Day 10

The former American Female Guardian Society’s Home for the Friendless

January 9th, 2012



Built at the turn of the twentieth century to house abandoned and needy children, it currently serves as a residential care facility for people with AIDS.


10 Comments

  1. tna says:

    Really nice building. Love the ironwork.

  2. deanna valenti meyer says:

    What a beautiful building!! They really knew how to build ’em way back when…

  3. My memoir, The Home for the Friendless: Finding Hope, Love, and Family, can be reviewed at the web site above. My brother sister and I lived at The Home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 1937 to 1940 during one my our parent’s three divorces from each other. The building was constructed in 1902 and torn down in 1986. It continues to serve needy children in Cedar Rapids in a lovely campus setting under the name Tanager Place. The American Female Guardian Society served children for many years and their records are now published with dates and names of those kids who lived in the above building. You can also buy the cookbook they used to make sure the young residents would be eating wholesome food. The name is also connected to the Orphan Trains that carried homeless children to small towns from New York to the Heartland where the children were adopted at each depot. They tried to keep siblings together but it didn’t always happen. There are happy and sad tales about the kids who were placed in homes from the Orphan Trains. It’s fascinating reading. There’s a lot of historical information about the places called The Home for the Friendless. I am delighted to see this photo of one of the earlier buildings. Check Amazon for books about the American Female Guardian Society.

  4. Dorinda from Mentor, Oh. says:

    “Home for the Friendless” sounds so sad.

  5. Dorinda from Mentor, Oh. says:

    I just had a thought, Matt, you don’t have to ever worry about being “friendless”. You have a whole world of friends.

  6. Dennis Harper says:

    Betty’s information helps me better understand the home. I had friends who lived there and went to my school, P.S. 73. The history was always spotty. I thought it was a single institution.

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