Oregon Historic Sites Database

Search Menu

Site Information small logo

Oregon Historic Sites Database

Scanned Document Links

Inventory Form
NR Nomination

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:6 N Tillamook St historic name:Williams Avenue YWCA
Portland, Multnomah County current/other names:Billy Webb Elks Lodge, Colored YMCA, Young Women's Christian Association; Williams Avenue Center
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:1N 1E 27
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS
resource type:Building height (stories):1.5 total elig resources:1 total inelig resources:0
elig evaluation: eligible/significant NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:1927 second date:2008 date indiv listed:07/01/2020
primary orig use: Meeting Hall orig use comments:Recreation & Culture: Sports Facility; Recreation & Culture: Auditorium
second orig use:
primary style: Colonial Revival prim style comments:
secondary style: Late 19th/20th Period Revivals: Other sec style comments:
primary siding: Shingle siding comments:
secondary siding: Wood:Other/Undefined
plan type: architect:James DeYoung and Knud Roald
builder:
comments/notes:
9-11-2021: Fire damage to the building. RTO
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Survey/Grouping Included In: Type of Grouping Date Listed Date Compiled
   African American Resources in Portland, Oregon from 1851 to 1973 MPS 07/01/2020 2020
   Women's History Sites Thematic Grouping 2012
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: 07/01/2020
ILS survey date: 03/01/2018
RLS survey date: 05/12/2016
Gen file date: 01/18/2019
106 Project(s)
SHPO Case Date Agency Effect Eval
17-1520 01/18/2019 no adverse effect
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
The Williams Avenue YWCA, currently the Billy Webb Elks Lodge #1050, is a one-and-a-half-story, 3,468-square-foot building located at the southwest corner of N Tillamook Street and N Williams Avenue in Portland’s Eliot neighborhood. Its immediate setting is characterized by small-scale commercial buildings and dwellings constructed between the late nineteenth and late twentieth centuries. The subject building was constructed in 1926 in the Colonial Revival Style. It is generally rectangular in plan and features a side-gabled roof with three gabled wall dormers along the primary (north) façade. Above its concrete foundation, the exterior of the building is clad in wood shingles, with simple wood belt courses marking the first and second floor levels on all four elevations. Non-original concrete stairs and a concrete ramp lead to the main entry, which consists of paired doors beyond an arched opening surmounted by a parapet. With a few exceptions, the building’s fenestration consists of double-hung, wood-sash windows. Apart from the entry stairs and ramp, exterior modifications are limited to select window replacement, addition of shingle cladding at the attic, replacement of all doors, and partial truncation of the chimney. The interior of the building, which includes a lobby, lounge and bar area, kitchen, dining hall and auditorium, and various offices and meeting spaces, has been more substantially altered; while the basic configuration of the first floor remains intact, the interior retains few original finishes. Despite modifications to the interior and exterior of the building, however, the resource retains integrity of location, setting, feeling, and association, and it retains integrity of materials, design, and workmanship with regard to its minimally-altered exterior. The building’s exterior character-defining features include its one-and-a-half-story height, general massing plan, side-gabled roof with gabled wall dormers on the primary façade, wood shingle cladding, external brick chimney, multi-light wood windows, and recessed primary entrance with Colonial Revival detailing. Character-defining features in the building’s interior include the wood floors in the lounge and auditorium, the auditorium stage, and the basic configuration of the first floor.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The 1926 Williams Avenue Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) building, currently Billy Webb Elks Lodge #1050, is nominated under the African American Resources in Portland, Oregon, 1851-1973 Multiple Property Document (MPD). The Williams Avenue YWCA building meets all of the general and property specific registration requirements established by the MPD, and it is locally significant under Criterion A in the areas of Ethnic Heritage/Black, Social History/Civil Rights, Social History/Women’s History, and Entertainment/Recreation for its significance as a community gathering space and as host to a variety of African American social, political, educational, and civil rights groups in the period 1926 to 1973. The period of significance is 1926 to ¬¬¬¬1973, beginning with the building’s date of construction and ending with the conclusion of the Emanuel Hospital Urban Renewal Project, which permanently impacted the African American community in inner Northeast Portland and altered the setting of the property. At a time when many community groups and public spaces excluded people of color, the building at 6 N Tillamook St. offered a dedicated place for African American organizations to gather for socialization, recreation, and activism. The early history of the property has a special association with African American women’s history, as the site was developed by the African American branch of the YWCA; the organization’s affiliation with the property stretches back to 1921, before the current building was constructed, and continued for more than thirty-five years. The Portland branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) located its offices in the basement of the building from 1956 through 1964, and the Oregon Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, Urban League of Portland, and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) also held gatherings in its meeting rooms, auditorium, and lounge space. After more than nine decades of continuous association with Portland’s African American community, the building remains owned and occupied by a historically African American organization (the Billy Webb Elks of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks of the World, or IBPOEW) as of late 2019.
RESEARCH INFORMATION
Title Records Census Records Property Tax Records Local Histories
Sanborn Maps Biographical Sources SHPO Files Interviews
Obituaries Newspapers State Archives Historic Photographs
City Directories Building Permits State Library
Local Library: University Library:
Historical Society:Oregon Historical Society Other Respository:
Bibliography:
“2 Candidates Asked to Speak.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Oct. 20, 1956. Abbott, Carl. “Vanport.” The Oregon Encyclopedia. Last modified Mar. 17, 2018. https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/vanport/#.WrA-dujwaUk. “Attendance at Luncheons Show Large Increase.” The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, OR), Aug. 1, 1920. “Attorney Post Given Luckey.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Jan. 30, 1954. “Billy Webb Elks Lodge.” Williams District. Accessed Oct. 4, 2019. williamsdistrict.com/directory/listing/billy-webb-elks-lodge. “The Black Elks, a Home Away from Home.” African American Registry. Accessed Sept. 22, 2019. https://aaregistry.org/story/the-black-elks-a-home-away-from-home/. Brandimarte, Cynthia. “Women on the Home Front: Hostess Houses during World War I.” Winterthur Portfolio 42, no. 4 (2008): 201-222. Brown, Nikki. Private Politics and Public Voices: Black Women’s Activism from World War I to the New Deal. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, 2006. “Building Begins on Branch Y.W.C.A: Williams Avenue Structure to Replace Portable, Many Features Planned.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Jan. 24, 1926. Burell, Raymond, III. “The Historic Site of the Billy Webb Elks Lodge Hall, Portland, Oregon.” Unpublished, 2019. Copies available from the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Portland, OR. Butler, Anne S. “Black Fraternal and Benevolent Societies in Nineteenth-Century America.” In African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision, edited by Tamara L. Brown, Gregory Parks, and Clarenda M. Phillips, 66-94. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2005. “City Exhorted on Tolerance: Saal Lesser Talks to NAACP Parley.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Feb. 20, 1950. “City News in Brief: Renewal Problems Discussed.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Apr. 27, 1957. “City News in Brief: Special Film Slated.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Dec. 10, 1956. “Civil Rights Chance Seen: Sweetland, Roth Talk to NAACP.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Feb. 16, 1953. “Civil Rights Group Meets.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 15, 1949. “Civil Rights Parley Nears: Meeting to Push Ballot Proposal.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Sept. 17, 1950. “Colored Girls Helped.” The Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 21, 1920. “Colored Girls’ Y.W.C.A. Branch Will Open Today: Program to Celebrate Launching of Community House in New Building on Williams Avenue.” The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, OR), Oct. 16, 1921. “Colored Women Form State Federation of Clubs.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Jan. 21, 1917. “CORE Agent to Appear Here in Behalf of Racial Issues.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Feb. 19, 1957. “Cornerstone to Be Laid: Ceremony Will be Held at New Y.W.C.A. Branch.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 21, 1926. “Costume Ball Benefit Slated.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), February 5, 1970. “Elks Group to Reward Student Orator.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), May 22, 1968. “Elks Lodge Rummage Sale Set.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), May 12, 1965. “Elks to Hold Talent Event.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Apr. 11, 1961. “Elks to Stage Speech Contest.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), May 24, 1963. Evans, Gail E. H. and T. Allan Comp. “New Heathman Hotel.” National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, 1984. “Event Dated by NAACP: Court Ruling Wins Observance.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), May 18, 1957. “Freedom Awards Presented to Three for Efforts in Cause of Democracy.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 27, 1952. “Freedom Tea YWCA Affair.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Apr. 15, 1956. Fryer, Heather. “Race, Industry, and the Aesthetics of a Changing Community in World War II Portland.” The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 96, no. 1 (Winter 2004/2005): 3-13. Galbraith, Catherine, Darrell Millner, Carl Abbott, Quintard Taylor, McKinley Burt, Kimberly Moreland, Kristen Stallman, Marianne Kadas, and Diane Awalt. Cornerstones of Community: Buildings of Portland’s African American History. Portland, OR: Bosco-Milligan Foundation, 1998. Galbraith, Catherine, Brandon Spencer-Hartle, Caitlyn Ewers, Kerrie Franey, and Matthew Davis. African American Resources in Portland, Oregon, from 1851 to 1973 (Multiple Property Documentation Form). Forthcoming. “Gay Party at Billy Webb No. 1050.” Northwest Defender (Portland, OR), Feb. 6, 1964. Gibson, Campbell and Kay Jung. “Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals by Race, 1790 to 1990, and by Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, for Large Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau, 2005. Gies, Martha. “Historic Elks Lodge Grateful for Volunteers.” Eliot Neighborhood Association (Portland, OR), July 21, 2009, https://eliotneighborhood.org/2009/07/21/historic-elks-lodge-grateful-for-volunteers/. ----------. “Two Ladies Named Collins.” Eliot Neighborhood Association (Portland, OR), July 21, 2009, https://eliotneighborhood.org/2009/07/21/two-ladies-named-collins/. “Group Fights Selection of Gill to Federal Position.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Oct. 18, 1953. Hine, Darlene Clark. “African American Women and Their Communities in the Twentieth Century: The Foundation and Future of Black Women’s Studies.” Black Women, Gender, and Families 1, no. 1 (2007): 1-23. “History.” Billy Webb Elks Lodge. Last modified 2018. http://billywebbelkslodge.com/. “Hostess House Opened: Y.W.C.A. Building at Camp Lewis is Beautiful, Prominent Women of Pacific Northwest Are Present at Notable Social Gathering.” The Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), Nov. 12, 1917. “Housing Theme.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 21, 1953. Hull, Carrie R. and Linda T. Wynn. “Blue Triangle YWCA (1919-1974).” In Profiles of African Americans in Tennessee, edited by Bobby L. Lovett and Linda T. Wynn, 8-10. Nashville, TN: Tennessee State University, 1996. “In Negro Exhibition.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), May 16, 1943. “Judge to Speak.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 18, 1961. Kroll, C. Douglas. “Warren Gill, Oregon’s Forgotten Navy Cross Hero.” The Maritime Executive, Dec. 3, 2019. Leeson, Fred. “Billy Webb Elks Lodge.” The Oregon Encyclopedia. Last modified Sept. 19, 2019. https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/billy_webb_elks_lodge/#.XYTyBm5FwaU. Leslie, LaVonne. The History of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, Inc.: A Legacy of Service. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris, 2012. eBook. “Local N.A.A.C.P.” The Advocate (Portland, OR), Nov. 6, 1926. “Lost Portland.” Oregon Historical Society. Accessed Oct. 11, 2019. https://ohs.org/museum/exhibits/lost-portland.cfm. “Lynch Protest Due.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Aug. 17, 1946. McLagan, Elizabeth. A Peculiar Paradise: A History of Blacks in Oregon, 1788-1940. Athens, GA: The Georgian Press, 1980. ----------. “Sober, Industrious, and Honest.” In Reading Portland: The City in Prose, edited by John Trombold and Peter Donahue, 219-224. Portland, OR: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2006. “Meeting Notices: Billy Webb Elks Lodge No 1050.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Apr. 28, 1967. “Meetings.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Feb. 12, 1946. Miller, Marian. “Flood Makes Real Problem for Children.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 7, 1948. Millner, Darrell. “Blacks in Oregon (Essay).” The Oregon Encyclopedia. Last modified July 10, 2019. https://oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/blacks_in_oregon/#.XZObRW5FxaQ. “Models Set for Display: NAACP Plans Fashion Show.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Sept. 28, 1956. Moreland, Kimberly S., Julia Bunch Gisler, Jean Hester, Richard Bellinger, Susan Gregory, and Dora Asana. History of Portland’s African American Community (1805 to the Present). Portland, OR: City of Portland Bureau of Planning, 1993. Mowrey, Freda Goodrich. “Race Relations Day Program Arranged: Vesper Service at Y.W.C.A Sunday Will Mark Nationwide Observance of Event; Several to Speak.” The Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), Feb. 12, 1932. “Mrs. E. S. Collins Donor of Branch Y.W.C.A.: $12,000 Building Being Provided for Negro Members.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Jan. 31, 1926. Murdock, Rose. M. “The Persistence of Black Women at the Williams Avenue YWCA.” Indiana University Press 15, no. 3 (2003): 190-196. Murdock, Rose M. and Patricia A. Schechter. “What Strategies Did African-American Use to Achieve Their Goals and Fulfill Their Needs through the YWCA in Portland?” Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000. No date. http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/portywca/aawomen/aawomen.htm. “NAACP Aims to Boost Roll.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Apr. 22, 1955 “NAACP Branch Prepares Drive.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Apr. 2, 1950. “NAACP Books Tacoma Lawyer.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Nov. 16, 1957. “Negro Center to Open Soon: USO Quarters Ready for Use.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Oct. 27, 1942. “NAACP Honors Woman.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Apr. 20, 1959. “Negro Fraternal Leader Says Housing Key Issue.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Apr. 13, 1963. “Negro Girls Want ‘Y’: Drive to be Launched for $5000 for Building and Equipment.” The Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 23, 1920. “Negro Group to Meet.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 21, 1943. “Negro Leader Coming: Williams Pickens to Speak before Colored People’s Association.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 25, 1928 “Negro Notable in Town: William Pickens Here from East to Deliver Address.” The Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 30, 1928. “‘Negro’ Topic of Y.W.C.A.: Open House Series Planned This Week,” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), May 16, 1943. “Negro Y.W.C.A. Ready: Dedication Next Sunday of Williams Avenue Branch, New Building Gift of Mrs. E. S. Collins, to Be Scene of General Program.” The Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 11, 1926. “Negro Youth on Honor List.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 9, 1947. “Negroes Should Be Asset, Says Mabel Bird [sic]: Association Secretary Tells of Work Being Done in Portland.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 4, 1923. “New Buildings Planned: Marshfield and North Bend to Get Large Structures.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 14, 1926. “New Headquarters of NAACP Workers.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 29, 1956. “New Portland Elk Lodge is Set Up.” The Northwest Enterprise (Portland, OR), April 2, 1940. “New Push for Vocational Education Revealed by McCall in Albina Talk.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Jan. 15, 1967. “Petitions Seek Negro Freedom.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), May 7, 1963. “Portland Chapter of NAACP Cancels Plan to Picket Unions in Demand for Dock Jobs.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Sept. 6, 1963. “Presto Change.” Cayton’s Weekly (Seattle, WA), Aug. 31, 1918. “Promoting equal protection and equal opportunity for people of color.” YWCA. Accessed Oct. 11, 2019. https://www.ywca.org/what-we-do/our-mission-in-action/racial-justice-civil-rights/. “Prize Essays to Be Printed.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Dec. 6, 1952. “Racial Topics Are Given: Speakers Discuss Problems at Banquet Meeting.” The Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 1, 1932. “Reconciliation Leader Booked.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Feb. 18, 1949. “Relief Agencies, Neighbors Feed and House Refugees.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 1, 1948. “Right of Negroes to Build Upheld: City Lacks Power to Curb Construction, Attorney Gives Opinion.” The Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), Aug. 30, 1921. Ritz, Richard Ellison. Architects of Oregon: A Biographical Dictionary of Architects Deceased – 19th and 20th Centuries. Portland, OR: Lair Hill Publishing, 2002. Robertson, Nancy Marie. Christian Sisterhood, Race Relations, and the YWCA, 1906-46. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2007. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, Sheet 645, Dec. 1950. New York, NY: Sanborn Map Company, 1950. Shoemaker, Mervin. “Senator Warren Gill’s Opposition to State Civil Rights Law Draws Rebukes, Defense—GOP Delays Attorney Choice.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Oct. 11, 1953. Skocpol, Theda and Jennifer Lynn Oser. “Organization Despite Adversity: The Origins and Development of African American Fraternal Associations.” Social Science History 28, no. 3, Special Issue: African American Fraternal Associations and the History of Civil Society in the United States (Fall 2004): 367-437. “Support Given to Basic Bill.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Oct. 16, 1950. Thompson, Margaret. “Uncle Sam’s Homesick Colored Boys Find Haven on Williams Avenue.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Oct. 19, 1943. Tucker, Kathy. “Portland Chapter NAACP 50th Anniversary.” Oregon History Project. Last modified 2002. https://oregonhistoryproject.org/articles/historical-records/portland-chapter-naacp-50th-anniversary/. “USO Centers Attract Many.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Aug. 8, 1943. “USO Greets Negro Troops: 140 Reach City from Pendleton.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Nov. 7, 1942. “Unions Draw NAACP Fire,” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Jan. 16, 1956. “Urban League to Discuss Racial Economic Problem.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Dec. 13, 1956. “Urban League to Hear Report.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), Oct. 10, 1951. “Urban Units Swap Ideas.” The Oregonian (Portland, OR), May 29, 1951. Woolley, Jeana. “Reconciliation Project: The Emanuel Hospital Urban Renewal Project.” Portland, OR: City of Portland Housing Bureau, 2012. “Y Branch Greets New Secretary.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Jan. 24. 1943. “Y.W. Assists Colored Branch of Organization.” The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, OR), July 3, 1921. “Y.W. Cornerstone Laid: New Structure to House Negro Branch.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), Mar. 28, 1926. “Y.W.C.A. Branch Opens: Building Devoted to Work among Negroes, Dedicatory Sermon Preached by Bishop J.W. Martin of Los Angeles.” The Morning Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 14, 1926. “YWCA Names Mrs. Jackson to Associate Director Post.” The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), June 2, 1946. “The Young Women’s Christian Organization (YWCA).” VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project. Aug. 17, 2014. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/youth/young-womens-christian-association/. Archives Billy Webb Elks Lodge Building Records (Portland, OR) Davies Family Research Library (Oregon Historical Society, Portland, OR) Multnomah County Property Records (Multnomah County Recorder’s Office, Portland, OR) Portland YWCA Archives (Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR)