The Young Women's Christian Association of Calgary was founded in 1907 by a group of Baptist women concerned with the hardships endured by young single women looking for accommodation in the then-predominantly male city. Many landlords at the time rented only to men because women were "too high maintenance". A small boarding house was soon rented for this purpose but quickly outgrown. In 1909, in a brief 6 months, these influential women raised $23,000 towards the purchase of six city lots. In 1911 the new facility at 223 12th Avenue SW was opened and the building filled immediately. It housed 60 women, served 260 meals a day and showers cost 25 cents. This brick and sandstone building is representative of the pre-WWI building methods of the time. The restrained use of classical elements such as pilasters, dentils, quoins and pediment make it a fine Calgary example of Institutional Georgian Revival. An annex was built in 1954 on the east side of the building to house a swimming pool and gymnasium. The building functioned in its original capacity until 1971, when the YWCA moved to its current downtown location. In 1982 the Old YWCA building was declared an Alberta Provincial Historic Resource. The YWCA is the oldest social service building in the city and today it is used as office space for several not-for-profit organizations.