Young Women's Christian Association (Independent)

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Description 

"Only seven years after organizing, the Helena chapter of the Young Women’s Christian Association, Independent, opened this residential building for the city’s young working women in 1918. Founded by women from most of Helena’s churches and synagogues, the local chapter is today the only Independent YWCA in the nation, welcoming both Christian and non-Christian members. Although the chapter chose not to join the national organization, it too strived to improve conditions for the working woman. In a time of dramatic change in traditional roles, this building welcomed young women with safe housing, and with practical classes such as typewriting and sewing machine operation, and also more intellectual courses such as astronomy and physiology. Adult recreational sports, child care, and children’s day camps also were organized. The building was designed by Chester H. Kirk and built of locally made bricks from the Kessler Brick Yard by Frank Jacoby and Son. It combines decorative detailing common to both Craftsman and Classical styles of architecture. This includes simulated quoining in brick at the corners, a soldier course that wraps around the building between the basement and first floor levels, a brick belt course at the sill level of the second floor windows, and stacked brick window surrounds. Public rooms occupy the first floor interior, with 43 bedrooms—all finished with maple, birch and white pine—on the upper floors." - NRHP/Montana Historical Society plaque

Tags 

20th Century (29,078) American Movement (6,254) Brick (42,466) Built 1918 (457) Built during 1910s (8,899) Bungalow/Craftsman (3,364) Chester H. Kirk (2)

Frank & Son Jacoby (1) Have Street View (49,535) Helena, Montana (51) Lewis and Clark County, Montana (138) Meeting hall (1,569) Montana (2,299) Private owner (54,402)

Update Log 

• November 17, 2021: New Street View added by Bill Eichelberger
• July 17, 2019: Updated by Richard Doody: Added historical information
• June 21, 2019: New photos from David Jones

Sources 

• David Jones
• Richard Doody
• Bill Eichelberger - wallyum [at] hotmail [dot] com
• National Register database - Reference number 84000569 (Search for documents)

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