If you wandered out of the shadow of the 3rd Ave El and through Foundation Building doors on a Sunday night in 1906, you might hear cheering coming from the basement. Follow the sound down the stairs to find the Great Hall at capacity, an overflow of 50 to 200 audience members standing at the back or in the aisles, all eyes on the stage where a single person spoke about what it means to be kind.
This was typical of the Sunday evening ethics lectures of the People's Institute, a popular attempt "to solve the problem of a church for all the people, not merely those who hold fast to the old creeds, but also those who have given up the faith of their fathers." People of all religious backgrounds were welcome, including those who doubted whether a god even existed, and they came - in large numbers. They weren't there to be convinced or converted. People gathered to listen and talk about what we owe to each other, as people.
Sunday lectures at The Cooper Union were only one of many offerings of The People's Institute, which operated from 1897-1934. Initially a resource primarily for the burgeoning immigrant communities of East Village and Lower East Side, its reach eventually extended well beyond the walls of the Foundation Building to create and hold events in community centers in Public School 63 and Public School 89 and the People's Institute Harlem Branch at 125th Street.
People's Institute offerings included some of the earliest adult education programming in the country, as well as multiple free lecture series, training for community workers, and sponsorship for community organizations such as the Ukrainian Needlecraft Guild. The People's Institute also advocated for education and entertainment for the masses beyond their programs; for example, the organization was so impassioned about the need for movie theaters - which were constantly being shut down due to complaints of lewdness - that they founded what became the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.
The publishing house W.W. Norton & Co. was another organization that started out as a People's Institute project. William Warder Norton and Mary (aka Polly) Dows Herter Norton entered into an agreement in 1923 to publish and distribute lectures delivered under the auspices of the People's Institute. Known today for the long-running Norton Anthologies and Norton Critical Editions series, as well as for being the largest and oldest publishing house owned wholly by its employees, Norton is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.
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The People's Institute ceased operations in 1934, but its influence lives on in the existence of organizations like W.W. Norton that took root in its fertile soul; the creative and intellectual output of so many New Yorkers, like George Gershwin, who were inspired by their programming; and in the Great Hall public programming of today, which continues to host vital community events such as Rent Guidelines Board meetings, lectures by some of the greatest minds in the world, and often boundary-breaking entertainment.
Interested in learning more? Search the Records of the People's Institute finding aid. If you'd like to view particular materials in person, please reach out to us at archives@cooper.edu.
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