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Marie Drake reopens gym for public use after Mount Jumbo Gym closes due to budget cuts
- Mark Sabbatini
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Former school closed two years ago during consolidation will offer open gyms, public recreation programs and private rentals
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Blessie Eshnauer says she’s making party plans at the newly reopened Marie Drake gym for her daughter, Anhaya, soon to be 4, and what she saw during an open house Friday evening convinces her it’s the right place.
"I think it's perfect, especially with the bouncy house and all those toys," said Blessie Eshnauer, a Juneau resident for the past 12 years, watching her daughter move between various play activities.
She said she held her daughter’s third birthday at the Mount Jumbo Gym, which was closed this summer as part of a series of budget cuts by the Juneau Assembly. The Assembly voted to sell the Mount Jumbo building — a former school — and transfer the city facilities maintenance operations there to the Marie Drake Building, which also was a school that was closed in 2024 as part of a Juneau School District consolidation.
The city took over the Marie Drake building as part of the consolidation, with Assembly members considering and rejecting relocating City Hall offices there. Instead, the city announced the gym will be open for various scheduled activities, open use and private rentals starting Tuesday. The Marie Drake Plantarium also remains in the building with its usual lineup of programming and activities.
The full list and schedule of gym activities is still being developed, said Lauren Verrelli, deputy director of Juneau’s Parks and Recreation department, during Friday’s open house.
"We moved what we could over from Jumbo and then I have just been hearing from the community," she said. "They want pickleball options and indoor opportunities to recreate. So that is why we're going to offer open gym, and we're going to listen and hear what the community wants, and we can kind of expand on things."
The schedule at the city’s website as of Friday states preschool open gyms will be offered Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning Sept. 8.
All-ages open gyms are scheduled Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon beginning Sept. 14.
"Open Gym will provide a space for all ages to enjoy drop-in pickleball, ping-pong, cornhole, and more," the website notes.
The cost for all open gyms is $6 per person, with no charge for parents/guardians or infants under 6 months. Turf for Tots passes — offered as multiuse, monthly and annually — are also accepted.
Applications are now available for private gym rentals that will be offered beginning Sept. 12. The venue will also be used by the Parks and Recreation department for public programming and youth sports.
The preschool open gyms at Marie Drake will be similar to those at Mount Jumbo, but there are some improvements at the new location, said Aurélie Marie, a staff member for the program.
"I'm kind of biased — I miss Mount Jumbo — but this gym is a whole lot bigger and the floor is a lot safer," she said. "It's not as hard and bumpy, and the ceiling doesn't leak. So that's a plus. So it's definitely a safer and healthier environment than Mount Jumbo was."
Reopening the gym at Marie Drake as a public use space got a vote of approval from Maggie MacQuarrie, who moved from Whitehorse, Yukon, to Juneau, with son Aubrey, 5, about two months ago to be with her husband, David Horning, after they were married last summer.
"Relative to Whitehorse, I've found it really, really difficult to find something for kind of that preschool to early school-age kiddos," she said as her son tried out the various trikes, mini-vehicles and other things on wheels in the gym.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
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