YWCA Building (Peoria, Illinois)

The YWCA Building in Peoria, Illinois was built in 1928. It was designed by Hewitt, Emerson & Gregg. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.[1] It sits at 301 Northeast Jefferson Avenue,[2] at the north corner with Fayette Street in downtown Peoria.

YWCA Building
Nearest cityPeoria, Illinois
Coordinates
Arealess than one acre
Built1928
ArchitectHewitt Emerson & Gregg; W.M. Allen Son & Company
Architectural styleColonial Revival, Classical Revival
NRHP reference No.07000147[1]
Added to NRHPMay 17, 2007

The Peoria chapter of the YWCA was founded in 1893. By 1928 it had run out of space in its original building; it raised $350,000 in just eight days to build this replacement. This building was dedicated on September 16, 1929. Among its features were an auditorium, swimming pool, chapel, several club rooms, and residential facilities for 86 people.[2]

The YWCA moved out of this building in 2003; headquarters moved to 1013 West Lake Avenue in Lakeview Park,[3] where the YWCA had maintained a campground since the late 1960s.[4] Later, partially due to funding a new pool at the YWCA Lakeview building in the 2000s, the Peoria YWCA became financially distressed, moving out of the Lakeview building in 2011 and closing down completely in the summer of 2012.[3]

Since April 2008, this building has been New Hope Apartments, supportive housing with 79 apartments. Renovation cost almost $8 million, and new apartments were created in part by building over the top of the pool and inside the space of the former two-story gymnasium. The New Hope project was originally planned for the International Harvester Building, also on the National Register of Historic Places, but was blocked by the city government.[5]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Peoria YWCA listed in National Register of Historic Places" (Press release). Springfield, Illinois: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. June 27, 2007. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  3. Adams, Pam (Oct 3, 2012). "Peoria YWCA to close due to 'dire' finances after 118 years". PJStar.com. Peoria, Illinois: GateHouse Media. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  4. Young Women's Christian Association; Pleasure Driveway and Park District of Peoria (1966-06-24), Agreement and Lease, retrieved 2012-12-26; accessed via link "Agreement and Lease 1966 1013 W Lake Peoria" at "Bank-Owned Former YWCA Peoria, IL" (Chicago: Rick Levin & Associates, Inc.), 2012.
  5. Adams, Pam (Jan 10, 2011). "Heartland: Hope finds a home". PJStar.com. Peoria, Illinois: GateHouse Media. Retrieved 2012-12-26.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.