Mulcahy Branch YMCA named for local civic leader

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_{Star files}

_{J. A. Mulcahy}

Mulcahy grew up in the redwood and firs of northern California and he was always interested in the lumber business. When he first arrived in Arizona, he set up his business in the Ray-Winkleman area.

He moved to Tucson to become manager of the O’Malley Lumber Company. He later set up a putty lime plant. In 1925, Mulcahy purchased the John W. Rush Lumber company, located on the sight of the Southern Pacific Sanatorium.

He moved the business to 501 W. Congress St. in 1931. Later, a lumber yard at 4001 E. Speedway was added to the business. In 1952, the downtown location was completed renovated and expanded. About 50 people were employed there, “including six women on the office staff.”

The building included a new trend in showcasing with the incorporation of wood paneling and decorations into the building. Mulcahy told the Star “People who are thinking of using any particular kind of wood in a new home can see exactly how it will appear on walls, in panels and however they want to use it.”

Mulcahy served on many local boards and committees, including the Arizona Society for Crippled Children, the Cerbral Palsy Foundation of Southern Arizona, the Fan Kane Fund, the YMCA, Kiwanis and Old Pueblo Club.

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_{Star file photo}

_{Children leaving the Y on S. Sixth Ave.}

The South Branch of the Y, which was built in the late 1950s, was named for Mulcahy in the late 1970’s. The Y branch was originally located at 4902 S. Sixth Ave.

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_{1993 Star files}

_{David Mercer, the Y’s national director, was here to promote the YMCA of Metropolitan Tucson in 1993.}

It was relocated across the street in the southwest corner of Rodeo Park in 1989. The city and the Y are partners in the operation there.