Butler Street YMCA

Built 1920 

Known as the “black city hall,” the Butler Street YMCA was an integral part of black communal life in Atlanta. Architectural firm Hentz, Reid, and Adler designed the 10,000 square-foot space and Alexander D. Hamilton, a prominent Black builder, erected the edifice in 1920. The YMCA location provided the Black community in Downtown Atlanta with a place to congregate and enjoy amenities such as a swimming pool, restaurant, running track, lunch counter, game room, gymnasium, and dormitories. Notable former members of the Butler Street YMCA include Vernon Jordan, Jesse Hill Jr., Maynard Jackson, and Martin Luther King Jr.