University Settlement Society of New York | |
 University Settlement Society of New York | |
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| Location | 184 Eldridge Street ManhattanNew York City |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°43′14″N73°59′26″W / 40.72056°N 73.99056°W /40.72056; -73.99056 |
| Architect | Howells & Stokes |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 86002515[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 11, 1986 |
TheUniversity Settlement Society of New York is an American organization which provides educational and social services to immigrants and low-income families,[2] located at 184Eldridge Street (corner of Eldridge andRivington Streets) on theLower East Side ofManhattan inNew York City,New York. It provides numerous services for the mostly immigrant population of the neighborhood and has since 1886, when it was established as the firstsettlement house in the United States.[clarification needed][3]
University Settlement was founded byStanton Coit,Charles Bunstein Stover, andCharles Barzillai Spahr,[4] in 1886 asThe Neighborhood Guild, in a basement onForsyth Street.[5]
Historically, the settlement house, much like other settlement houses likeHull House (inChicago,Illinois) and theHenry Street Settlement (also on the Lower East Side), served as a homes for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrived in the United States in the late-19th and early-20th century. They provided courses for new immigrants on everything from politics to the English language to basketball. The University Settlement House also included a library, kindergarten and the firstpublic baths. These settlements were also loci ofProgressive Era reform.
When founded, the resident workers at the University Settlement were all male and recent graduates of colleges. Several of these men were writers in addition to settlement house workers and used their writing as social protest and a means of reform. Residents between 1900 and 1907 included socialist writerWilliam English Walling, a founder of theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People;Pulitzer Prize-winnerErnest Poole;Howard Brubaker, who later became a columnist forThe New Yorker; writerArthur Bullard; journalistHamilton Holt; and authorWalter Weyl, a founding editor ofThe New Republic. Their interest in reform led to several articles and books on the housing and employment situation of workers on the Lower East Side, particularly women and children.
One issue that captured the imagination of many of the University Settlement writers was revolution inRussia. Many of the immigrants they met on the Lower East Side wereJews from theRussian Empire who were typically severely repressed underNicholas II of Russia. Through their interaction with these immigrants several of the residents became vocal advocates of reform in Russia. During 1905 and 1906, Poole, Walling and Bullard traveled to Russia to cover the abortive1905 Russian Revolution. They established contacts and helped establish a connection between radical writers in the U.S. and Russian revolutionaries.
During his administration,U.S. PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt described University Settlement as "a landmark in the social history of the nation."[6]
University Settlement continues to provide support services to residents of the Lower East Side, and now offers programs in 31 locations across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Programs serve New Yorkers of all ages and include child care, pre-school, housing assistance, mental health services, college and career preparation, crisis intervention, activities for seniors, arts events, English classes, after-school programs and summer camps.
Notes
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