A Sanctuary for Temperance and Study
The Women's Christian Temperance Union opens a free reading room to provide young men an alternative to the saloon.
On First street just south of Mrs. Mays' store is located a free reading room which is open day and evening, offering a quiet and pleasant place for young men to spend their leisure hours. The reading room was established and is supported by the Young Womans Christian Temperance Union, and, while it is only the nucleus of what they hope to make it, they invite strangers as well as citizens to visit it. The Union is now seeking to extend its field of usefulness and propose, if they can get the support of Yakima's citizens, to build a temple costing $5,000 in which will be located a library, reading room, and lecture hall.
“Offering a quiet and pleasant place for young men to spend their leisure hours.”
The WCTU's push for 'moral' civic spaces was a precursor to the Prohibition movement, reflecting a battle for the soul of the growing railroad town. Today, this push for public, non-commercial space in Yakima continues through our modern library and community center systems.
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