YMCA Building

The YMCA Building was a 10-story building constructed in 1911 for the YMCA of Birmingham. It was located at 526 20th Street North, across from the Molton Hotel. It served the organization until 1985 when the current downtown YMCA opened. The building was demolished for construction of the AmSouth-Harbert Plaza, which was completed in 1989.

The YMCA Building was designed by Wheelock & Wheelock architects and cost $250,000 to construct. The 1st and 2nd floor included a swimming pool, lunch room, lobby, reading rooms, changing rooms, showers, lockers, coat check, offices and kitchen, with access to an existing gymnasium structure at the rear. The 3rd floor had its own entrance from 20th Street and was designated for boys' programs with separate facilities. The fifth and sixth floor held the library, meeting rooms, club rooms, additional staff offices, and a 300-seat lecture hall which could be expanded with movable walls for large banquets. Floors six through ten, accessible by elevator, were divided into sleeping rooms for single men.

References

• "Plans Accepted for New Y.M.C.A. Building---To Cost $250,000" (September 1910) Jemison Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 5, p. 5