[1][2] In the 1930s, the idea of a youth hostel led to the creation of Zürich's Department of Vacation and Freetime (German: Vereinigung Ferien und Freizeit).

When the Zürich Opera House received a grant of 61,000,000 Swiss francs for renovation, the youths took to the streets.

[6] The Dynamo opened in May 1988 with the goal of "providing youths with a free space to develop themselves and assume responsibility".

[7] At first the Dynamo only offered boarding house services, hosted events, and taught courses, but quickly expanded to include a metalworking shop, graphic design workshop, recording studio, sound laboratory, and restaurant.

[6] During this time, the Dynamo also held many classes taught by the F+F School for Art and Media Design Zurich.