Cooper Union College - Cable Yearbook (New York, NY)

Page 15 text:

i . FSI XX , THE FOUNDATION BUILDING From Astor Place

Page 14 text:

Li. COOPER UNION 1859-1929 S THIS year marks the Seventieth Anniversary of the founding of Cooper Union, it is only fitting that we devote a little space and time to the history of this great institution and the man who created it. It was Peter Cooper who, in the middle of the l9th century, had a vision which culminated in the founding of the college which bears his name. All his life he had dreamed a dream, and as a result of hard work and tenacity, he made his dream come true. Peter Cooper was a man of farsightedness and wisdom. He was virtually a self-made man , having had very little schooling and being forced early in life to assist his father in his business. lt was thus he conceived the idea of helping others in moderate circumstances to obtain the education he could not afford. His own success in life was due entirely to hard work and the ability to overcome obstacles. How truly unselfish of him then to choose as life's ambition the means of making success a little easier for others. He foresaw the need of a free institution of learning where young men and women of limited means could secure a college education without having to pay for it. In that era education was considered the privilege of the better classes, and to place it within the reach of the masses was looked upon an dangerous to the social system. So it was in opposition to public opinion, but with a determination characteristic of him, that Peter Cooper launched his project. In l853 he started work on what is now known as the Foundation Build- ing. When completed it was one of the most modern structures in New York City at that time. It is interesting to note that, although elevators were unknown, it contained the first elevator shaft installed in a building. Mr. Cooper looked into the future and visualized the day when elevators would be a reality. For some reason, however, the shaft was made cylindrical, so that a specially constructed elevator had to be placed in it when the time came. This building was also the first thoroughly fire-proof one ever built. The year 1895 saw the opening of the Museum for the Arts of Decora- tion, through the efforts of Peter Cooper's two granddaughters. Wishing to carry on the work of their ambitious and illustrious grandparent, these two young women sought to establish in this country a museum similar to the famous Musee des Arts Decoratifs of Paris. Not realizing the immensity of their task, and equipped with little more than their own willingness and the promise of an entire floor in Cooper Union for this purpose, they set to work. Today, augmented by the generous contributions of others, this Museum is one of the most complete of its kind in the world. In the Trustees Report of 1868 there appears the following statement, with reference to a Day School: E151 1 S 9 W WW: Q .'jf.,-,.L . .... -. Q-555 I Sciiqfil' .lv --1

Page 16 text:

21-'fa X .M I ' - f 9 1. an - ' ' 'ffl-V - Q.i:,,.gr. li fi it 'i Q , 1 .5 1454? fxxx-ii it if-,fl But the main object for endowment, which the Trustees desire to XX: keep before the public, and especially make known to those who have , so prospered in life, as to be desirous to do something for the benefit of their fellow men, and to link their names and memory with a fxsq, good work, is the establishment of the Day School of Technology, -,q, :sl which by the terms of the Charter, the Trustees are bound to establish llsxxq whenever the means at their disposal are adequate to the end in view. However. the Hnances of the institution did not allow the establishment la-X51 of the Day School until 1900. lt has been in full operation ever since, with a marked increase yearly in the number of pupils who wish to takeladvantage of Fog, Ehe ciixceptiinagequgplnaeqt and organization, developed cooperatively, for the Nf-5 ene t o t e ay c oo and the Night Schools of Science. f, .gf D In'l912 three stories of the Hewitt lylemorial Building were completed 15- 5 and equipped for the use of the Schools of Science. lt contains the specially 'V planned science and technical laboratories which are furnished with the best y ap, that modern science can offer of machinery and apparatus. These laboratories include the following: Physics, Materials Testing, Thermodynamics, Direct A ' Current and Alternating Current Dynamo, Electrical Measurements and Motor g Vehicle Testing,,etc. Th-e Chemical laboratories occupy the fifth floor of the 'ft , original Cooper building. . ll 1 As an indication of the way Cooper Union has grown during its seventy years of life, the following information will prove interesting. The First Annual Report submitted January 1, 1860 shows Total Receipts of 810,858.34 against Expenditures of 87,432.50 There were eighteen instructors in Science and Art, and six in the School of Design for Women. The Courses then offered, with their attendance, were as follows: Mathematics Attendance 164 Mechanical Philosophy 105 Chemistry 280 Architectural Drawing l l 1 Mechanical Drawing 104 Freehand Drawing 102 s Vocal Music 380 I Compare these courses with the many taught today and it will be seen 1 at a glance how Cooper has forged ahead. In 1860 there was an enrollment of 1246 pupils: today the number totals 2914. The Faculty consisted of 24 members in the year of the schoo1's birth, while today there are 104 teachers and professors on the staff. What will the end of the next seventy years show? Will this school still stand here, a monument to Peter Cooper, and carrying out his idea to aid the efforts of youth to acquire useful knowledge and fill that place in the community where their talents can be usefully employed? Men may come, and men may go, but time goes on forever. And so it is with Cooper Union or any such institution of learning. We come and go- 1171