San Francisco Central YMCA
historic place
The San Francisco Central YMCA, located at 220 Golden Gate Avenue, is a historic place in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. This nine-story Renaissance Revival-style building was completed around 1909. U.S. President William Howard Taft presided over its groundbreaking in 1908. Designed by the McDougall Brothers, it replaced an earlier YMCA structure destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire. As California's oldest surviving YMCA building, it served as the organization's headquarters. The San Francisco YMCA, founded in 1853, offered social, recreational, and educational programs. Its night classes, established from the 1880s, led to the development of Golden Gate University, which operated here until 1967. The building's significance lies in its architecture and its role in providing community services. After the YMCA moved, the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation acquired the building in 2007. It was renovated and reopened in 2012 as the Kelly Cullen Community, providing permanent housing for the formerly homeless while preserving many original architectural features. This site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.