YMCA Building (Shreveport, Louisiana)
{{Short description|Historic clubhouse in Shreveport, Louisiana}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = YMCA, Downtown Branch
| nrhp_type = nrhp
| image = YMCA_Branch_(1_of_1).jpg
| caption = Front of the building, left, with twin campaniles
| alt = Large four-story brick building seen at an angle from the street intersection
| location = 400 McNeil Street, Shreveport, Louisiana 71101
| locmapin = Louisiana#USA
| map_alt = Located in northwest Louisiana
| coordinates = {{coord|32|30|46|N|93|45|05|W|display=inline,title}}
| area =
| built = 1925
| added = May 28, 1991
| architect = Clarence W. King
| architecture = Italian Renaissance Revival
| customarchitect_title = Owner
| customarchitect = YMCA of Northwest Louisiana
| builder =
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| refnum = 91000621
| website = {{URL|https://www.ymcanwla.org/locations/downtown-ymca/}}
| nrhp_type2 = indcp
| partof = Shreveport Commercial Historic District (First Boundary Increase)
| partof_refnum = 97000437
| designated_nrhp_type2 = May 16, 1997{{cite web |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/73973173 |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Downtown Shreveport Historic District |series=First Boundary Increase |last=Fricker |first=Donna |date=November 1996 |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=National Park Service |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=January 4, 2025 |via=National Archives}}
| nocat = yes
}}
The YMCA Building is a historic building in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana, built in 1925.{{cite web |url=https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/sports/2020/07/23/shreveports-downtown-ymca-nears-finish-300-k-renovation-project/5497751002/ |title=Shreveport's downtown YMCA nears finish of $300K renovation project |last=Watson |first=Jimmy |date=July 23, 2020 |website=The Shreveport Times |publisher=Gannett |location= |access-date=January 4, 2025 |url-access=limited}} The National Register of Historic Places listed the Young Men’s Christian Association structure in 1982.{{cite web |url=https://www.crt.state.la.us/dataprojectsVS/NRHP/PublicForms/ViewProperty/126 |title=National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: YMCA, Downtown Branch |last=Tassin|first=Leslie |date=April 18, 1991 |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=National Park Service |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=January 4, 2025 |via=Louisiana Office of Cultural Development}}
History
The YMCA first started as a group in Shreveport in the 1860s but did not formally incorporate until 1922. The next year, the group raised $545,000 ({{Inflation|US|545,000|1923|fmt=eq}}) to build this building which opened in 1925.{{cite web |url=https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/money/business/2022/09/26/ymca-expanding-in-south-shreveport-heres-what-you-need-to-know/69505423007/ |title=YMCA coming to South Shreveport. Here's what you need to know about Camp Forbing |last=Boucher |first=Makenzie |date=September 25, 2022 |website=The Shreveport Times |publisher=Gannett |location= |access-date=January 4, 2025 |url-access=limited}} Monroe E. Dodd, the First Baptist Church pastor and Edward Jacobs, the National Bank of Shreveport founder, both strongly advocated for the project.{{cite web |url=https://theforumnews.com/article-3946-downtown-ymca.html |title=Downtown YMCA |last=Todaro |first=Joe |date=August 10, 2020 |website=318 Forum |publisher=Venture Publishing |location=Shreveport, Louisiana |access-date=January 4, 2025}}
In the 1960s, the YMCA added a third and fourth story for new bedrooms and converted the old residences on the second story into exercise rooms. The group stopped renting the rooms though and the floors are now vacant.{{cite web |url=https://www.ktbs.com/news/legend-says-spirit-haunts-downtown-shreveport-ymca/article_976daf02-5a06-55dd-b221-45404c2b65c3.html |title=Legend says spirit haunts downtown Shreveport YMCA |last=Patton |first=Devon |date=October 9, 2015 |website=KTBS-TV |publisher=Wray Properties Trust |location=Shreveport, Louisiana |access-date=January 4, 2025}} In 2017, barrels of food from 1963 were found in an unused wing of the building, left over from Cold War Civil Defense preparations.{{cite web |url=https://www.shreveporttimes.com/picture-gallery/life/2017/12/14/inside-the-unused-wings-of-the-downtown-ymca-building/108607388/ |title= Inside the unused wings of the downtown YMCA building |last=Wildsmith |first=Henrietta |date=December 14, 2017 |website=The Shreveport Times |publisher=Gannett |location= |access-date=January 4, 2024 |url-access=limited}}
In recent years, the facility attracts downtown office workers to work out and provides exercise classes.{{cite web |url=https://theforumnews.com/article-3669-ymca.html |title=YMCA |last=Anderson |first=Scott "Scooter" |date=November 18, 2019 |website=318 Forum |publisher=Venture Publishing |location=Shreveport, Louisiana |access-date=January 4, 2025}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ksla.com/story/23773703/knock-it-off-members-spin-the-fat-off/ |title=Knock It Off members spin the fat off |last=Benn |first=Domonique |date=January 22, 2015 |website=KSLA-TV |publisher=Gray Television |location=Shreveport, Louisiana |access-date=January 4, 2025}} In 2020, the YMCA renovated the building which included updating the front desk area and CrossFit room, replacing lockers, and converting the underutilized social room into a yoga and Pilates studio. In addition to the main building, the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana maintains two Shreveport neighborhood branches as of 2024.
{{cite web |url=https://www.shreveportbossieradvocate.com/news/south-shreveports-state-of-the-art-lash-family-ymca-to-open-soon/article_96c35fc2-afe3-11ee-b206-97a4bc9a71d2.html |title=South Shreveport's state-of-the-art Lash Family YMCA to open soon |last=Rowell |first=Kathie |date=January 11, 2024 |website=The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate |publisher=Georges Media |access-date=January 4, 2025}}
Architecture
File:Shreveport September 2015 067 (YMCA).jpg
The Villa Medici in Rome, completed in 1544, inspired architect Clarence W. King to design the building in an Italian Renaissance Revival style. The four-story building is built using blond brick and cast concrete with quoining along the corners.
Outside, the front facade includes twin rooftop campaniles with a balustrade running between. The ground story has rows of arched opening each with double arched windows with a central colonnette. Between these are oeil-de-boeuf motifs. The main entrance consists of a triple arch opening flanked by pilasters and topped with a segmental pediment. Gold and blue terra cotta decorations highlight both the campaniles and the entrance.
Inside, a central lobby consists of octagonal piers leading up to a plaster mock groin vaulted ceiling. Behind the lobby, is a small cortile with a fountain set in a tiled niche. The rest of the original interior included two gymnasiums, numerous bedrooms upstairs, and a pool in the basement.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.ymcanwla.org/ YMCA of Northwest Louisiana]
{{National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana}}
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Category:Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana
Category:Buildings and structures in Shreveport, Louisiana
Category:Renaissance Revival architecture in Louisiana
Category:Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in the United States
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1925