“When I was born, New York contained 33,331 inhabitants. The upper limits of the city were at Chambers Street. Not a single free school, either by day or night, existed. General Washington had just entered upon his first term as President of the United States ... Not a single steam-engine had yet been built or erected on the American Continent; and the people were clad in homespun and were characterized by the simple virtues and habits which are usually associated with that primitive garb. I need not tell you what the country now is ... But I have witnessed and taken a deep interest in every step of the marvelous development and progress which have characterized this century beyond all the centuries which have gone before.” 
- Peter Cooper at a birthday reception held for him by the Arcadian Club in 1874 

Over the course of Peter Cooper’s lifetime, New York City changed drastically. He was a key player in many of the positive changes, including setting up the municipal water system as City Alderman and advocating for free non-denominational public schools as the first president of the Public School Society. And he pressed back against negative changes, fighting political corruption in Tammany Hall as a founding member of the Citizens Association. 

Through it all, and above everything, Peter Cooper was a New Yorker; in fact, he almost never left the tri-state area. As much as the city has changed, a few things have remained the same: in his twenties, for example, he loved nothing more than a trip with friends to the Long Island beaches. 

We know all this and more from Peter Cooper’s correspondence, a treasure trove that has been unlocked for researchers thanks to a grant from the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) that allowed The Cooper Union Archives & Special Collections to digitize and transcribe a large selection of his letters. With this exhibition, step into the office of Peter Cooper, where these letters were written and received. Glimpse the arc of New York City history through the lens of his long, eventful life. 

View Peter Cooper's digitized and transcribed correspondence online at cooper.hykucommons.org.