Young Women’s Christian Association
El Paso, Texas

Description: Young Women’s Christian Association Home
Other Names: none
Address: 541 West Missouri Avenue at Coldwell Street, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas
Type: fraternal; women’s residence
Original Client: Board of Directors, Young Women’s Christian Association, El Paso
Date: 1910
Condition: demolished

Architect or Firm: Henry C. Trost
Associated Architect or Firm: Trost & Trost
Contractors:
Dimensions and Orientation: three stories; in 1922, 55 women residents and a house mother were accommodated
Budget/Cost:

Foundation: stone
Wall Materials: brick
Roofing Materials: flat
Other Materials Used: wood trim
Remodeling and Additions:

Location of Drawings: none known to exist
Location of Documentary Photographs: El Paso Public Library: 353, perspective view

Bibliography: (1) El Paso Chamber of Commerce, Prosperity and Opportunities in El Paso and El Paso’s Territory the 1911 Report of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce (El Paso: Chamber of Commerce, 1911) (page 34: photograph of exterior)
(2) El Paso Herald, August 26, 1916, Home Beautiful Section, page 8 (describes the Y. W. C. A. at 541 Missouri as a large boarding house, and adds that a general office, gymnasium and lunch room are at another location)
(3) Women’s Club Life Active in El Paso, El Paso Herald, January 28, 1922, page 10-A (exterior of the boarding home of the Y. W. C. A. as part of a montage of women’s club buildings)

Remarks: In the Ponsford Collection, El Paso Public Library, is a copy of letter from Mrs. H. B. Durkee, Corresponding Secretary for the organization, to Messrs. Trost & Trost, dated April 25, 1910, stating that construction has begun according to plans furnished by you. Coldwell Street had earlier been Davis Street; before it was Davis Street, it had been Fisher Street.

Prepared for the El Paso Public Library by Lloyd C. and June F. Engelbrecht under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1990