On June 10th, 1929, a new $1,000,000 home of the Minneapolis Y.W.C.A. opened at Twelfth Street and Nicollet in downtown Minneapolis. The facility was considered one of the finest of its kind. The organization’s executive secretary, Harriet S. Vance opened the doors for an entire week and inviting the public and the Y.W.C.A. 34,000 members to come and inspect the structure. Amenities included a twenty-five by sixty foot swimming pool, six hundred seat hall, two gymnasiums, cafeteria and private dining rooms, rooftop tennis courts, club rooms and 24 bedrooms.
Expressions of admiration for the simplicity and colorful beauty of the new building were made constantly during the first week by the thousands of visitors who attended open house receptions to inspect the building. Every nook and corner of the structure was flooded with light and all rooms were wide open for public inspection. Sightseers were permitted to wander at will through all 8 floors of the building and each floor contained a gaggle of girls who acted as guides for the visitors.
“The building is a Minneapolis achievement,” Mrs. I. W. Kerry president of the YWCA told local reporters, “The money which made it possible was the gift of Minneapolis citizens, it is it designed by Minneapolis architects and its entire construction has been the work of Minneapolis firms, with the exception of the swimming pool contract which was given to a New York firm.”
The Y.W.C.A. building was razed in 1974.