Nomination Form
Richmond’s Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) was organized in 1887 out of concern for the welfare for the city’s growing number of working women. Inspired by the Social Gospel philosophy of the Progressive Era, the Richmond YWCA was the first branch of the association in the South. The stated object of the Richmond branch was to “promote the spiritual and temporal welfare of indigent and dependent women . . . and young women as must rely on their own exertions for a livelihood.” The effort produced impressive results. By 1914 the Richmond YWCA moved into a handsome new facility, a Renaissance-style structure designed by the local firm of Noland and Baskervill. Offering the city’s only swimming pool for women, the building also was equipped with a gymnasium, library, cafeteria, and bedrooms. The YWCA, located in the Fifth and Main Downtown Historic District, continues as a social service organization for women and their families.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia
