Guide to the Records of Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh 1875-1988 (bulk 1950-1980)

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Records of the Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh
Creator
Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh
Collection Number
MSS#79
Extent
80.0 cubic feet (143 Boxes)
Date
1875-1988
Date
1950-1980
Abstract
The Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh (YWCA) began as a religious organization in 1875 called the Young Women's Christian Organization of the East End (East Liberty). The Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh Records include agendas, meeting minutes, correspondence, program notes, financial materials, reports pamphlets and other sundry material. The greatest strength of these records reflect the day-to-day activities of this progressive women's organization established to help young women find housing, jobs and/or training between 1950 and 1980.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
This guide to the collection was originally prepared by: Steve Doell on September 1, 1993. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in Fall, 1999.
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History of the Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh

The Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh (YWCA) began as a religious organization in 1875 called the Young Women's Christian Organization of the East End (East Liberty). In October of that year this group hosted the Third National Conference of Women's and Young Women's Christian Associations. Several organizations of this nature had developed all over the country but there was no national board governing them. Despite the lack of a centralizing force, these Associations all worked toward the similar goal of assisting, "the temporal, moral and religious welfare of young women who are dependent upon their own exertions for support."

The East Liberty YWCA performed relief work and religious and vocational outreach for all people who needed help. Their title, "Young Women," came from their description of themselves. It would not be until the turn of the century that the YWCA would function as an autonomous champion for women's rights in the workplace and in society. Of greater concern to the YWCA was the welfare of young children in the city. It sponsored Saturday afternoon Industrial School for girls in 1875 and Night School for boys in 1876, "to draw them off the streets and instruct them religiously."

In 1892 the YWCA of the East End purchased a residence at 219 Collins Avenue which enabled the organization to provide bedrooms and bathing facilities for up to thirty girls at $4.00 per month. In addition, the Collins Avenue home contained a large kitchen and dining area where eventually members served meals to the public. As the work at the home became more extensive, eventually education classes were held there and the focus of the YWCA began to shift from attending to the entire community towards only helping women, particularly working women.

Mrs. William Reed Thompson became the first president of the Central YWCA which served the women of Pittsburgh and Allegheny City in May 1891. Like the East Liberty YWCA, the Central YWCA purchased a rental home at 421 Penn Avenue, where it served fifteen cent lunches for employees and shoppers at Horne's. In 1895 the Central YWCA moved to a larger facility at 120 Fifth (which now is Stanwix) Street, formerly the Thaw mansion. This larger building allowed the organization to hold more classes for cooking and dressmaking. Soon a gymnasium was added where the members performed the latest "scientific exercise systems."

In the early years of the twentieth century the focus of the YWCA shifted again. The organization began taking a more active role in the lives of working women by instituting extension work programs. Members would hold prayer and song meeting during lunch breaks at their work sites. In addition, the YWCA sponsored trolley rides for members to McKeesport and weekend excursions by boat up the Monongahela River.

In 1906 the Central and East Liberty YWCA's became charter members of the YWCA National Board. This centralization of all the Associations had a positive effect on the women, as a 1950 history of the Pittsburgh YWCA explained, "This closer, more defined organization made possible better leadership training and gave a vehicle for service for education and social action." A decade later the East Liberty branch hired a professional administrative staff for a smoother functioning organization.

Both the Central and East Liberty branches expanded rapidly after the formation of the National Board. Their demands for larger and more modern facilities were met by city-wide capital campaigns and private donations from prominent citizens such as Henry Frick. The Chatham Street home was acquired in 1908 for the Central branch. In 1922 the Spahr Street building was occupied. More classes for both vocational and cultural education were offered including night school programs in conjunction with the Pittsburgh public school system.

The First World War brought more changes for the function and scope of the Pittsburgh YWCA. A large influx of blacks from the South moving to northern industrial cities for war work created a need for a "Committee on Colored Work." Soon after a Centre Avenue branch was organized. European immigration was responsible for the formation, in 1919, of an International Institute in Oakland for counselling and social service for immigrants. Its main goal was cooperation, assimilation and citizenship.

In 1925 the Central and East Liberty branches as well as smaller community YWCAs such as Lawrenceville, merged to form the Metropolitan YWCA of Pittsburgh. A governing board made up of top executives from each branch worked together for the common purpose of advancing all women's rights.

The Depression severely taxed the abilities of the YWCA as well as other charitable organizations because of the reduction in public and private donations. Unfortunately, during this period of economic stagnation unemployed women needed the services of the YWCA as they wandered the country looking for work. These short-term transients needed places to stay keeping the resident home very busy. In addition, out of work women could attend retraining and brush-up courses in clerical skills as well as English and handicrafts.

The Metropolitan YWCA joined the Pittsburgh Community Chest in 1943. This move eliminated the need for individual capital campaigns and brought the University of Pittsburgh Student YWCA into the Metro organization because it had been a member of the Community Chest since 1911.

1952 was a turning point for the Pittsburgh YWCA. The results of a self-study conducted that year emphasized a revision of the organization's structure. It also called for a centrally located building to provide access for all members. Out of this study came the new organization structure of geographic regions (North, South, East, and West Areas) with Advisory Councils for each Area and individual Centers within each Area. The members began a capital campaign raising over $5 million for the construction of a central building downtown. This structure at Fourth and Wood, completed in 1962, still functions as the main headquarters for the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh. By 1965 the borders of this organization would stretch from Wilkinsburg in the East to Coraopolis in the West.

Through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s the Association would still maintain its focus espoused in the 1906 charter - "a vehicle for education and social action." As certain issues confronted American society (e.g. Vietnam, Integration/Segregation, Equal Rights Amendment, abortion, AIDS) the YWCA led and is still leading the way to force positive change for all.

  1. Carnegie
  2. Sto-Rox
  3. West Communities
  4. West Park

Scope and Content Notes

The Young Women's Christian Association Records include agendas, meeting minutes, correspondence, program notes, financial materials, reports pamphlets and other sundry material. The greatest strength of these records reflect the day-to-day activities of this progressive women's organization established to help young women find housing, jobs and/or training between 1950 and 1980. Worthwhile materials from the YWCA's formative years before 1950 include Board meeting minutes, scrap books and publications from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Arrangement

The Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh Records are arranged in six series. Series have been designated for the Board of Directors, Programs and Activities, Committees and Task Forces, Publications, Scrapbooks and Local Branches. Some records were placed in a particular series because of the original folder headings and nature of the materials. Researchers should note that materials related to many functions and activities of the YWCA may be found in two or more series and their records are in two distinct locations. This instance occurs most often when dealing with programs (Series II) that have been organized by a committee (Series III). For example, the Negro Art exhibit (Series II, box 30) was sponsored by the Colored Work Administration (Series III, box 60). Therefore, cross-checking of subjects, events or committees may be necessary to yield all the information on a particular topic. Since this material is described at the folder level, researchers should have little problem finding these links between the series.

The Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh Records are housed in 143 boxes. These records are arranged artificially because the records had no apparent order at the time of processing. In some cases groups of records were in good existing order (i.e. board meeting minutes, the new building capital campaign of 1950-1962, and newspaper clippings).

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These items came in two accessions as a gift of the Young Women's Christian Association 1990

Preferred Citation

Young Women's Christian Association of Greater Pittsburgh Records, 1875-1988 (bulk 1950-1980) MSS #79, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania<

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Steve Doell on September 1, 1993.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Lisa Sheets on October 12, 1999.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

Subjects

    Personal Names

    • Allerton, O.H., -- Mrs., -- 1879-
    • Allerton, Ida, -- 1882-1974.
    • Armstrong, Florence.
    • Allen, Carolyn.
    • Brainard, Fannie.
    • Burchfield, A.P., -- Mrs.
    • Campbell, Elizabeth.
    • Carter, Goldie.
    • Cuthbert, William H., -- Mrs.
    • Cuthbert, William M., -- Mrs.
    • Fulton, H.W., -- Mrs.
    • Kirkpatrick, J.L.
    • Negley, Jacob, -- Mrs.
    • Tyndall, Margaret.
    • Wood, Mary.
    • Yard, Molly.

    Other Subjects

    • Equal Rights Amendment.
    • Fund raising -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Racism -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Religious education of young people -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women -- Organizations -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women -- Societies and clubs -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women and religion -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women civic leaders -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women college students -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women in community development -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women in community organizations -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women political activists -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women social reformeers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women's rights -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.
    • Women's shelters -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh.

Container List