Deutsches Haus
Deutsches Haus, founded in 1911, was the first foreign language house established at an American university. Once a major center of Germanic language and cultural studies in New York, Columbia's Deutsches Haus has ceded its position in recent years to NYU's, though it still manages to attract a handful of interesting speakers and events.
In addition to its German affiliations, DH is also affiliated with the Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, and Yiddish programs. Originally located in a now-demolished townhouse on 117th Street, where it was near the Frankfurt School's Institute for Social Research, it spent a decade at 538 W. 113th Street after 117th Street was demolished to build the International Affairs Building. After building code violations forced a move from 113th Street, the Haus move into the ground floor of the King's Crown building (420 West 116th Street), designed by Naville and Bagge and built in 1906.[1] Interestingly, Columbia wanted to move the Haus into Buell Hall, but the director absolutely refused. Maison Francaise would get the space 3 years later.
After being tried for "insulting Turkishness" in his native country, Nobel-prize winning author Orhan Pamuk took refuge here to write his latest novel. Consequently, he was at Columbia when the Nobel Prize announcement came.
Deutsches Haus was gifted with its first major endowment funding by Adolphus Busch in 1912. Yes, that Busch.
External links
Deutsches Haus at Columbia Website
