Wheeling, West Virginia, has a rich tapestry of history as the state’s first capital. Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains along the Ohio River, Wheeling was an industrial powerhouse known as the “nail city,” supplying cut nails to the entire nation. By 1910, the city’s population surged to over 41,000, and its thriving industry played a pivotal role in supporting World War I. However, at this time, Wheeling, like many American cities, was under the shadow of segregation, with Jim Crow laws deeply ingrained into the societal fabric and dictating accessibility to locations and services based on race. Amidst this complex socio-political landscape, the YWCA Wheeling was established in 1906, initially operating from a rented space on an adjacent block before construction on their permanent and current location at 1100 Chapline Street was completed in 1915.

Despite the segregation laws of the time, the YWCA Wheeling emerged as a beacon of progressive ideals. While not untouched by the era’s legal constraints, the organization made it a priority to champion equal access regardless of race. In their early years, they actively campaigned and fundraised to extend their protective services and advocacy to African American girls and women, serving as a testament to their commitment to social justice.

By 1921, the YWCA Wheeling successfully established the Blue Triangle Branch in a neighboring building to serve the African American members of the community. Both organizations worked together serving the women and children of Wheeling until 1956 when the YWCA integrated the Blue Triangle Branch into its Chapline Street headquarters.

For more than a century, the YWCA Wheeling has been operating from this historic location, growing its programs, and continuing to support the women and families of Wheeling. The building, steeped in history and resilience, now requires essential repairs and upgrades to ensure the YWCA can continue its mission into the future.

Nestled between the waters of Chesapeake Bay and the farmland of the Eastern Shore, The Phillips Packing Company utilized these nearby resources to become a leading cannery in the United States. As the company grew, it acquired its final building in 1930, one of the largest factories in Cambridge, Maryland. “Factory F,” as it was known, became the headquarters for the company’s successful tomato operation, where they soon became a global name as the largest producer of canned tomatoes in the world.

The company also extended its goods to the war effort, becoming the main supplier of individual canned and pre-cooked meals (known as C-rations) to soldiers during World Wars I and II. In the 1930s, it also supplied food and provisions to Antarctic explorers. These successes put Cambridge on the map, and the community reaped the benefits.

At one point, the Phillips Packing Company employed about a quarter of the population of Cambridge. It was also one of the few desegregated employers; anyone and everyone was welcome to work in the hustle of the factories.

The Phillips Packing Company continued to be an economic staple, eventually expanding into trucking and oil before it was finally sold to Consolidated Foods (now a Sara Lee Corporation) in the 1960s. Factory F was the only remaining production building from the Phillips Packing Company empire.

The historic 54,000 square-foot Webster School opened in 1921 to support Pontiac’s population boom as tens of thousands flocked from the south to work in the rapidly growing automotive manufacturing industry that originally put the city on the map. The building was designed by Perkins, Fellows, and Hamilton, who were known for going over budget to create particularly ornate architectural designs and responsible for other local landmarks such as Lincoln Park Zoo. It originally featured 26 classrooms, a combination gym and auditorium, and an ornate foyer, all on five acres of land.

Originally an all-white school, Webster was desegregated in the 1970s and one of several schools made to participate in a bussing program after a historic lawsuit between the NAACP and the local school district. Already in a population decline as residents moved from the aging city center, the school was eventually closed in 2008 after nearly 90 years of operation.

It sat vacant for over 10 years until Micah 6 Community, the project sponsor, purchased the building in 2016 to serve as the new location for the mixed-use community-centered nonprofit hub.

In 1925 B. G. Collier, head of the African American Grand Lodge of the Knights of Pythias, purchased lots in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The Hill District is often referred to as Pittsburgh’s Harlem, due to its historically rich cultural and artistic environment that remains prevalent to the present day. In 1927, Collier commissioned prominent African American Architect Louis A. S. Bellinger of Pittsburgh, to build the Pythian Temple, a fraternal lodge and commercial building for Black construction workers to enjoy community events, music, and more. Bellinger was working as one of only sixty black architects in the United States in the 1930s. Located at 2007-2013 Centre Avenue, the three-story building designed in a Tudor Revival style was completed in 1928 and became one of the largest and most prominent secular buildings in the Hill District. 

Bellinger’s architectural vision for the Temple formed the blueprint for the Temple’s transformation in 1937 when Harry Hendel, a promoter and theater owner, bought the Temple and remodeled it as a commercial theater. After the transformation, the building was known as the New Granada Theater. The first floor became a commercial movie theater while the second floor housed a ballroom with a stage where jazz greats played. Harlem musicians touring from New York City to Chicago would stop at the New Granada theater to play on the second-floor stage. Jazz legends such as Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington all played at the Theater during its prime.  

Through the decades, the Theater’s popularity slowly declined, and it was finally closed in the mid-1970s. During a period of vacancy between its closure and 1990, the interior suffered extensive damage after the roof collapsed. In 1990, Hill CDC purchased the Theater to save it from demolition. Since then, Hill CDC has committed itself to restoring the New Granada Theater to a place of prominence and cultural enrichment in the Hill District.