Twelfth Street YMCA Building, also known as Anthony Bowen YMCA, was home to the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

chapter of

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, founded in 1853 by

Anthony Bowen Rev. Anthony Bowen (18091871), was a civic leader among the African-American community in Washington, D.C., and the first African-American employee of the United States Patent Office. Both the Anthony Bowen YMCA and Anthony Bowen Elementary Scho ...

. It is located at 1816 12th Street NW in the

U Street Corridor The U Street Corridor or Greater U Street, sometimes known as Cardozo/Shaw, is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Centered along U Street, the neighborhood is one of Washington's most popular nightlife and entertainm ...

(Cardozo/ Shaw) neighborhood of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The building was reopened on February 20, 2000, as the Thurgood Marshall Center in honor of the

first African American African Americans are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural chan ...

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

to serve on the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. The Thurgood Marshall Center now serves as a

community center A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

for residents of the

and Shaw neighborhoods. The permanent organization of

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1914. The fraternity's founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, wanted to ...

fraternity was established in the Bowen Room. Completed in 1912, the

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

building was designed by

William Sidney Pittman William Sidney Pittman (April 21, 1875 – March 14, 1958) was an American architect who designed several notable buildings, such as the Zion Baptist Church and the nearby Deanwood Chess House in the Deanwood neighborhood of Washington, D.C. He w ...

, one of the United States' first African American architects and a son-in-law of

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1994 and is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

to the Greater U Street Historic District. and

Description and history

The Thurgood Marshall Center is located on the west side of 12th Street NW, between S and T Streets. It is a large rectangular four-story masonry building, built out of red brick with trim of limestone and gray brick. Its main facade is three bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a Tuscan portico with entablature, modillioned cornice, and low balustrade above. The ground floor is finished in bands of gray brick arranged to appear as rough stone, while the upper floors are red brick with gray brick corner quoining. Limestone stringcourses serve as a water table between the basement and first floor, between the first and second floors, and above the top floor. The building is crowned by a modillioned and dentillated cornice and a low balustrade. Windows are set in pairs in each bay, with limestone keystones. The international YMCA was founded in Great Britain in 1844, and its first American branch opened in 1851.

founded the first African-American branch of the organization in 1853 in Washington, one year after a branch for whites was opened in the city. The organization struggled financially in its early years, and was not formally incorporated until 1892. The organization moved into its first permanent home on 11th Street in 1891, which soon after had to be sold due to declining membership. After a membership drive revitalized the organization, it secured a pledge from

John D. Rockefeller Sr. John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern history. Rockefeller was born into a larg ...

for $25,000, which was matched by fundraising from across the nation's African-American community. It is believed to be the first such campaign of its type in that community. This building was completed in 1912 to a design by African-American architect

. In 1973 Twelfth Street YMCA was officially renamed Anthony Bowen YMCA in honor of its founder. It closed in 1982, suffering from declining membership and mounting building maintenance costs. Politicians Washington DC Congressional Delegate Walter E Fauntroy and Washington D.C Mayor Marion Barry lead several protest demanding the reopening due to its historical significance. In 1983, the building was nominated as Historic Landmark but not until 1989 that Congressional Delegate Walter Fauntroy introduced to Congress the bill to designate the Anthony Bowen Landmark Building (formerly the Anthony Bowen Y.M.C.A.) in Washington, the District of Columbia as a national historic site, declaring this historic building National Historic Landmark on October 12, 1994. The restoration of the building started with Walter Fauntroy's plan to improve opportunities for neighborhood youth in the Shaw community. In 1983, in coordination with Real Estate developer George T. Farrell, Walter Fauntroy fully restored the building and adapted it for the use of the community by providing a full service health and recreational facility administered by the YMCA. The renovation spurred increased gentrification of the Shaw community from a low income enclave to a young urban professional locale bringing a surprising change for the current residents. The Antony Bowen YMCA operated as a community recreation center with gymnasium and library until it was again renovated to become the Thurgood Marshall Community Center under direction of the Thurgood Marshal Center Trust, Incorporated.

Notable people

* John Warren Davis, fifth president of

West Virginia State College West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a public historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute. It is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges a ...

, served as the executive secretary of the Twelfth Street YMCA from 1917 to 1919.

References

External links

Thurgood Marshall Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twelfth Street Ymca Building African-American history of Washington, D.C. Buildings and structures completed in 1912 African-American historic places YMCA buildings in the United States Community centers in Washington, D.C. National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C. Renaissance Revival architecture in Washington, D.C. Clubhouses in Washington, D.C. Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. 1853 establishments in Washington, D.C. Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Washington, D.C. U Street Corridor, Washington, D.C.

Description and history

Notable people

See also

References

External links