|
Portland
YWCA Buildings
Document
1
Document
2
Early
Efforts
Mid-Century
Growth
Recent Changes
|
Building
Buildings: Recent Changes
Research by
Sandra Dixon, Marlene St. Onge, and
Patricia A. Schechter
After World War II, the Taylor Street YWCA showed considerable wear
and tear. The elevator had become hazardous and the wooden elements
of the structure no longer met the city's fire codes. The dark paneled
interior had been elegant in 1908; by 1948, it appeared dark and dreary.
Eager to meet the challenges of the post-war years--especially racial
justice, world peace, workers' rights, and the needs of youth--a new
building seemed in order. Plans were drawn up and the Board launched
a capital campaign in 1946. Originally projected to cost $700,000, the
Portland YWCA eventually raised $1.5 million to complete the building
at SW Tenth and Main Streets.
 |
|
Renovation
Plan,
Tenth & Main Building
|
This effort absorbed
much of the board's focus for the next decade. Among the obstacles was
a changing financial landscape in which old methods of fund-raising, like
pledge cards and subscription lists, no longer held much weight with banks
and lenders, and a rather ambivalent city leadership. "Let's face
it," commented one board member, "it was a man's town."[1]
Amid the funding crunch, the board entertained closing both the St. John's
and Williams Avenue YWCAs. St. John's survived in part because it had
the long-standing support of the surrounding business community. Williams
Avenue's support was in the churches and voluntary associations, groups
with less money to spare. The building at Williams and Tillamook was sold
in 1959.
 |
|
Tenth
& Main Building, 1959
|
Funds from organized labor, timber interests, and an anonymous donor late
in the building campaign helped the YWCA board close in on its goal for
the downtown building. The organization traded its old building and land
for the new building site and broke ground in 1956. Programs and staff
moved in after a dedication ceremony in December, 1958, even though the
building still needed some finishing touches. The completion of the building
had become the main professional goal of executive director Essie Maguire,
who retired shortly after the YWCA moved into its new home. "That
was her dream, to build that building," recalled one staff member.[2]
The public agreed. At Maguire's retirement, the press noted it was her
"faith and determination" that made the difference in completing
the project.[3]
 |
|
|
Despite the completion of the new building, both the YWCA and the Community
Chest continued to fall short of meeting the well-documented need for
social services in Northeast Portland. Finally, after more than a decade
of programming at the Mallory Avenue Christian Church, the leadership
of Audrey Sanders and Delvon
Barrett resulted in the purchase of a small building for YWCA work
at Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and NE Jessup. Here, successful outreach,
especially the Young Families Program,
took root and flourished. Since 1984, the new Northeast YWCA has been
a warm, friendly space for young parents and students to find support,
education, and fun, everything from job counseling to diapers, from math
tutoring to holiday parties. The warm, inclusive spirit of the program
is well expressed by senior case manager Janice Booker: "Every voice counts."[4]
Today, the staff, members, and board of YWCA of Greater Portland look
forward with the same determination they have displayed in the past
to the renovation of the now historic building at Tenth and Main. This
project will be aided by a one million dollar grant from the Gates Foundation
and the endorsement of the Portland Development Commission.
1.
Patricia A. Schechter, "Interview with Kay Somers," 1996,
Portland YWCA Archives, Portland, Oregon.
Back
to Text
2.
Janice Dilg and Patricia A. Schechter, "History Focus Group Interview,"
2001, Portland YWCA Archives, Portland, Oregon.
Back
to Text
3.
Tracy Christensen, "Interview with Joyce Roggi," 2001, Portland
YWCA Archives, Portland, Oregon.
Back
to Text
4.
Editorial, Oregon Journal, 14 December 1958.
Back
to Text
| YWCA
Today | Programs | African-American
Women |
| Asian-American Women | World
War II | Religion, Race, & Reform |
Camping |
|
