Editing Cooper Union (section)

==History==
===Founding and early history===
The Cooper Union was founded in 1859<ref name=CUCharter>{{cite book|title=Charter, Trust Deed, and By-laws of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art|year=1859|publisher=Wm. C. Bryant & Company|page=61}} Founding enabled by a NY State Act of February 17, 1857.  The land is conveyed for one dollar.</ref> by American industrialist [[Peter Cooper]], one of the richest businessmen in the United States. Cooper was a workingman's son who had less than a year of formal schooling. Cooper designed and built America's first steam [[Tom Thumb (locomotive)|railroad engine]] and made a fortune with a glue factory and iron foundry. He was a principal investor and first president of the [[New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company]], which laid the first [[transatlantic telegraph cable]], and once ran for [[President of the United States|President]] under the [[Greenback Party]], becoming the oldest person ever [[1876 Greenback National Convention|nominated for the office by a political party]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter Cooper |url=http://www.ringwoodmanor.org/peter-cooper.html |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=Ringwood Manor |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-12 |title=Saluting Peter Cooper - Village Preservation |url=https://www.villagepreservation.org/2018/02/12/saluting-peter-cooper/,%20https://www.villagepreservation.org/2018/02/12/saluting-peter-cooper/ |access-date=2023-09-22 |website=www.villagepreservation.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:ForArch-1.jpg|thumb|left|The interior of the Great Hall, {{circa}} 2005]]

Cooper's dream was to give talented young people the one privilege he lacked: a good education from an institution which was "open and free to all".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JwQLAAAAIAAJ&q=1864+peter+cooper+graduating+class+speech+%22open+and+free+to+all%22&pg=PA488 |title=Speech to the First Graduating Class |year=1864}}</ref> To achieve these goals, Cooper designated the bulk of his wealth to The Cooper Union. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 1863, "It was rare that those of limited means, however eager they might be to acquire a knowledge of some of the higher branches of education, could obtain tuition in studies not named in the regular course taught in our public schools."<ref name="nyt-1863-01-23" /> Discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, or sex was expressly prohibited.<ref name="nyt-1863-01-23">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1863/01/23/news/local-intelligence-cooper-union-most-successful-year-since-its-inauguration-it.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923122213/http://www.nytimes.com/1863/01/23/archives/local-intelligence-the-cooper-union-the-most-successful-year-since.html |archive-date=2018-09-23 |title=The  Cooper Union: The Most Successful Year Since its Inauguration. It is now Self-Supporting What is Done in it. The Bedford-street Church Scandal. Court of General Sessions. Before Judge McCunn. The Thumb-Warren Nuptials. Bishop Potter to Perform the Ceremony Great Anxiety on the Part of the Adult Population to See The Performance. A Calumny Silenced. Department of the East. International Postage The English Government Refuses to Reduce Postage. General City News. Brooklyn News. New-Jersey. |date=1863-01-23 |page=2 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=2016-11-05}}</ref>

===Development after founding===
Originally intended to be named simply "the Union", the Cooper Union began with [[adult education]] in night classes on the subjects of [[applied sciences]] and [[architectural drawing]], as well as day classes primarily intended for women on the subjects of photography, telegraphy, typewriting and [[shorthand]] in what was called the college's Female School of Design. The early institution also had a free reading room open day and night, the first in New York City<ref>{{cite web |title=Cooper Union |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cooper-Union |website=Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |access-date=21 February 2021}}</ref> (predating the [[New York Public Library]] system),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Holleran |first1=Sam |title=Free as air and water |journal=Places Journal |date=May 2019 |issue=2019 |doi=10.22269/190507 |s2cid=189736575 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and a new four-year nighttime engineering college for men and a few women.<ref name=125anniv>{{cite book |url=http://www.notnicemusic.com/ACU84.pdf |title=At Cooper Union 125th Anniversary Special Issue |publisher=Cooper Union |year=1984 |access-date=December 12, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=http://sangamithra.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/on-amateurs-and-access/ |title=On Amateurs and Access |publisher=WordPress |year=2012 |access-date=December 12, 2012}}</ref> In 1883, a five-year curriculum in [[chemistry]] was added as an alternative to the applied science (engineering) program.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Topper |first1=Robert |title=CU Chemistry and Chemical Engineering History |url=https://engfac.cooper.edu/topper/604 |access-date=12 May 2021}}</ref> A daytime engineering college was added in 1902, thanks to funds contributed by [[Andrew Carnegie]].<ref name=125anniv /> Initial board members included [[Daniel F. Tiemann]],<ref name=part201>{{cite web |url=http://library.cooper.edu/archive/annual_reports/1859-1860%20Annual%20Report%20Part%201.pdf |title=Annual report |website=library.cooper.edu |access-date=2011-10-27 |archive-date=2017-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502071016/http://library.cooper.edu/archive/annual_reports/1859-1860%20Annual%20Report%20Part%201.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[John E. Parsons]],<ref name=part201 /> [[Horace Greeley]] and [[William Cullen Bryant]], and those who availed themselves of the institute's courses in its early days included [[Augustus Saint-Gaudens]], [[Thomas Alva Edison]]<ref name=edison>Topper, Robert. [http://faculty.cooper.edu/topper/general/edison.html "Thomas Edison, Chemistry and Cooper Union"] on the Cooper Union website</ref> and [[William Francis Deegan]].

The Cooper Union's free classes have evolved into three schools: the School of Art, the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, and the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. Since 1859, the Cooper Union has educated thousands of artists, architects, and engineers, many of them leaders in their fields.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110804024657/http://cooper.edu/about-us/history "The Cooper Union: History"] Cooper Union website. Archived on August 4, 2011.  Retrieved October 1, 2017</ref>

After 1864 there were a few attempts to merge Cooper Union and [[Columbia University]], but these were never realized.<ref>{{cite book |last=Summerfield |first=Carol J. |title=International Dictionary of University Histories |publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers |year=1991 |pages=110–116}}</ref>

The [[Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum]], was founded in 1897 as part of Cooper Union by Sarah, Eleanor, and Amy Hewitt, granddaughters of Peter Cooper.

[[File:Cooper Union from Miller's New York as it is (14596084839).jpg|right|thumb|Cooper Union in 1876]]

===Structure-building era===
====The Foundation Building====
Cooper Union's Foundation Building is an Italianate [[brownstone]] building designed by architect [[Fred A. Petersen]], one of the founders of the [[American Institute of Architects]]. It was the first structure in New York City to feature rolled-iron [[I-beam]]s for structural support; Peter Cooper himself invented and produced these beams.<ref name="wsj-2009-06-30">{{cite news |last=Hechinger |first=John |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124631610981670647 |title=One College Sidesteps the Crisis |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=June 30, 2009 |page=c1}}</ref> Petersen patented a fire-resistant hollow brick tile he used in the building's construction.<ref name="Zuravicky2002">{{cite book|first=Orli|last=Zuravicky|title=New York and the New Nation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ulfhnhW9zTMC&q=Fred+A.+Petersen+Cooper+Union&pg=PA24|date=August 2002|publisher=Rosen Classroom|isbn=978-0-8239-8408-4|page=24}}</ref><ref name=di>{{cite web|url=http://www.di.net/articles/architects-concrete-contributions/|title=Architects' Concrete Contributions|work=di.net|access-date=September 13, 2015}}</ref>  The building was the first in the world to be built with an elevator shaft, because Cooper, in 1853, was confident an elevator would soon be invented. However, he expected them to be cylindrical, so he designed the shaft in the shape of a circle.<ref>{{cite web | title = History of the Modern Elevator | publisher = TradeMark Properties | date = June 30, 2013 | url = http://www.trademarkproperties.com/elevator | access-date = March 20, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129153953/http://www.trademarkproperties.com/elevator | archive-date = November 29, 2014 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> The building was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1961,<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nrhpinv">{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=66000540}}|title="Cooper Union", by Richard Greenwood.|work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory|date=August 8, 1975|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref><ref name="nrhpphotos">{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=66000540|photos=y}}|title=Cooper Union—Accompanying Photos, exterior, from 1975.|work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory|date=August 8, 1975|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> and a [[List of New York City Landmarks|New York City Landmark]] in 1965,<ref>{{cite nycland}}, p.65</ref> and added to the [[Historic American Engineering Record]] in 1971.<ref>{{HAER |id=ny0359 |survey=NY-20 |title=Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science & Art, Third & Fourth Avenues, Astor Place, Seventh Street, New York, New York County, NY |photos=20|dwgs=20|data=68}}</ref>

====The Foundation Building's Great Hall====
[[File:Abraham Lincoln 1860.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Presidential candidate [[Abraham Lincoln]] February 27, 1860, the day of his famous [[Cooper Union speech]] in New York]]

On February 27, 1860, the school's Great Hall, located in the basement level of the Foundation Building, became the site of a historic address by [[Abraham Lincoln]].<ref name="test">{{cite magazine |last=Holzer |first=Harold |url=https://www.americanheritage.com/speech-made-man |title=The Speech that Made the Man |magazine=American Heritage |date=Winter 2010 |volume=59 |issue=4}}</ref> "Lincoln made his address on a snowy night before about 1,500 persons."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/liho/planyourvisit/upload/Cooper%20Union%20Front%20and%20Back-2.pdf|title=The Cooper Union Address -The Making of a Candidate|website=National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior|publisher=Lincoln Home}}</ref>

Widely reported in the press and reprinted throughout the North in pamphlet form, the speech galvanized support for Lincoln and contributed to his gaining the Party's nomination for the [[President of the United States|presidency]]. It is now referred to as the [[Cooper Union Address]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Holzer |first=Harold |url=http://americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2004/2/2004_2_19.shtml |title=Still a Great Hall After All |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201164937/http://americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2004/2/2004_2_19.shtml |archive-date=December 1, 2008 |magazine=[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]] |date=April–May 2004 |volume=55 |issue=2}}</ref>

Since then, the Great Hall has served as a platform for historic addresses by [[List of US Presidents|American Presidents]] [[Ulysses S. Grant|Grant]], [[Grover Cleveland|Cleveland]],<ref name="nytimes1892-10-28p1">
{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1892/10/28/104151135.pdf|title=Praised By the Germans; Mr. Cleveland Greeted With Wild Applause. His Friends From "Fatherland" Throng Cooper Union. |access-date=June 24, 2010|date=October 28, 1892|page=1|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|quote=It might be claiming too much to say that the Democratic Party as such gives a sufficient guarantee for the improvement of political methods or avoidance of these wrongdoings.}}</ref> [[William Howard Taft|Taft]],<ref name="nytimes1908-01-11p1">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/01/11/104714614.pdf|work=The New York Times|title=Taft Defends Both Capital and Labor; Tells Cooper Union Audience He's for Union Shops and Mutual Conciliation. Not Hailed As President Cordial Greeting at First Grows Warmer After He Answers Volley of Questions. |date=January 11, 1908 |page=1 |access-date=June 24, 2010 |quote=Give the Government the ownership of mines and railroads and like enterprises, and I tremble to think of the danger to the Republic.}}
</ref> [[Theodore Roosevelt]],<ref name="nytimes1916-11-04p4">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/11/04/301924712.pdf |work=The New York Times |quote=I have not said one thing of him which I did not deem it necessary to say because of the vital interests of this Republic. |title=Roosevelt Bitterly Attacks Wilson; Tells Cooper Union Audience the President Cares Nothing for the Nation's Soul. |page=4 |date=November 4, 1916 |access-date=June 21, 2010}}</ref><ref name="roosevelt_americanism_and_preparedness">{{cite book|title=Americanism and preparedness: Speeches of Theodore Roosevelt, July to November, 1916|publisher=The Mail and express job print|location=New York|year=1917|quote=There can be no greater misfortune for a free nation than to find itself under incapable leadership when confronted by a great crisis.|url=https://archive.org/details/americanismprepa00roos|pages=[https://archive.org/details/americanismprepa00roos/page/134 134]–145|access-date=June 21, 2010|last=Roosevelt|first=Theodore}}</ref> [[Woodrow Wilson]],<ref name="wilson_the_new_freedom">{{ cite book| title=The New Freedom: A call for the emancipation of the generous energies of a people|publisher=Doubleday, Page & Company|location=New York|year=1913|quote=One of the valuable lessons of my life was due to the fact that at a comparatively early age in my experience as a public speaker I had the privilege of speaking in Cooper Union in New York.|url=https://archive.org/details/newfreedomacall01halegoog|access-date=June 21, 2010|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newfreedomacall01halegoog/page/n112 98]–99|last=Wilson|first=Woodrow}}</ref><ref name="wilson_nytimes1904-11-20p5">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/11/20/120289920.pdf|title=Wilson Says Elasticity Saves the Constitution; Made to Help, Not to Hinder, Asserts Princeton's President. |quote=The Constitution was not made to fit us like a straitjacket.| work=The New York Times|page=5|date=November 20, 1904|access-date=June 21, 2010}}</ref><ref name="nytimes1916-11-03p1">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1916/11/03/100227256.pdf|work=The New York Times|title=Three Big Meetings Here; President Says Some in Campaign Have Tried to Discredit Government. Effort to Divide Classes Tells 15,000 in Madison Square Garden the Country Stands at a Serious Turning Point. Predicts His Re-election. President and Mrs. Wilson Scale Fire Escape to Get Into Garden.|date=November 3, 1916|page=1|access-date=June 21, 2010|quote=Cooper Union Packed; Enthusiastic Throng Cheers the President for Five Minutes}}</ref> and [[Bill Clinton]]. Clinton spoke on May 12, 1993, about reducing the federal deficit and again on May 23, 2006, as the Keynote Speaker at The Cooper Union's 147th Commencement, along with [[Anna Deavere Smith]].<ref name="WCPD-1993-05-17">{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/WCPD-1993-05-17/pdf/WCPD-1993-05-17-Pg835.pdf|title=Remarks at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City|work=Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 19|pages=835–841|date=May 17, 1993|publisher=GPO|access-date=June 21, 2010}}</ref><ref name="2006commencement">{{cite web|url=http://www.cooper.edu/news/press_relarchive.html#commencement|publisher=Cooper Union|title=FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON TO DELIVER KEYNOTE ADDRESS AT THE 147th COMMENCEMENT OF THE COOPER UNION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND ART; ANNA DEAVERE SMITH IS COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER|access-date=June 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527192624/http://www.cooper.edu/news/press_relarchive.html#commencement|archive-date=May 27, 2010|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He appeared a third time on April 23, 2007, along with Senator [[Ted Kennedy|Edward Kennedy]], [[Henry Kissinger]], [[Norman Mailer]], and others, at the memorial service for historian [[Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.]] Most recently, [[Barack Obama]] delivered an economic policy speech at Cooper Union's Great Hall on April 22, 2010.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/business/economy/23obama.html?hp Obama to Wall St.: "Join Us, Instead of Fighting Us," ''The New York Times'', April 22, 2010]</ref><ref name="DCPD-201000290">{{cite web|url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/presdocs/2010/DCPD-201000290.pdf|title=Remarks at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City|work=Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents;Administration of Barack H. Obama, 2010|pages=1–6|date=April 22, 2010|publisher=GPO|id=DCPD Number: DCPD201000290|access-date=June 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808081328/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/presdocs/2010/DCPD-201000290.pdf|archive-date=August 8, 2010|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> On September 22, 2014, President of the [[Palestinian National Authority]] [[Mahmoud Abbas]] delivered his first formal speech in English.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cooper.edu/about/news/webcast-mahmoud-abbas-great-hall |title=WEBCAST: MAHMOUD ABBAS IN THE GREAT HALL |publisher=Cooper.edu|date=2014-09-22|access-date=2019-10-31}}</ref>

Other historic speakers in the Great Hall have included [[Frederick Douglass]], [[Susan B. Anthony]], [[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]], and [[Mark Twain]].<ref>[http://cooper.edu/about/history "The Cooper Union: History"] Cooper Union website. Retrieved October 1, 2017</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Albert Paine |first=Albert Bigelow |last=Paine |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2983/2983-h/2983-h.htm#link2H_4_0063&:~:text=But%20when%20we,I%20was%20in%20paradise |title=Mark Twain, A Biography: The Personal and Literary Life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens |publisher=[[Harper (publisher)#Harper & Brothers (1833–1962)|Harper & Brothers Publishers]] |year=1912 |location=New York |oclc=31753561 |quote=But when we got near the building I saw that all the streets were blocked with people, and that traffic had stopped. I couldn't believe that these people were trying to get into Cooper Institute; but they were, and when I got to the stage at last the house was jammed full-packed; there wasn't room enough left for a child. I was happy and I was excited beyond expression. I poured the Sandwich Islands out on those people, and they laughed and shouted to my entire content. For an hour and fifteen minutes I was in paradise. |access-date=10 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503182305/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2983/2983-h/2983-h.htm#link2H_4_0063&:~:text=But%20when%20we,I%20was%20in%20paradise |archive-date=3 May 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The Great Hall continues to serve as an important metropolitan art space and has hosted lectures and performances by such key figures as [[Joseph Campbell]], [[Steve Reich]], [[Salman Rushdie]], [[Ralph Nader]], [[Hamza Yusuf]], [[Richard Stallman]], [[Rudolph Giuliani]], [[Pema Chodron]], [[Michael Bloomberg]], [[Evo Morales]], and Venezuelan president [[Hugo Chávez]]. When not occupied by external or hosted events, the Great Hall is made accessible to students and faculty for large lectures and recreational activities, including the school's annual Culture Show. In 1994, the Cooper Union Forum of Public Programs was honored with a [[Village Award]] from the [[Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Past Village Award Winners|url=http://www.gvshp.org/_gvshp/events/awards.htm|website=GVSHP.org|access-date=1 June 2015|archive-date=28 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528014847/http://www.gvshp.org/_gvshp/events/awards.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File:New Great Hall Entrance.jpg|thumb|right|Renovated Great Hall entrance, with main hall partially visible through open doors]]

In late 2008, the Great Hall was closed to students and outside events for the first major renovation of the hall since 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://atcooper.cooper.edu/pdfs/ACUs09_briefs.pdf |title=Briefs |website=atcooper.cooper.edu |access-date=October 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719175236/http://atcooper.cooper.edu/pdfs/ACUs09_briefs.pdf |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Modern changes===
The Cooper Union has schools in architecture, [[fine art]], and engineering. At present, these three fields represent Cooper Union's degree programs. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Studies provides classes and faculty to all three programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cooper.edu/humanities|title=Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences|publisher=Cooper.edu|access-date=May 16, 2016}}</ref>

In 2002, the school decided to generate revenue by razing its engineering building and having it replaced with a commercial building, and replacing its Hewitt Building with a new building called [[41 Cooper Square]].<ref name="nyt-2002-09-04">{{cite news |title=City Planners Approve Cooper Union High-Rises, Citing College's Public Benefits |first=Lydia |last=Polgreen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/04/nyregion/city-planners-approve-cooper-union-high-rises-citing-college-s-public-benefits.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 4, 2002 |access-date=October 1, 2017}}</ref>

====41 Cooper Square====

{{main|41 Cooper Square}}
[[File:Cooper Union - Cooper Union Academic Building (48072701728).jpg|thumb|left|Cooper Union's 41 Cooper Square, seen from Cooper Triangle Park]]

A new classroom, laboratory, and studio facility designed by [[Thom Mayne]] replaced the aging Hewitt Academic Building at [[41 Cooper Square]]. In contrast to the Foundation Building, 41 Cooper Square is of modern, environmentally [[green building|"green" design]], housing nine above-ground floors and two basements. The structure features unconventional architectural features, including a full-height Grand Atrium, prevalent interior windows, a four-story linear central staircase, and upper-level [[skyway]]s, which reflect the design intention of inspiring, socially interactive space for students and faculty. In addition, the building's design allows for up to 75% [[Daylighting (architecture)|natural lighting]], further reducing energy costs. In 2010, 41 Cooper Square became the first academic and laboratory structure in New York City to meet Platinum-level [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design|LEED]] standards for energy efficiency.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cooper.edu/cubuilds/green.html|title=The Cooper Union Builds &#124; Naming Opportunities|publisher=Cooper.edu|access-date=March 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516224219/http://www.cooper.edu/cubuilds/green.html|archive-date=May 16, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The building was funded in part by alumni donations, materialized in nameplates and other textual recognition throughout the building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cooper.edu/cubuilds/donors.html |title=The Cooper Union Builds &#124; Donors |publisher=Cooper.edu |access-date=March 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106133651/http://www.cooper.edu/cubuilds/donors.html |archive-date=January 6, 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Atrium and Staircase Interior.jpg|thumb|right|Main Atrium and Grand Staircase of 41 Cooper Square]]

Primarily designed to house the Cooper Union's School of Engineering and School of Art, the new building's first eight above-ground floors are populated by classrooms, small engineering laboratories, study lounges, art studio space, and faculty offices. The ninth, top floor is dedicated completely to School of Art studio and classroom space in addition to the art studio spaces located throughout the building. The lowest basement level consists almost completely of the school's large machine shops and design laboratories, as well as much of the [[HVAC]] and supply [[infrastructure]]. The building's first basement level houses primarily the Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, a 198-capacity [[lecture hall]] and event space designed as a smaller, more modern alternative to the Great Hall.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frederick P. Rose Auditorium |url=https://cooper.edu/about/galleries-auditoriums/rose-auditorium |publisher=Cooper Union |access-date=5 March 2021}}</ref>