Youth Opportunities Center

                 Located at 401 Madison Street, 76306.
              33-degrees 55' 41" N  98-degrees 29' 55" W

   The Senior-Junior Forum in Wichita Falls formed in 1934. As part of its community service missions, the group founded the Northside Girls Club that same year to focus on the needs of young girls on the north side of Wichita Falls. Early meetings were held in local churches and a rented house. IN 1940, the group built a structure on land donated from John Hirschi (19105-1971). The Club offered a variety of programs for girls, including homemaking classes, leadership, sports, summer camp and parent-child programming. 
   In 1963, construction was completed on a new structure to house the Northside Girls Club. "Colonel" William Thomas Knight, Sr. (1886-1957) and Lester Thomas Burns (1895-1954) financed the building. Noted Wichita Falls native architect Eugene Mack Elam (1927-2002) designed the mid-century modern "in the round" brick and metal structure to maximize use of space. The most striking feature is the roof line, a series of twenty alternating gables and valleys radiating from a center point. The upper windows provide abundant natural light into the facility.
   In the following decades, the Northside Girls Club declined in membership due to the changing nature of the community. In 1986, Beacon Lighthouse for the Blind purchased the building. In 1993, Wichita Falls Art, Entertainment, and Culture, Inc. was deeded the property by the Senior-Junior Forum. The building was renamed the Youth Opportunities Center. Services expanded to provide cultural and educational activities for all young people in the greater Wichita Falls area. Through these programs, the Youth Opportunities Center has remained a hub of activities dedicated to serving the local community. 

                    Recorded Texas Landmark - 2002
               Marker is property of the State of Texas