The Los Angeles Conservancy is excited to come to San Pedro on Sunday, November 11 to explore the YWCA designed by Julia Morgan in 1918! 

California’s first licensed female architect, Julia Morgan is often recognized for her work on high-profile landmarks such as Hearst Castle and the Herald-Examiner Building. Yet she also extensively worked with the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), for whom she designed more than thirty buildings. It is appropriate that Morgan, who made many strides for women in the field of architecture, would design buildings programmed to serve women.

One of these buildings, the YWCA in San Pedro, was designed by Morgan in 1918. Conceived during World War I by the YWCA’s War Work Council as a Hostess House for “women friends and relatives of the army and navy,” the facility soon became a Girls’ Hospitality House, providing food, shelter, and recreation facilities for young women working in the area. In 1921, local citizens purchased the building and applied for and received incorporation as an official branch of the YWCA.

It still serves as a YWCA today and during its ninety-year history has provided countless resources for women, including educational courses, child care, health and fitness information, and support for battered women.

In 1978, the building was designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #186.

The program will include an expert panel presentation examining Morgan’s relationship with the YWCA and its impact on the community, as well as a semi-guided tour of the facility, and a reception with light refreshments.

This event is part of the Julia Morgan 2012 Festival organized by the Landmarks California Committee.

Hope to see you there!

Details and Tickets:
lac.laconservancy.org/pedro