Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (Y.M.C.A.)
YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (Y.M.C.A.). The Dubuque chapter of Y.M.CA. was organized at a meeting held in the lecture room of the Congregational Church on September 11, 1856. This makes the Dubuque chapter one of the first west of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
A constitution and bylaws were written soon after the first meeting, and officers were elected. N. C. Ryder was elected president of the board of directors. Vice-presidents were D. K. Cornwall and W. C. Chamberlain.
The first Y.M.C.A. was opened in November 1866, in rooms over a drugstore at 130 North Main Street. The "Y" was later relocated to 679 Main Street. Growth in membership did not occur until the 1890s. A fund-raising campaign was organized in 1894 to secure funds to finance the construction of new facilities.
One of the greatest donations ever received by the organization came in March 1894, when Henry L. STOUT gave his home, valued at $20,000, at the corner of Ninth and Iowa STREETS to the Y.M.CA. Construction soon began on the adjacent lot. A large building, still present in 1990, housed a gymnasium and two floors of residence rooms. Completed in October 1894, the gymnasium was used longer than the residence rooms that were gradually closed due to their age and condition.
In 1916 the Stout home was demolished and replaced by a five-story building costing $175,000. This structure housed administrative offices, two meeting rooms, sixty-two residence rooms, lockers, clubroom, handball court, swimming pool, weightlifting room, and health center.
In 1968 an option was signed for the Frudden property on Dodge Street as the site for a combined Y.W.C.A.-Y.M.CA. building. Wayne Andrew NORMAN, Sr. was named campaign chairperson. The Theodore property on Dodge Street was later purchased with the understanding that the residents could live in the home as long as they wished.
Bids for the project were let in August of 1969. In 1970 construction began. The Y.W.CA. and Y.M.CA. moved into their new building at 35 North Booth in 1971. An estimated six thousand people toured the facility during the open house. Additions to the building were made in 1980 and 1986. (Photo Courtesy: http://www.dubuquepostcards.com)