The Bay Ridge Newsboys Lodging House was established on June 15, 1891 by Dillion Doress Senior. After his only son, Dillion Doress JR, ran away and was later found dead on the streets. Dillion and his wife, Estel, were both heartbroken. They sold their large house and bought a much smaller one, then they used they money made to buy an old rundown building. Both Dillion and Estel worked hard to create it into a Lodging House so that young boys who lived on the streets would have a place to stay and be able to make money by selling papers, so hopefully they wouldn't end up like their own son.

The first boy to join was James "Brownie" Trouvier. A boy who had a remarkable resemblance to Dillion's own son. Dillion acted almost as a father to Brownie and both help run the lodging house. Dillion by keeping it in shape and paying for all the expenses and Brownie by admitting new members and keeping the boys in order. Dillion and Estel were always at the lodging house talking with the boys that lived there and taking care for them. Their visits soon stopped, though, when Mickel Thompson, an older newsboy, killed Brownie in a fit of rage. Dillion wasn't able to cope with Brownie's death and he promised himself that he would never get close to another child again.

All that changed however when he found a young girl sleeping in an alley. After hearing the story of her parents death and how she had nowhere to live Dillion used the rest of his life savings to add on an additional bunkroom and washroom for girls. It was opened to all girl's on November 1, 1898 and Mable, the girl he found on the streets, became it's leader. Two weeks later Estel died from a long fight with cancer and Dillion fell into a deep depression. After her death he never talked to any of the children in either the lodging houses, he simply came by once a week to collect the money for their stay and then leaves.

Then, in 1903, he passed away and left in his will the deed to the lodging house, which was to be Matthew "Ransom" Cane's on his eighteenth birthday. The former lodger has been keeping up with the house and it's expences since then.