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Y.W.C.A. Seattle-King County photograph collection, approximately 1905-1970

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Y.W.C.A. Seattle-King County
Title
Y.W.C.A. Seattle-King County photograph collection
Dates
approximately 1905-1970 (inclusive)
Quantity
91 photographic prints (1 box)
Collection Number
PH0377
Summary
Photographs of the Young Women's Christian Association, Seattle-King County (YWCA) activities, programs, facilities and members from 1905 to 1920s and 1950s to 1970s
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) was founded in the 1850s and is active in social justice movements working to provide for and empower women. The YWCA Seattle, King, and Snohomish sector was founded in 1894, led by Rees Daniels. They stand for civil rights, affordable housing and health care, equal pay, and stand against violence. The YWCA hosts events, fundraisers, clubs, and activities to support their mission. The YWCA branch in Seattle is the largest and oldest nonprofit focused on the needs of women in the region.

In the early 1910s, the YWCA launched a fundraising drive to raise money to build a new headquarters at 5th Avenue and Seneca in downtown Seattle. The construction finished in 1914 and remains their headquarters today. In 1919, the Culture Club, a club for African American women established its own branch in Seattle and named it the Phyllis Wheatley Branch. In the 1930s the leader of the branch, Bertha Pitts Campbell, petitioned to have voting rights within the YWCA board, making Seattle the first integrated YWCA board in the country. The YWCA renovated their 5th and Seneca headquarters and constructed a new building for the Phyllis Wheatley Branch between 1951 and 1954. The YWCA had a jubilee year celebration in 1955, which is featured in this collection. With an ever changing society, YWCA championed social justice and equal rights since the 1960s.

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Content Description

This collection contains photographs from the Seattle branch of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) from the early 1900s to 1920s and 1950s to 1970s. It includes photographs from conferences and clubs in the 1920s, camps at Bainbridge Island and Whitehorse Mountain, the premier of the Sound of Music, exhibits the YWCA created for the Seafirst Bank Lobby for two of their conferences, the rebuilding campaign that occurred in 1955, the annual meeting booklet photographs from 1955, and the Jubilee year celebration. Includes photos of Norma Sims, Mary French Rockefeller, Grace Jones, and Mary Fite, all board members or directors in the YWCA nationally or in the Seattle branch.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Processing Note

Relocated from the YWCA Seattle-King County Records, Accession No. 3919 in the repository, in 1993.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

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Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)


2009 (Last modified: 2/16/2024)

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