Former YMCA - Butte Anaconda Historic District - Butte, MT - YMCA / YWCA on Waymarking.com

View waymark gallery

Former YMCA - Butte Anaconda Historic District - Butte, MT

in YMCA / YWCA

Posted by:  T0SHEA

12T E 380614 N 5096581

Opened in 1919, this the largest YMCA in the state of Montana served the city of Butte until about 2005 at which time the building was sold and the YMCA relocated to their new building on the south side of town.

Though attempts to establish a YMCA in Butte were made before the turn of the 20th Century, it wasn't until well over a decade later that a fundraising campaign was initiated, within a few months enough money being raised to finance the construction of a six-story building. Built at a cost of $350,000, the cornerstone for the building was laid in 1917, completion coming about in 1919.

Though Floyd Hamill of Butte is sometimes listed as the architect of the YMCA, it was actually designed by a team of YMCA architects who designed YMCAs worldwide. Well equipped when built, it included a bowling alley, a temperance bar, dormitory rooms, a pool, a court carpeted running track, a library and a two-story gymnasium.

In 2005 the Butte-Silver Bow Arts Foundation bought the building from the YMCA for $1 and had occupied it until 2013, at which time it was sold into private hands. Unfortunately, the building became vacant and remains so today, though it is for sale once again.

YMCA

401 W PARK - Other Commercial Style - Contributing - The YMCA
The YMCA [401-407 W. Park, 1917], stands as a prominent six-story brick building "of the Colonial type," and the largest YMCA in Montana. Built with "its largest service, the industrial workers" in mind, it held a social department, gymnasium, pool, dorm, classrooms and public clubroom. With a conscious goal to help educate and improve the situation of Butte's working class, the institution illustrates the kinds of facilities established to promote learning and skill building discussed in the NHL American Labor History theme study.
From the NRHP Registration Form

Y.M.C.A.
The cornerstone was laid in 1917 for this multi-purpose facility, designed by international Y.M.C.A. architects. All contracting, however, went to local firms. The $350,000 building opened in 1919, entirely paid for by citizens’ contributions and built by local laborers. It was “in a very real sense a workingmen’s club.” The six-story landmark included a bowling alley, temperance bar, dormitory rooms, a cork-carpeted running track, and two-story gymnasium. Skylights originally brightened both the second-floor swimming pool and locker rooms, and the library was specially wired to accommodate a “moving motion picture machine” for use by mine rescue and first aid personnel. Following early-twentieth-century conventions, boys and men were strictly separated as the North Washington Street entry inscription “Boys Entrance” demonstrates. Today, the Y.M.C.A. is a fully integrated, co-educational facility.
From the NRHP plaque at the building