The YWCA Building
By Michael Bridgeman
A New Proposal
The former YWCA Building at 122 State St., which is currently vacant, may see a new redevelopment proposal. On June 16, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that JD McCormick Properties “is proposing to convert the building to apartments and ground floor commercial space.” [a] The developer made an informational presentation before the Urban Design Commission (UDC) on June 17 to share concepts for renovating the building, which include adding a seventh floor.
Concept image, 2026 [1]
No formal action was taken at the June review, said UDC secretary Jessica Vaughn. She explained that at such a presentation, “the UDC provides feedback on initial design concepts and identifies design-related considerations for the development team as they continue to make refinements and work towards a formal application and design.” [b] For example, the developer has yet to fully evaluate the condition of the building and what they learn may impact the formal application.
If a formal proposal is submitted, the Common Council will be the approving body with advisory input from the UDC and the Plan Commission. “The Landmarks Commission will not see this project as it is not a local landmark, adjacent to a local landmark or in a local historic district,” Vaughn said. The Landmarks Commission will play a role only if a demolition permit is requested.
The former YWCA in 2006 [2]
Occupancy of the building has varied since the YWCA relocated in 1987 to the old Belmont Hotel at 101 E. Mifflin St. A 2016 proposal would have replaced the YWCA and a two-story building at 118 State St. with a 110-room hotel rising to nine stories at the comer of Carroll and Dayton Streets. That proposal died and the YWCA building emptied. McCormick acquired the property in 2022 and had proposed condos at the site two years ago.
A Brief History
Prompted by the 2016 proposal, I wrote the following article about the YWCA for the Capitol Neighborhoods newsletter.
The new YWCA, circa 1923 [3]
The YWCA Building on State Street
In October [of 2016] the Wisconsin State Journal reported plans to build a $30 million boutique hotel on State Street that would require demolition of 122 State St., once home to the YWCA. The building was badly updated in the early 1970s with stucco and brick completely covering facades on State, Carroll and Dayton Streets. Side walls visible from State Street offer the only direct evidence of its past: faded signs near the roofline for the YWCA cafeteria.
It was New Year’s Day on 1919 when the public was invited to an open house for the new YWCA. Entering through the inviting lobby guests could visit the cafeteria on the first floor; upper floors included a gymnasium, club rooms, parlors, bedrooms for residents, and a pipe organ in Esther Vilas Memorial Hall.
YWCA at Carroll and Dayton Streets, 1920. [4]
The Madison YWCA earned its charter from the national organization in 1908 and had its first home on Pinckney Street in the area now occupied by the Madison Children’s Museum. Over the next few years activities were divided among multiple buildings on the west end of the Square. By 1912, the YWCA had acquired space at 122 State St. for its office, but it was several years before they engaged Harry C. Alford to design a completely new building for the site.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1902, Alford worked as a draftsman and opened his own architectural office in 1915. For the YWCA Alford looked to classical architecture and developed a handsome design with large arched openings on all three facades, regularly spaced windows, false balconies, terra cotta trim and a projecting cornice. The principal materials were stone at the base and buff-colored brick above.
A 1926 booklet for the Y noted that, “One of the chief functions of the Y.W.C.A. is to provide a safe home for girls away from home.” Permanent rooms could be had for $3.00 to $4.00 per week and transient rooms for $0.75 to $1.50 per day. Laundry privileges and free telephone service were included.
By 1918 Alford had left Madison. Fifty years later the YWCA left State Street and moved to the renovated Belmont Hotel on the Square and soon after that Alford’s design was lost to a “contemporary” update.
An Image Gallery
An online post allows for more images than a traditional print newsletter, so I offer the collection below, including several showing the interior spaces soon after the building opened in 1919.
The YWCA is in green in a 1942 fire insurance map. [5]
Two facades can be seen from the west [6]
The YWCA’s oddly shaped site is partly an artifact of Doty’s original plat of Madison. The building bends its way through a triangular block created where State Street radiates from the Capitol Square, cutting across the dominant grid. The main façade faces State Street with two additional façades at the corner of Carroll and Dayton streets. From the west, the building rises above its neighbors and shows remnants of the original cornice near the top of the long brick wall. There’s also a ghost sign for the YWCA Cafeteria.
The skywalk at Dayton and Carroll Streets [7]
A pedestrian skywalk connecting the building to the State Street-Capitol Parking Ramp was installed in the 1970s. The initial design concept presented to UDC in June retains the pedestrian bridge over Dayton Street.
The lobby on State Street, 1926 [8]
The first-floor cafeteria, 1926 [9]
The original lobby on State Street continued the Neo-Classical styling of the façades. The elliptical ceiling is framed by a simple cornice supported on paired columns and pilasters with decorated capitals. The lobby had an information center and led to administrative offices. The first-floor cafeteria was accessed through entrances on Carroll or Dayton streets; there was additional seating in a second-level balcony.
A bedroom shown in the 1926 booklet [10]
In March of 1920, soon after the new building opened, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that, “Aside from the 8 or 10 transients generally cared for at the building there are now 43 girls rooming in the house.” [c] For less than $3 a week, a roomer also had access to the parlor, laundry, and sewing rooms.
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Notes
[a] Nicole Pollack. “New Focus on Housing,” Wisconsin State Journal, June 10, 2026. p.1.
[b] Email conversation with Jessica Vaughn. June 24, 2026.
[c] “Women of Y.W.C.A. Laud Madison Home,” Wisconsin State Journal, March 14, 1920. p.2.
Image Credits
[1] Concept image submitted for June 17, 2026, UDC meeting. Knothe & Bruce Architects. https://madison.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=15584758&GUID=45FC259A-8B9F-436B-9A3D-41FA95AD87BB
[2] Wisconsin Historical Society Architecture & History Index. AHI #75755.
[3] Postcard. Postmarked 1923. Publisher unknown.
[4] Postcard. Postmarked 1920. Publisher unknown.
[5] Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. Sanborn Map Company, Vol. 1, 1942. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn09603_006/.
[6] Photo by Michael Bridgeman.
[7] Photo by Michael Bridgeman.
[8-10] The House You Own at 122 State Street. Young Women’s Christian Association. Madison, Wis. 1926.