The International Institute of Los Angeles was founded in 1914 under the YWCA as part of the nationwide International Institute Movement. The International Institutes offered first- and second-generation women an alternative to the assimilationist practices of the settlement house movement of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The agencies structured their social services around the theory of cultural pluralism, arguing that preserving immigrant heritage and identity strengthened American democracy. More than 50 branches opened across the country before World War II, including two in California.

The Institute moved several times in its early years and relocated to an 1876 residence in Boyle Heights in 1915. Its arrival in Boyle Heights coincided with the neighborhood’s development as the so-called “Ellis Island of the West,” as immigrant and working-class residents found themselves confined to the city’s eastside due to restrictive zoning laws and real estate practices.

In 1924, the YWCA purchased the one-acre site on Boyle Avenue and relocated a small house to the property in order to expand its services.

The YWCA announced in 1930 that its multilingual staff and over 100 volunteers had served more than 29,000 people representing 28 nationalities through casework, classes, social clubs, and events. One of its most successful programs was its annual International Day Festival, which offered members a chance to showcase traditional handicrafts, performing arts, attires, and cuisines.

In 1931, the YWCA’s leadership announced plans to construct a new administration building with support from several benefactors. The organization entrusted the expansion to architects Walter Webber and Sumner Spaulding. Spaulding’s wife, Pauline, was a member of the YWCA Board of Directors and its International Institute Committee, and both she and her husband supported the organization financially.

At a cost of nearly $55,000, the Institute’s Spanish Colonial Revival building was a tribute to the organization’s vow to promote citizenship, cultural pride, and friendship, regardless of national origin. Though the style had grown popular throughout Southern California by the 1920s, the development of Boyle Heights pre-dated its rise, making the subject property a rare local example. The building debuted to public fanfare in 1932.

In the mid-1930s, the Institute separated from the YWCA and formed an independent organization. By the end of the decade, fears of global war led more people in LA to turn to the Institute for reassurances of interethnic cooperation.

After the U.S. entered the war and President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, the Institute was among the local organizations to protest the incarceration of persons of Japanese ancestry. During the postwar period, the Institute helped with Japanese American resettlement in the L.A. area and offered targeted assistance to refugees from Eastern Europe.

The Institute continued its programming through the 20th and into the 21st century. The organization’s headquarters are now located in Lincoln Heights. You can learn more about the organization’s history on their website.