YMCA

YMCA Review

The high-domed landmark bell tower thrusts out of the palatial white-limestone facade of the YMCA, offering superb, long-range views in all directions. For NIS 5 you can ride the small elevator to the balconies, 150 feet aboveground, and get an unsurpassed view over the roof of the famous King David Hotel toward the Old City and farther east. The complex often surprises visitors who associate the YMCA with modest buildings and sports facilities. The Jerusalem Y has those, too, as well as an auditorium with a Levantine-inspired dome and excellent acoustics, a hotel, and a bilingual Arabic-Hebrew preschool. A bit of trivia: the building, dedicated in 1933, was designed by Arthur Loomis Harmon, one of the architects of New York City's Empire State Building.