Niles begins tearing down former Leaning Tower YMCA building, making way for new development; landmark unaffected
The Village of Niles, Illinois began demolishing the Leaning Tower YMCA building Monday.
The Y building is composed of a nine-story, 197-unit hotel and single-room-occupancy residential tower, and an adjoining recreation center that housed a gymnasium, two swimming pools, racquetball courts, weight and workout rooms, and other facilities. The recreation facility closed in 2020, and the residential tower the following year.
On Monday morning, demolition began with the front vestibule of the YMCA, at 6300 W. Touhy Ave. Niles Mayor George Alpogianis himself operated the excavator to start the process.
The village purchased the six-and-a-half-acre YMCA property in for $2.1 million in March 2024, and plans to transform it into a mixed-use development with dining, retail, and entertainment. The village's plan includes creating a pedestrian-friendly plaza.
The YMCA opened in 1966. In a 1986 Chicago Tribune profile, the Leaning Tower Y was described as "easily among the top 10 [YMCAs] in the country" in membership numbers – with more than 20,000 year-round members altogether.
The demolition that began Monday only affects the YMCA building, not the unique landmark at the front of the site.
The Leaning Tower of Niles is a half-scale replica of Italy's Leaning Tower of Pisa, which was constructed in 1934 by industrialist Robert Ilg to hide a water tower.
In 1960, Ilg's family donated the tower and part of the park built for Ilg's employees for the construction of the YMCA, with an agreement to maintain the Leaning Tower.
The YMCA owned the Leaning Tower replica until the Village of Niles purchased it from the Y for $10 in 2015.
Over the years, the Leaning Tower of Niles has become a beloved local landmark. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.
The Leaning Tower of Niles is poised to be the anchor of the new development.
