Woman's Improvement Club Clubhouse

The Woman's Improvement Club Clubhouse in Corona, California, at 1101 S. Main St., was built in 1913. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.[1]

Woman's Improvement Club Clubhouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	1101 S. Main St., Corona, California
Coordinates	33°52′12″N 117°33′58″W
Area	0.4 acres (0.16 ha)
Built	1913
Architect	Thomas E. Preston
Architectural style	Craftsman
NRHP reference No.	88002014[1]
Added to NRHP	November 3, 1988

It was designed by Los Angeles architect Thomas E. Preston in Craftsman style.[2]

Woman's Improvement Club

The Woman's Improvement Club of Corona was founded in 1899[3] as the "Town Improvement Association"[2]. The name was changed to the "Woman’s Improvement Club" in 1902.[2] The club is a member of the California Federation of Women's Clubs and the General Federation of Women's Clubs and remains active.[3][4] It was listed in the 1907 edition of "Club women of California".[5]

Among the early accomplishments of the club was the conversion of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union reading room into a lending library for Corona. The club went on to help obtain funding for a Carnegie library. Later accomplishments include World War I Red Cross relief work, establishment of a school lunch program, and work on establishing the Corona Norco Settlement House.[2]

Building

The Woman's Improvement Club Clubhouse was built in 1913 on land donated by Mrs. Ella L. S. Joy in 1906. The year the building was completed it became the home of the original Red Cross chapter in Corona. In 1922 Corona's first Girl Scout troop met there. The building remains in use as the Woman's Improvement Club.[2]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. AEGIS /Susanna Branch (January 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Woman's Improvement Club Clubhouse". National Park Service. Retrieved October 7, 2019. With accompanying eight photos from 1987-88
3. "About WICC". Woman’s Improvement Club of Corona. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
4. "Woman's Improvement Club - Corona, CA". Waymarking.com. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
5. Club women of California: Official directory and register, giving the officers with names and addresses of all members, pub. under the direct supervision of the California federation of women's clubs ... Women's clubs of California, giving the club lists in districts ... 1906-1907. s.n. 1907. p. 167.