Boston Young Men's Christian Association
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Boston Young Men's Christian Association
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| Location | 312-320 Huntington Ave., Boston |
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| Coordinates | 42°20′26.88″N 71°5′15.36″W / 42.3408000°N 71.0876000°WCoordinates: 42°20′26.88″N 71°5′15.36″W / 42.3408000°N 71.0876000°W |
| Area | 1.9 acres (0.77 ha) |
| Built | 1911 |
| Architect | Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge; Woodbury and Leighton |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival, tapestry brick |
| NRHP reference # | 98001082 |
| Added to NRHP | August 20, 1998 |
The Boston Young Men's Christian Association (also known as "YMCA of Greater Boston") was founded in 1851 in Boston, Massachusetts, as the first American chapter of the YMCA.
The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Greater Boston, founded in 1851, was the first YMCA in the United States. The organization began as a modest Evangelical association and, by the late nineteenth century, had become a major social service organization dedicated to improving the lives of young men. With that aim in mind the YMCA held athletic and educational facilities, provided employment services, offered accommodation for young unmarried men, organized summer camps for boys, and served as a place for young men to socialize. In 1911 construction began on a new complex of buildings for the YMCA designed by prominent Boston architectural firm Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge (President William Howard Taft participated in the ground breaking ceremony). To meet the diverse needs of the organization, the firm broke the complex into three distinct but interconnected buildings: a seven story administration building, which served as the heart of the complex and faced Huntington Avenue, and the smaller gymnasium and educational buildings, both of which were located to the rear of the complex.
Administration building
The Administration Building faces Huntington Avenue and is faced with grey brick. It is the most distinctive element of the complex.
The ground floor of this building originally held a sumptuous lobby, clad with lavish wood paneling and terrazzo marble floors. The lobby opened into a double height, sky-lit main reception hall, likewise decorated in an elegant fashion. The use of expensive materials in the lobby and reception hall affirmed the status of the YMCA as a well-funded organization and reinforced its intention to cultivate ‘good taste’ among its members. Around the reception hall stood a billiards room, game room, social rooms, and a spa; amenities intended to lure young men away from bars and saloons. A secondary entrance on Huntington Avenue led to Bates Hall, a large auditorium.
The YMCA used the floors above for classrooms and offices and a well-appointed library. An original blueprint conserved in the Northeastern University Archives shows that select classrooms were designated as Bible Study Rooms, evidence of the institution’s continued adherence to its founding ideas.
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