I can't for the life of my figure out why we were the only
ones for lunch... Who WOULDN'T want to be here???



One of the perks of going home is seeing old friends.  And I really, really mean that.  I have some very close friends that are still living in my hometown, and while I wish I could see them more often, it certainly makes the few moments I can spend with them even more precious.  This was one of those days.



In college, I had a "twin".  People were forever mixing us up, especially the male Underclassmen.  Indeed.  I suppose it was the shared Mediterranean heritage and the long, dark hair.  Although she is Greek, and I'm Italian... But we were in the same club, and both in the music department.  So, I suppose it wasn't that difficult to confuse us.  I suppose.  And in any case, she is drop-dead gorgeous, so there are worse things.

My friend works downtown and we decided to meet  for lunch at the old Zanesville YWCA, which today is a lovely restaurant/meeting place called "Bryan Place".  The old YWCA gym was being set up for an event, and the upstairs rooms have been made into a furniture store.  And while that sounds like it wouldn't be a very nice thing, it's all very tastefully done, the furniture is shabby-chic, and most importantly, the spirit of the place remains. 

It was like stepping back in time.

It even smelled amazing, and I'm not just talking about lunch. 

A sweet old sign on a sweet old porch.

I hadn't given much of a thought as to what the interior would look like 30 years after the last time I'd visited... I hadn't been inside the building since it STOPPED being the YWCA, when I once took gymnastic classes there when I was really, really small.  At the time, I certainly didn't give much thought to the history or anything.  But, Time and Distance can do amazing things. 

I suppose NOT being a four-year old doing somersaults in gymnastics class also helps, perspective-wise.

So besides the lovely conversation with a lovely friend...

she has a big, shiny BADGE!  It was so impressive!

...in a dining room all to ourselves, glasses of iced tea and salads bigger than our stomachs, I ended up taking some photographs of days gone by. 

And here they are.

So inviting...



This table, too...





A view of one of the many, many churches in Downtown
Zanesville (this one is Central Presbyterian) as seen from
the front porch of the YWCA/Bryan Place.





And it also looked nice, framed by the arches on the Patio.



How many have hung their coats in this hallway?

 

How many have climbed these stairs?





The front doorway, looking out.



These doors stopped me cold.  The hardware.  The scuffed and
missing kick plates.  How many feet?  How many hands?



Hardware Love.



Peeling paint does not necessarily put me into handy-man mode.
The walls and this window frame were particularly nice.

  

The building's current name.

Stay tuned for the river and PEBBLES tomorrow!  

/Julianna