Cooper Square

Beginning at its southern end where the Bowery crosses East 4th Street, the road then splits in two, both with Cooper Square addresses, until they cross Astor Place between East 8th Street and St. Marks Place and become Fourth Avenue (the western street) and Third Avenue (the eastern street).New York City Department of Transportation [http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2011_bowery-houston-bleecker_study-technical-memo1.pdf "Bowery - Houston - Bleecker Transportation Study (Congestion Analysis)] p.4-2 "Third and Fourth Avenues converge at Cooper Square to become Bowery..."{{cite book |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Andrew |last2=Dunford |first2=Martin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ClbSVEha8gC&dq=%22cooper+square%22+named&pg=PT196 |title=The Rough Guide to New York City |location=New York |publisher=Penguin |year=2012 |isbn=978-1405390224 |quote=Just east of Astor Place is Cooper Square, a busy crossroads formed by the intersection of Bowery, Third and Fourth avenues and St. Mark's/East 8th Street...}}

Prior to the 2014-2016 redesign of the area, the intersection was difficult for pedestrians to navigate. Bowery, Third Avenue and both sides of Cooper Square were two-way streets, and the area was part of a city-approved through-truck route.{{cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/nyc_truck_routes_list_jun2010.pdf |title=NYC Through Truck Routes |website=NYC Department of Transportation |date=June 2010}} The New York City Department of Transportation announced plans in 2009 to "normalize" traffic, increase the size of the park in the middle of the square, and create a new community park in the area.{{cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/sidewalks/pedestrian_projects.shtml |title=Pedestrian Projects |website=NYC Department of Transportation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103082435/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/sidewalks/pedestrian_projects.shtml |archive-date=January 3, 2009}} The redesign was completed in 2016. Lafayette Street, Cooper Square, and Fourth Avenue were converted to one-way streets with reduced lanes, and the park in the intersection was expanded.{{cite web |date=September 30, 2016 |url= https://www.nyc.gov/html/mancb2/downloads/pdf/newsflash/ddc_Astor%20Place%20Cooper%20Sq%20100316_100716.pdf |title=Astor Place/Cooper Square Reconstruction Project Weekly Construction Bulletin |website=New York City Department of Design and Construction |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240508043248/https://www.nyc.gov/html/mancb2/downloads/pdf/newsflash/ddc_Astor%20Place%20Cooper%20Sq%20100316_100716.pdf |archive-date= May 8, 2024 }}

When the square was initially opened as a public space in 1850, it was named "Stuyvesant Square", despite there already being a "Stuyvesant Square" about a half-mile north on Second Avenue. It was renamed for Peter Cooper, the 19th Century industrialist and philanthropist, after his death in 1883.{{cite web |url=http://www.oldstreets.com/index.asp?letter=S |title="S" Streets of New York |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905102950/http://www.oldstreets.com/index.asp?letter=S |archive-date=September 5, 2012 |website=Old Streets of New York}}{{cite streetbook}} In 1853, Cooper had broken ground for Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, an institution founded on the belief that high-quality education should be available to all who qualified, including women – a radical notion at the time – without cost. It continued to provide every student with a full-tuition scholarship until 2014.{{cite news|last=Kaminer|first=Ariel|title=College Ends Free Tuition, and an Era|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/nyregion/cooper-union-to-charge-undergraduates-tuition.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=26 May 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 23, 2013}} Frederick A. Peterson's Cooper Union Foundation Building on the north end of the square, the oldest existing American building framed with steel beams,Actually, steel railroad tracks used as beams. {{cite AIA4}} still stands where it was located when it opened in 1859, but the interior was extensively reconstructed in 1975 not only to modernize it, but also to fulfill one of Cooper's plans which was never realized at the time: the installation of a round elevator. The exterior of the building was restored in 1999 as well.{{cite AIA4}}

Downtown of the Foundation Building is a small park, Cooper Triangle, which includes a monument dedicated to Peter Cooper.{{cite web|url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/M016/ |title=Cooper Triangle : NYC Parks |publisher=Nycgovparks.org |access-date=June 6, 2014}} Across the street, at 41 Cooper Square, is the school's newest building, the New Academic Building, designed by Thom Mayne of Morphosis.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/arts/design/05coop.html|title=The Civic Value of a Bold Statement|date=June 5, 2009|work=The New York Times|last=Ouroussoff|first=Nicolai}}{{cite web|url=http://morphopedia.com/projects/cooper-union |title=Cooper Union | Morphopedia | Morphosis Architects |publisher=Morphopedia |access-date=June 6, 2014}}

The Village Voice{{'}}s old headquarters are on the western side of the square, as are classroom buildings of Grace Church School and Kaplan, Inc.{{cite web|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/about/ |title=New York About Us Village Voice |publisher=Villagevoice.com |date=May 21, 2014 |access-date=June 6, 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.gcschool.org/community/index.aspx |title=Grace Church School: Community |publisher=Gcschool.org |access-date=June 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622155538/http://www.gcschool.org/community/index.aspx |archive-date=June 22, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://store.kaptest.com/enrollment/learn_more_enroll.jhtml?type=Map&buyit=true&classid=1000867527 |title=Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions |publisher=Store.kaptest.com |access-date=June 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109074733/http://store.kaptest.com/enrollment/learn_more_enroll.jhtml?type=Map&buyit=true&classid=1000867527 |archive-date=January 9, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} The sleek, modern high-rise Cooper Square Hotel at 25 is one of the newest buildings on the square.{{cite web |url=http://www.thecoopersquarehotel.com/the-hotel/the-story |title=The Story |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028172903/http://www.thecoopersquarehotel.com/the-hotel/the-story |archive-date=October 28, 2011 |website=The Cooper Square Hotel}}[http://ny.curbed.com/tags/cooper-square-hotel "Cooper Square Hotel"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312103905/http://ny.curbed.com/tags/cooper-square-hotel |date=March 12, 2012 }} coverage at Curbed

The New York City Department of Transportation's "Reconstruction of Astor Place and Cooper Square" plan{{cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/mancb3/downloads/cb3docs/Jan_6_2011_Presentation_to_CBs_2_and_3.pdf |title=Reconstruction of Astor Place and Cooper Square |publisher=New York City Department of Transportation |date=January 6, 2011}} calls for some changes to be made to Cooper Square beginning in 2013. The western leg of the square will be a northbound bus-only lane, from a two-way multi-use roadway. The confusing intersection of the two legs at Fifth Street would become a simple "Village Plaza", with sidewalk extensions and a small amphitheater on the western sidewalk. Finally, Cooper Triangle would be renovated, and expanded to make a new "Cooper Walk" leading up to Cooper Union. New trees would be planted up and down the square on both sides.

• Astor Place
• Cooper Square Committee

Notes

{{reflist|30em}}

{{commons category|Cooper Square}}

• [http://www.coopersquare.org/ The Cooper Square Committee]
• [http://www.cooper.edu/ Cooper Union's website]

{{Manhattan streets|state=collapsed}}

{{East Village, Manhattan}}

Category:Squares in Manhattan

Category:East Village, Manhattan

Category:Streets in Manhattan