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City Within a City
Greater U Street Heritage Trail
6 A Home Away From Home
The Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage occupies the historic Italian Renaissance-style building of the 12th Street YMCA, known after 1972 as the Anthony Bowen YMCA.
The 12th Street YMCA was the first African American YMCA in the nation, formed in 1853 by Anthony Bowen, a former slave who became a civic leader in the nation's capital and a member of the city's Common Council. This YMCA met in various places for decades until it raised $100,000 to build this structure between 1907 and 1912. The architect was Sidney W. Pittman, one of America's first African American architects, and the son-in-Law of Booker T. Washington. President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone in 1908.
The 12th Street YMCA became a community center for Black Washingtonians from around the city. It was a place to play sports, learn to swim, meet friends, start organizations and mobilize for a cause, including the planning of important civil rights initiatives. For many, including travelers in segregated Washington and Howard University students, the Y dormitories were a home away from home. For youth, it was a place to find role models.
Poet Langston Hughes lived here in the early 1920s while he was writing his first poetry. Dr. Charles Drew, who pioneered the preservation of blood plasma, was an active member. The basketball skills of Coach John Thompson of Georgetown University were discovered here, and world heavyweight champion Joe Louis was a frequent visitor.
Today, the building, owned by The Thurgood Marshall Center Trust, is the headquarters of the Shaw Heritage Trust, For Love of Children and other organizations that make it, once again, a center of community activity. It is named for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who met here with colleagues to develop legal strategies for the landmark Brown v. Board of Education civil rights case. The U Street/Shaw Heritage Museum and Exhibitions just inside the front door will tell you more. |