Cooper Hall

Myles Cooper Hall was a temporary home of the School of the Arts between 1966 and 1971, when the school moved into Dodge Hall after plans for its own complex on 115th Street never came to fruition. Located on 110th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, the building had previously been the home of the Woman's Hospital from 1906 until 1964, when it moved onto the main complex of St. Luke's Hospital, with which it had merged in 1954, on 114th Street.

Cooper Hall had originally been leased for two years, but Columbia continued to use the building until its 1971 demolition.

Cooper Hall became the first and, to date, only, building ever named after Myles Cooper, the second president of King's College.

Controversy over Sale

The land on which Cooper Hall stood was put up for sale by St. Luke's hospital after Woman's Hospital move north. A legal dispute arose between Columbia and Consolidated Edison, both of which had submitted bids for the land, and St. Luke's which selected Con Ed's bid even though Columbia's had originally been higher. Because St. Luke's was a charitable organization at the time, the sale was subject to approval by the state courts of New York.

Ultimately, Con Ed won the court case, but somehow the City housing authority later got involved trying to condemn the land to build public housing, which never happened.

External links

• "Art School Gains Temporary Home In Hospital Bldg.", Columbia Spectator, 20 September 1966
• "Arts School Will Relocate in Dodge", Columbia Spectator, 5 February 1971
• History of the Ob-Gyn Department - St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital