By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
After years of anticipation, East Baltimore’s Chick Webb Memorial Recreation Center is once again open to the community.
On April 16, Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott (D), community members and local and state legislators gathered for the official ribbon cutting of the newly renovated recreation center. This reopening marks the first of six new or renovated centers scheduled to open this year.
The facility includes a teen lounge, a high school–regulation court for basketball, volleyball and pickleball, an elevated indoor walking track, a large fitness room and a modernized indoor swimming pool with locker rooms and full Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility.
“When we were growing up, we were treated like a problem to be solved, not a resource to be invested in,” said Scott. “Today, as you heard, we are now treating young people as our greatest resource to invest in.”
The $17.5 million renovation also included a two-floor expansion that nearly doubled the facility to 33,000 square feet.
“At Rec and Park, we’ve been working to transform aging infrastructure and build more full service community hubs like this one,” said Dr. Reginald Moore, director of the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks. “Chick Webb will be one of our regional centers open six days a week.”
The front of the Chick Webb Memorial Recreation Center in East Baltimore is shown following its long-awaited reopening, marking a new chapter for the revitalized community hub. Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks 
Amenities at the renovated Chick Webb Memorial Recreation Center include an indoor ball court, fitness room and swimming pool. Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of J.J. McQueen/Mayor’s Office 
Memorials honoring jazz legend Chick Webb and the surrounding community are displayed throughout the center, including recognition of AFRO News’ role in supporting the Black community and the recreation center. The AFRO played a key part in early fundraising for the center by hosting a fashion show.
“My family was proud in 1947 when the center first opened, and they would be overjoyed now,” said Mary L. Williams, a Webb relative.
Williams said her family would be proud that Webb, who was unable to participate in certain activities as a youth because of illness, was able to give others the opportunity to do what he could not. Webb contracted spinal tuberculosis as a child, which stunted his growth and permanently deformed his spine.
Community members showed out in overwhelming support for the grand reopening.
“I longed for this development, because the community did this,” said Catherine Benton Jones, president of the Chick Webb Community Recreation and Change4Real Community Coalition. “We were able to keep Chick Webb’s vision of bringing the community together. The community is the backbone of Baltimore City.”
According to Alex Silverman, public relations officer for the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks, several community groups were formed to ensure residents could provide input throughout the process on what should be included in the new center, including memorials.
These memorials, located throughout the center, honor Chick Webb, along with community activists and local organizations that helped preserve the center.