The Cooper Union Building and Architectural Terra Cotta

Abstract

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City was constructed between 1853 and 1858 for industrialist Peter Cooper to the design of Prussian‐born architect Frederick A. Petersen. This article explores Petersen's little‐known American career; the use and manufacturers of the first phase of American architectural terra cotta in New York City in the 1850s; the singular importance of the forgotten presence and survival of terra cotta on the Cooper Union building; and the later revival of American terra cotta in the 1870s and 1880s.