A Life Built in New York
1973Manhattan, New YorkEducation

Cooper Union Foundation Building — John Hejduk interior renovation

Joseph worked on John Hejduk's celebrated modernization of Cooper Union's 1859 landmark.

Cooper Union Foundation Building — John Hejduk interior renovation — The Cooper Union Foundation Building today. Joseph's list points to interior work; the exterior is shown for identification.

The Cooper Union Foundation Building today. Joseph's list points to interior work; the exterior is shown for identification.

Current view · 2024 · Photo: Kidfly182 · CC BY 4.0 · Source

01The story

Why this project matters

Project identity
Verified
Kelly connection
Family source
Masonry scope
Probable

Rita’s list

Rita Bartscherer’s handwritten entry: Cooper Union — 1973

Transcription: Cooper Union — 1973

Recorded by Rita Bartscherer · Bartscherer family record

Entry

KM-099

Sheet

1 of two

As written

“Cooper Union — 1973”

The 1972–75 project remade the interior while preserving the historic Foundation Building exterior.

Why it matters

A beautiful preservation story: radical modern interiors were built inside one of New York's oldest landmark educational buildings without erasing its shell.

02What Kelly did

What Kelly did here

Kelly connection

Family source

Scope confidence

Probable

Likely: selective interior masonry only where required by the 1971–74 gut renovation: likely CMU/block fire separations, shafts, service partitions, infill/opening work and localized repair to the historic masonry shell. Do not imply a new exterior masonry package; Cooper Union states the historic exterior was largely left intact while the interior was completely redesigned.

This scope is recorded as probable, not documented. It is a disciplined reading of the building and the trade practice of the period, not a contract-level record of Kelly’s work.

03Who built it

The construction team

  1. 01Architect

    John Hejduk

  2. 02GC / construction manager

    George A. Fuller Company, Inc.

04What happened

What happened to it

Landmarked

On the map

7 East 7th Street, New York, NY 10003

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Landmarked
This record
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Sources

5 citedOpen →
What this record rests on
  1. 01
    cooper.edu

    facilities

  2. 02
    cca.qc.ca

    cooper union foundation building renovation

  3. 03
    cooper.edu

    ArchAtCooper 11 12

  4. 04
  5. 05
    commons.wikimedia.org

    File:The Cooper Union Foundation Building.jpg

Image credits
  • Kidfly182 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · 2024-10-17

    The Cooper Union Foundation Building today. Joseph's list points to interior work; the exterior is shown for identification.

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