Kelso Home for Girls
Encyclopedia
Towson, Maryland
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...
Family YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, is currently the Y of Central Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
Towson Family Center.
Relocation of the Kelso Home for Girls to Towson took place September 27, 1925. Originally, it was thought that the campus would accommodate both boys and girls, but with the advent of donated property in Eldersburg, Maryland
Eldersburg, Maryland
Eldersburg is a census-designated place in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, the boys were located to the Strawbridge Home for Boys. The site was purchased for $300,000 from the heirs of Thomas W. Offutt who had acquired it from the Amos Matthews / Woodbine estate, to erect the home on its 17 acres (6.9 ha) natural campus at 600 West Chesapeake avenue, Towson.
The design of the Towson facility is credited to Otto Eugene Adams
Otto Eugene Adams
Otto Eugene Adams the Architect was born in Baltimore November 1, 1889 to a family with Baltimore and German ancestry. He died in Baltimore County on January 29, 1968.-Family:...
, a Maryland architect. The original building, a brick Colonial structure, contained accommodations for 80 girls, an assembly hall, infirmary, play rooms, and other features. Several outbuildings were to have been added at a later date, but were never completed. Thomas Hicks & Son Inc., were contracted to erect the building, the original cost being estimated at $100,000.
A dedication of the completed home, presided over by Methodist Episcopal Bishop William McDowell, occurred in 1925. Several prominent Methodists and other friends of the institution attended the dedicatory services, including Revs. Dr. F.R. Bayley, Dr. J.B. Gillum, and Dr. E.T. Mowbray, district superintendents of the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church; Louis Moller, president of the board of trustees of the home; Walter Kirwan, secretary to the board of managers for the home; and Mrs. Ella J. Kilcourse, superintendent of the home. Milton W. Gatch, lay organizer of fundraising for the new home, officially presented it to the bishop. Accounts from the attending guests describe the home's interior appointments as having wide hallways and a bright living room with cretonne
Cretonne
Cretonne, originally a strong, white fabric with a hempen warp and linen weft.The word is sometimes said to be derived from Creton, a village in Normandy where the manufacture of linen was carried on....
curtains, that opened into a sun parlor. The home's dining room was furnished with Windsor chairs and tables. The smaller children were grouped into dormitories, having ivory-colored woodwork and beds, while the older girls were to be settled into single and double rooms that had mahogany-colored furniture.
In 1958, under the direction of W. Gibbs McKenney, president of the board of the home, the campus and structure were sold to the Baltimore YMCA organization for use as the Towson Family YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
branch. The Kelso Home organization had 85 years of service behind it at the time (1958) the charity moved from Towson. The girls orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
was named for its original benefactor, Thomas Kelso
Thomas Kelso
Thomas Kelso was born in Clonis, Ireland, August 28, 1784. He died July 26, 1878 at his home on East Baltimore St. in Baltimore, Maryland.-Life:...
, who began the charity at a location in downtown Baltimore.
The Y of Central Maryland completed a master-plan for Towson in 1995, then generated a "feasibility study and preliminary design" for phased renovation of what would be a 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²) facility in 2000. In January 2008 those schemes were superceeded by a plan to raze all the buildings on the site.
Baltimore County
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...
government and the current owner, Y of Central Maryland, are involved in an arrangement where the county would purchase 4 to 5 acres (about 2 ha) of the property for use as recreational fields. Design of a new 45,000 s.f. facility, to be begun in 2010, was unveiled by the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
of Central Maryland at a fundraiser. Development as stated "specifically designed to garner LEED certification" will not however seek credit available under that programs 'Materials and Resources (MR)' Credits 1/1.1 or 1.2. for 'Building Reuse
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
'. Plans are to raze all existing structures after completion of the new facility.