The Atlantic Street Center, a youth-focused social service agency, is celebrating a hundred years of serving the citizens of the Rainier Valley. Snapshots tell the story of growth and change with the times. All photos are used with the permission of the Atlantic Street Center unless otherwise credited.
Atlantic Street Center began life in 1910 as the Deaconess Settlement House at 1519 Rainier Avenue South. The methodist Deaconesses who founded the charity wished to serve the unmet needs of the many Italian immigrant families in "Garlic Gulch" (North Rainier). The settlement house idea - a place for immigrants to meet, learn, and sometimes even live as they became accustomed to their new lives - was a common feature of the Progressive Era in many cities. The most famous settlement house was Jane Addam's Hull House in Chicago.
The Atlantic Street Center owes its founding to a group of Methodist Deaconesses, lay women who dedicated themselves to full-time volunteer work among the poor. These women wear the traditional garb of blue dress, white neck ruffle and simple bonnet. They received professional training and did not marry. Deaconesses today, while fewer in number, are free to marry and dress as they wish.

Early Programs
In the early decades, Deaconess Settlement offered programs for all ages, including literacy and nutrition classes for adults, social programs, religious programs, and kindergarten and baby programs. Visiting nurse services was a major focus.

Religious Ties
Deaconess Settlement was affiliated with the United Methodist Church. In the early years, religion was very much a part of the services offered, which included a Sunday School and evening preaching services. Today Atlantic Street Center is completely non-sectarian, but values a close relationship with the United Methodist Church.

The Settlement House Grows Up
In 1927, Deaconess Settlement built a new home for its expanding services. An Italianate-style brick building was constructed on South Atlantic Street. This building still serves as administrative offices for Atlantic Street Center.
Over time, many settlement houses have morphed into the family and neighborhood centers we know today. The Atlantic Street Center operates two family centers, at New Holly and in Rainier Beach, in addition to its offices and programs on Atlantic Street at the head of the valley.

Something for Everybody
Deaconess Settlement became the Atlantic Street Center during the 1950s, a name change that reflected a more professional, and less religious, approach to charity work. Gradually, trained social workers took over management of the agency, which continued to provide a variety of counseling, school-based, and recreational programs.
A sample schedule from 1955 lists the following activities offered by or at the Atlantic Street Center: Modern Dance, Adult Sewing, Playschool, Summer Day Camp, Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls, Teenage Nights, Center Boys and Girls Chorus.
Refocusing
Beginning in the '60s, Atlantic Street Center realized it could no longer afford to be all things to all people. The agency refocused its efforts on troubled youth, working with the schools and with federal grants focused on delinquency prevention. Communities of color now made up much of the Rainier Valley and the agency began advocating for the needs of these families.
Today the Atlantic Street Center continues its focus on youth and families, serving over 3,000 children from its North Rainier headquarters and family centers at New Holly and Rainier Beach.

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