The community center on Lafayette Avenue has been called several names over the last 70 years, but at least one thing has remained the same: It’s still a place for conversation and fun.

On Saturday night, the Robert “Sonny” Hill Middletown Community Center celebrated its 70th anniversary, and for several of those in attendance, the role of the center hasn’t changed since 1942. The center provides a place for recreation, social gatherings and educational classes to the Middletown community.

When it was founded, it was known as the Community House and it served the “Middletown ARMCO colored people.” The building was owned by ARMCO for 26 years, then was deeded to the city. It was reopened in 1968 as the Middletown Community Center, which was open to all residents, regardless of race.

Today, those who participate in activities at the center resemble a “melting pot,” similar to Middletown’s residents, said Bishop Rudolph Pringle, who delivered the invocation.

Uraih Glover, 96, was one of those who worked at ARMCO and sacrificed a portion of his paycheck to fund the center. Glover still resides in the city, and he cherishes “all the great times” he had at the center.

Greg Hart, 60, said the center plays “a vital role” in the community because of the programs it offers the youth. He said his parents took him to the center, a tradition that he continued with his children.

“We all came together right here,” Hart said.

In 2009, the center was renamed after Hill, a former city commissioner who served the Second Ward for 12 years and as mayor for one year. He passed away in 2004. His widow, Pat Hill, 73, said the center provided entertainment for youth who lived in the area. She said there was a roller rink on the second floor of the center.

“This is where we grew up,” she said. “It was part of our life.”

She said her late husband would be “so proud” of the center that bears his name.

“When I come by and the sun is shining on his name I know he’s smiling down,” she said.