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The Gary Comer Youth Center stands in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. The building was designed primarily as the home for the South Shore Drill team - a precision performance troop made up of local teens who march in parades and at events.
At the request of Gary Comer, architect John Ronan also designed the new building to include many different spaces for kids and teens in the community to use after school, including: a gym, stage, art center, recording studio, dance studio, classrooms, gardens, library, and a kitchen.
The Center is named for Gary Comer, the founder of the Lands' End clothing company. Mr. Comer grew up in the Grand Crossing neighborhood in the 1930s and 1940s and attended nearby Paul Revere Elementary School.