Wabash Avenue YMCA
Encyclopedia
The Wabash Avenue YMCA is a Chicago Landmark
located within the Chicago Landmark Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District in the Douglas
community area
of Chicago, Illinois
. This YMCA
facility served as an important social center within the Black Metropolis area, and it also provided housing and job training for African American
s migrating into Chicago in the early 20th century. In 1915, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, one of the first groups specializing in African-American studies, was founded at the YMCA.
The Black Metropolis area in Chicago, centered around the area of 35th Street and State Street
, was a city within a city developed by the black community as an alternative to the restrictions, exploitations, and indifference of the city at large. The Wabash Avenue YMCA was opened in 1914, supported by Julius Rosenwald
, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company
at the time. Rosenwald had a philanthropic interest in black-oriented causes. The YMCA provided job training programs such as auto repair and manual training. The Black Metropolis district thrived through the 1920s, but competition from white-owned businesses on 47th Street and the effects of the Great Depression
led to the closure of many of the black-owned businesses.
It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
in 1986.
Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural,...
located within the Chicago Landmark Black Metropolis-Bronzeville Historic District in the Douglas
Douglas, Chicago
Douglas, located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois is one of 77 well-defined Chicago community areas. The neighborhood is named for Stephen A. Douglas, a famous Illinois politician, whose estate included a tract of land given to the federal government...
community area
Community areas of Chicago
Community areas in Chicago refers to the work of the Social Science Research Committee at University of Chicago which has unofficially divided the City of Chicago into 77 community areas. These areas are well-defined and static...
of Chicago, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. This 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...
facility served as an important social center within the Black Metropolis area, and it also provided housing and job training for African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s migrating into Chicago in the early 20th century. In 1915, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, one of the first groups specializing in African-American studies, was founded at the YMCA.
The Black Metropolis area in Chicago, centered around the area of 35th Street and State Street
State Street (Chicago)
State Street is a large south-north street in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. It begins on the Near North Side at North Avenue. For much of its course, it lies between Wabash Avenue on the east and Dearborn Street/Lafayette Avenue on the west...
, was a city within a city developed by the black community as an alternative to the restrictions, exploitations, and indifference of the city at large. The Wabash Avenue YMCA was opened in 1914, supported by Julius Rosenwald
Julius Rosenwald
Julius Rosenwald was a U.S. clothier, manufacturer, business executive, and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for the Rosenwald Fund which donated millions to support the education of African American children in the rural South, as well...
, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
at the time. Rosenwald had a philanthropic interest in black-oriented causes. The YMCA provided job training programs such as auto repair and manual training. The Black Metropolis district thrived through the 1920s, but competition from white-owned businesses on 47th Street and the effects of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
led to the closure of many of the black-owned businesses.
It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1986.