Now partially hidden from view by trees...
Now partially hidden from view by trees and development, an impressive French-style chateau at Loma Drive and 3rd Street, near downtown, once housed more than 150 women.
No, it was not what you might think.
The chateau housed the Mary Andrews Clark YWCA, built in 1913 for $200,000 as a memorial to the mother of U.S. Sen. William Andrews Clark. A Democrat and copper baron from Montana, Clark was one of the wealthiest men in America.
The Clark residence was the second home for the Los Angeles Y, which began in May, 1893, when 11 women gathered at the First Methodist Church on Broadway. In five months, membership grew to 300. In 1907, the Y’s first building--eight stories with a swimming pool--was erected at 3rd and Spring streets.
At first, the organization was social and religious. It expanded its services when it began catering to girls who worked in stores by providing a “noon rest,” where they could eat lunch and be served a hot drink. In 1899, workers and facilities were provided at the railroad station to aid strangers to the city, particularly young girls.
When the Clark residence opened as a Y in 1913, it became a temporary home for women willing to strike out on their own. It offered private rooms with half baths, two meals a day, a basement with a bowling alley, a recreation room with a small stage; maid and linen service; shampoo, laundry and sewing rooms and a phone message service. All these amenities were provided for less than a $1 a day.
During the day, the Clark residence was patrolled by staff members. At night, the doors were locked while a watchman sat at a desk in the downstairs lobby.
Some rules never changed in 75 years: no alcohol on the premises, no men upstairs, and no wearing shorts in the recreation room. In the contract that awarded control of the house to the YWCA, the Clark family stipulated that it be used only to house working women or students who needed clean rooms at reasonable rents.
The famed Hollywood Y, which housed such starlets as Marilyn Monroe, Kim Novak and Dorothy Malone, closed in 1975. Its departure left the Clark residence the only facility of its kind in Los Angeles.
The Clarks were cautious with their gift. They wanted to ensure that the house would always be used for its intended purpose. Their stipulations--along with a $25,000 Treasury note--kept the doors open until the Whittier Narrows earthquake in October, 1987, left the house unsafe for habitation and it closed its doors.
However, the four-story building, designated a cultural monument in 1976, has been used to shoot such TV miniseries and films as “Winds of War,” “Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years,” “Rocketeer,” “Twins” and the recently released film, “Mr. Saturday Night.”
Over the years, many of the Y’s residents have held weddings there.
A nonprofit group, the Los Angeles Community Design Center, and Crescent Bay Co., a Santa Monica real estate developer, bought the YWCA building for about $3 million in 1990. The two groups have recently begun renovating it for 153 low-income housing units.
In addition to the YWCA, the Clark family left a large legacy to the city of Los Angeles--including the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The Clark home and library on West Adams Boulevard was bequeathed to UCLA.
