Named after one of the city’s jazz greats, an East Baltimore recreation center reopened Thursday, following a $17.5 million renovation that nearly doubled the facility’s size. The Chick Webb Memorial Recreation Center’s refresh involved major renovations to its athletic, learning, and community spaces, as well as a two-story addition that expanded the building’s footprint to 33,000 square feet. “Today is about honoring legacy and investing in Baltimore’s future,” Mayor Brandon M. Scott said in a statement. “The Chick Webb Memorial Recreation Center is the result of so many Baltimoreans working together, from the neighbors who fought to build this facility decades ago, to the partners who helped us reimagine it today. I’m so proud that, alongside so many advocates and leaders, we were able to deliver the world-class rec center that the families of East Baltimore deserve.” The newly renovated Chick Webb Memorial Recreation Center includes a high school-regulation athletic court for basketball, volleyball and pickleball. Photo courtesy Baltimore City Recreation Parks. Located at 1401 E. Monument St., the building honors Baltimore native William Henry “Chick” Webb, the late American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader, who mentored and performed with a young Ella Fitzgerald. Webb’s funeral in 1939 was attended by notable Big Band figures like Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Gene Krupa, Jimmie Lunceford and Fletcher Henderson. Fitzgerald sobbed while singing “My Buddy” for the man who helped kickstart her illustrious career. On his deathbed, Webb asked his friend and physician Dr. Ralph J. Young to fulfill his dream of opening a recreation center in East Baltimore — a safe place for Black children to play and gather. Young helped carry out that promise, and the rec center opened in 1947. Among the facility’s new features is a recording studio where community members can carry on Webb’s legacy of making music. Other elements include a high school-regulation athletic court for basketball, volleyball and pickleball; a multi-purpose event space; an elevated indoor walking track; a large fitness room and studio with spinning equipment; a teen lounge; classroom and maker space; a music-themed playground; two connected outdoor courtyards; and a fully ADA-accessible indoor swimming pool and locker rooms. Modern limestone and rhythmic glazing details in the renovated center were inspired by Webb’s drum set. Meanwhile, signage throughout the building highlights the role that Webb and founding community members played in the facility’s development. The newly renovated Chick Webb Memorial Recreation Center includes a fully ADA-accessible indoor swimming pool and locker rooms. Photo courtesy Baltimore City Recreation Parks. The recreation center is “part of East Baltimore history,” said Baltimore City Councilman Jermaine Jones, who represents the city’s 12th district where the facility is located. “It was built at a time when Black families were shut out of too many public spaces, and for generations it gave this community a place to gather and feel safe,” Jones said in a statement. “Reopening it means protecting that legacy and making sure young people and families in this neighborhood have a space where they can grow and feel connected. East Baltimore deserves spaces that honor its history and reflect the strength of the people who call it home.” When he was 17 years old, Webb left Baltimore to pursue a music career in New York City. But he often returned to perform in his home city, including at the Hippodrome Theatre, a family member recalled in an interview with The Baltimore Sun. Catherine Benton Jones, president of the Chick Webb Community Recreation and Change4Real Community Coalition, said she worked to continue Webb’s “vision and purpose he set out to share with people of color.”  “The Center was meant for those at that time who had no outside recreation, as a resource center for those in need,” Benton Jones said in a statement. “I personally felt as though I was the one to bring the quality of humane living into the East Baltimore footprint, because I was born and raised in this area, but more so because I felt that you should never forget where you came from.” The reopening of the Chick Webb recreation center marks the first of six new or renovated centers set to open across Baltimore in 2026 as part of the city’s Rec Roll Out Initiative. Renovation of the Chick Webb center was funded in part with a $12 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 108 loan, which will be repaid through the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. Additional funding for the project included $1 million in City bonds and $4.5 million through Maryland’s Project Open Space. “Today’s reopening represents both a celebration of history and a bold step forward for Rec Parks,” Rec and Parks director Reginald Moore said in a statement. “This facility has always been rooted in community, and today we are expanding that legacy with state-of-the-art amenities that reflect the needs and talents of this community. We are grateful to Mayor Scott and our city, state and federal partners for recognizing that recreation is essential infrastructure for a healthier, stronger Baltimore.” ...read more read less