Red Wing YMCA
YMCA circa 1900
Built: 1909
Major Renovations: 1970, 1980, & 2001
National Register of Historic Places: 1980
Original Architectural Style: Renaissance
Over the years, a few presidents have visited Red Wing. The most recent of these was Dwight D. Eisenhower.
It was on the corner of Main Street and Broadway, just in front of the YMCA, where President Eisenhower dedicated the bridge to Wisconsin that would eventually be named after him.
Though the bridge would stand for sixty years, from 1960 to 2019, Eisenhower was only in Red Wing for about one hour on October 18th, 1960.
For this short event, the basement of the YMCA was turned into press headquarters. 24 new phone lines were set up in the basement, Western Union installed new wires for transmitting stories back to newsrooms, and a dish for live television transmission was also installed on the Y’s roof.
Ike’s helicopter, which he took from Minneapolis, landed below AP Anderson Park, near Reidell headquarters and the Red Wing Shoe warehouse. His motorcade then took him through town to the Y.
Just three months before his famous farewell address expressing concern over the military-industrial complex, Eisenhower used his speech in Red Wing to urge support and confidence in the United Nations as they worked toward establishing peace across the globe.
Eisenhower speaking in 1960
He also used the moment to remind everyone of the success of his Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, which led to the construction of 41,000 miles of interstate highway across the country.
Even though the speech, and the larger tour it was a part of, were promoted as non-political, Eisenhower also took a moment to urge support for Vice President Richard Nixon in the election that was just two weeks away. Eisenhower’s efforts may have helped, as even though Nixon lost the election to John F. Kennedy, he did win in Goodhue County.
Eisenhower was also gifted a 24-place, 200-piece dinner set from the Red Wing Potteries.
Following the speech, Eisenhower cut a ribbon on the bridge and accompanied by a fireworks display and the release of helium balloons.
The driving surface of the bridge was still incomplete, so other than the president’s motorcade only foot traffic was allowed that afternoon. It opened to cars a few weeks later.
Eisenhower then returned to his helicopter to continue his national tour.
When the new bridge was officially opened in 2019, it kept the former-president’s name, when it was christened the Eisenhower Bridge of Valor.
YMCA circa 1980
