Casa Hispánica at Columbia University

Description

Casa Hispánica at Columbia University became one of the most important centers for the study and dissemination of Spanish culture in twentieth-century New York. It provides an especially valuable connection to the history of Spanish intellectuals and Republican exiles, following the Spanish Civil War, in the United States. ^[2]

Constructed, 1906

Built for Columbia University’s Delta Chapter of the Delta Phi fraternity, designed as a narrow, five-story Beaux-Arts chapter house. Its limestone façade is centered on a grand, Palladian-inspired second floor with French doors opening onto a balcony, while the upper floors are capped by a slate-shingled mansard. The lower levels contained the fraternity’s library, dining and smoking rooms, and meeting spaces, while the upper floors provided residences for unmarried alumni.

Founded, 1920

Spanish scholar Federico de Onís joined Columbia in 1916 and played a fundamental role in developing Hispanic studies at the university. In 1920 he founded the Instituto de las Españas, today the Hispanic Institute, and in 1930 established Casa Hispánica as a center for Spanish and Hispanic intellectual and cultural activity. He later founded the influential journal Revista Hispánica Moderna. Through lectures, academic programs, publications, and personal networks, Columbia became an important meeting point for Spanish writers and scholars. Its intellectual circle was connected with figures such as Pedro Salinas, Jorge Guillén, Francisco García Lorca, Fernando de los Ríos, and other Spanish academics and writers whose careers were reshaped by the Spanish Civil War and exile. ^[1]

Moved In, 1945

The building became home to IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory. Led by astronomer Wallace J. Eckert, the laboratory brought together scientists, programmers, and computing equipment and became an important center for early electronic computing. One of its major projects was the Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator (SSEC), completed in 1947 and requiring a team of 27 programmers and numerous operators.

Moved In, 1957

After the Watson Lab moved to Yorktown Heights in 1957, the building became home to Columbia’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. (and the building at 612 West 116th Street served as IBM's Watson Scientific Computing Laboratory until IBM relocated to Yorktown Heights in 1970, though Columbia took over and transitioned the space).

Moved In, 1966

Casa Hispánica moved into this building in 1966. Before moving to this location, it was previously located at 435 West 117th Street

Related People & Organizations

Chester Alan Arthur,Among its residents was Chester Alan Arthur III, grandson of President Chester A. Arthur, who lived here while attending Columbia as a member of the Delta Chapter of the Delta Phi fraternity

Related Sites

Columbia University

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37-24, 24th St, Suite 102, Long Island City, NY 11101