Color postcard (14 x 9 cm) with a view of the Y.M.C.A. building at the southwest corner of 17th & Harney, Omaha, Nebraska. There is a YMCA sign elevated above the roofline at the northeast corner of the building. Brick buildings are seen behind. The caption Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. Buildings, Omaha, Neb. is in the top right corner.
The Omaha chapter of the Young Men's Christian Association was established in Omaha by George W. Frost, a Union Pacific purchasing agent, who led a small group to form the YMCA Association in Omaha. In 1887 they built a $90,000 structure on the southwest corner of 16th & Douglas streets. In 1904 they sold it for $200,000 to J. L. Brandeis. The YMCA then built the $300,000 structure seen here at the southwest corner of 17th & Harney streets in 1907. The building was used until the current location at the northwest corner of 20th & Howard Streets was built in 1968. YMCA is a community based service organization that provides activities and a safe alternative to street life. Sources: Becker, H. W. Omaha: A Century in Photos - Y Makes Tidy Profit from its First Building. Dundee and West Omaha Sun Newspaper 15 December 1966, p. 49.; Omaha/Council Bluffs Metropolitan YMCA website.
