Y.M.C.A., Constitution Road, Dundee - Ref: WC1366
The Y.M.C.A. in Constitution Road, Dundee, (now Volunteer Centre 10 Constitution Road) originally housed the Watt Institution, built in 1840 to plans by the Edinburgh architect George Angus to accommodate their sizeable library and museum, and provide a bigger lecture hall.
It was purchased by the Young Men's Christian Association in 1871 for the sum of £3,000. In January 1874, two leading members of the Association visited the city and started to raise money for improvements to the building, which cost nearly £10,000.
In 1878, a bazaar was held to raise the £2,000 of debt outstanding, which had been cleared largely by private donation (Miss Baxter was, as usual, among the benefactors). To the left and south is Ward Chapel, on the other side is a church, now (2001) used as a music centre.
Alexander Wilson who took this photograph, was a supervisor in a Dundee jute mill for over 20 years. He bequeathed much of his collection and £50, to cover the costs involved, to the Free Library Committee of Dundee in 1923.