The YWCA Building, now the Chateau Yakima, is a historic

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

building in downtown

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

. It was completed in 1935 and added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1993.

History

Founded in 1909, the Yakima YWCA originally rented the second floor of Sawbridge's Hardware Store and used the gym from the First Baptist Church. In 1920, the YWCA purchased the land for the building but they were not able to break ground until 1934, when a local businessperson Alexander Miller donated $80,000 toward the effort. The building opened the next year and offered job placement, a gym, a library, temporary housing, and inexpensive meals to young women. After the YWCA vacated the building, it became the "Chateau Yakima", where the former common areas are rented for events while other sections are used as a

coworking space Coworking is an arrangement in which workers for different companies share an office space. It allows cost savings and convenience through the use of common infrastructures, such as equipment, utilities and receptionist and custodial services, a ...

. In 2023, the YWCA obtained the St. Elizabeth's School of Nursing building at the former Astria Regional Medical Center, and began converting it into a

women's shelter A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to ...

Architecture

The building is in the

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...

style, although there are some Neoclassical finishes and Federal Revival interiors. Local board president Mary Remy sketched out the plans for the building and its multiple functions which architect John W. Maloney formalized into the final design. The building has a two-story

gabled A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

pavilion with a red brick

running bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by ...

pattern. There are

keystones A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...

over the first-floor windows.

References

External links

Yakima YWCA
{{NRHP YWCA buildings National Register of Historic Places in Yakima County, Washington Buildings and structures in Yakima, Washington Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Event venues in Washington (state) Women's club buildings in Washington (state) 1935 establishments in Washington (state) Buildings and structures completed in 1935 Residential buildings completed in 1935 Georgian Revival architecture in the United States Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links