MSS 379 - FEMA - YWCA of Greater New Orleans Collection: Inventory

FEMA – YWCA of Greater New Orleans COLLECTION

(Mss 379)

Inventory

Earl K. Long Library

University of New Orleans

March 2012

 

Summary

 

Size:                           0.2 linear foot

Geographic

locations:                 New Orleans, Louisiana

Inclusive dates:      November 2010 – March 2011

Summary:                 Materials (chiefly photographs by L. Hannah) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) documenting extensive damage by Hurricane Katrina to the building at 6-1 South Jefferson David Parkway in New Orleans.  This structure was the main building of the New Orleans Chapter of the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association.

Related

collections:              FEMA – Duncan Plaza Collection (Mss 351); FEMA – Xavier Cabrini Church Collec­tion (Mss 352); FEMA – Jackson Barracks Collection (Mss 360); FEMA – Andrew H. Wilson Elementary School Collection (Mss 361); FEMA – Charles J. Colton School Collection (Mss 362); FEMA – George Washington Carver Middle and High School Collection (Mss 363); FEMA – New Orleans City Park Corral/Maintenance Facility Collection (Mss 267); FEMA—Christian Community Youth Against Drugs Structures Collection (Mss 380)

Source:                     Gift, March 2012

Access:                     No restrictions

Copyright:                Physical rights are retained by the Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans.

Citation:                    FEMA – YMCA of Greater New Orleans Collection, Earl K. Long Library, University of New Orleans

 

Historical Note

 

            The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) evolved from the Prayer Union, founded by s group of young women in the United Kingdom in 1855 to pray for each other and generally for those of their age group and gender. In 1877 the group merged with the Association for Girls, which provided suitable accommodations for single women who were traveling, especially nurses going between London and the Crimea.  By the 1870s the organization had spread to the United States, with chapters in  New York and Boston.  Additional chapters grew up around the country.

 

            In 1910, Abby Richmond, formerly a teacher at Newcomb High School, and Louise Krause, a librarian at Tulane University, petitioned the national headquarters to form a New Orleans branch and were granted a charter on April 5, 1911.  Soon after being chartered, the group acquired facilities at 920 Common Street, furnishing rooms with donations and outfitting a clubroom through the generosity of the Maison Blanche Department Store.  Initially, the local YWCA offered rooms, food, and a gymnasium.

 

            During the next decades, the organization grew, moving several times, expanding its facilities and its services.  Racial segregation occurred during the 1960s, and in 1966 the Archdiocese of New Orleans permitted Catholics to join.  In the early 1970s, the YWCA acquired the building at 501 South Jefferson David Parkway and consolidated its operations there.  Commissioned by the American Beverage Company and designed by Diboll, Kessels & Associates in 1941, the unornamented building probably was constructed as a garage and later used as a warehouse.  Extensive alterations were required to make it suitable for the YWCA’s purposes.

 

            Flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) and its aftermath temporarily displaced the YWCA and its services.  The group directed its efforts to a recovery mission: “to rebuild the physical structure of the agency, to maintain visibility in the community, and [to] rebuild board and membership capacity in the Greater New Orleans area.”  It supports the national organization’s current mission statement: “The YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.”

 

Source:  R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates.  Short Narrative History of the YWCA Main Building and the YWCA of Greater New Orleans.  New Orleans: R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, March 2011.

 

 

List of Series

 

Series I.  Textual documentation

 

Series II.  Photographic documentation by L. Hannah, October 26, 2010

 

 

Container List

 

Series I.  Textual documentation

 

Folder 1

 

379-1              R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates.  Short Narrative History of the YWCA Main Building and the YWCA of Greater New Orleans.  New Orleans: R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, March 2011.

 

Series II.  Photographic documentation by L. Hannah, October 26, 2010

 

Folder 2

 

379-2        Interior – lobby, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing southeast.

 

379-3        Interior – south corner, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing south.

 

379-4        Interior – steel framing of roof, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA …

 

379-5        Interior – view to north from south corner, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA …

 

379-6        Interior – view to southeast from northeast corner, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing southeast

 

379-7        Intersection of South Jeff[erson] Davis and D’Hemecourt streets, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing northwest

 

379-8        Northeast elevation, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing south

 

379-9        Northwest elevation, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing south

 

379-10     Oblique view – D’Hemecourt Street elevation, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing west

 

379-11     Oblique – S. Jefferson Davis Pkwy. elevation, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing west

 

379-12     Southeast elevation, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing east

 

379-13     Southwest elevation, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing east

 

379-14     View towards S. Jefferson Davis Pkwy. neutral ground, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing east

 

379-15     View of YWCA from S. Jefferson Davis Pkwy. neutral ground, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing north

 

379-16     View of D’Hemecourt St. elevation and adjacent neutral ground, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing southeast

 

379-17     View of YWCA from S. Jefferson Davis Pkwy. neutral ground, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing west

 

379-18     View of S. Clark building at rear of D’Hemecourt St. elevation, YWCA, 601 South Jefferson Davis Parkway. Mid-City NRHD, Orleans Parish, LA … facing west

 

Folder 3

 

379-19     CD containing images listed above

 

 

Index Terms

 

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Hannah, L.

Hurricane Katrina, 2005

Young Women’s Christian Association (New Orleans, La.)