Frank A. VanZant, photographer

Collection of the Historical Society of Princeton

‌In the early twentieth-century, in racially divided Princeton, the Witherspoon branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association served as a focal point for the town’s African-American men and boys. Located on the corner of Witherspoon and Green Streets, the building began to serve the members around 1917.

By 1930, according to a survey of the Witherspoon Y branch, this building inadequately served the needs of its members. It was described as having “many limitations for the kind of work to which it is devoted.” The top floor featured a pool room with two tables; the first floor had a long room with a piano, checker boards, and magazines; and a basement available for group meetings.