University Cooperative Housing Association

The University Cooperative Housing Association (UCHA) is a student housing cooperative in Westwood, Los Angeles near the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus. Able to house and feed over 400 members, the UCHA primarily offers housing to UCLA students, but welcomes members from any institution.[1] The UCHA operates three buildings: Hardman-Hansen Hall (HHH or "Triple H"), Essene Hall, and Robison Hall. Jim Morrison of The Doors purportedly lived at the UCHA during his time at UCLA.[2] Alongside the UCLA campus, Hardman-Hansen and Robison Halls were used as filming locations for the 1982 horror film, The Dorm That Dripped Blood.[3] Many students of China's Lost Generation studying at UCLA resided at the UCHA.[4]

"UCHA" redirects here. For other uses, see UCHA (disambiguation).

University Cooperative Housing Association
AbbreviationUCHA
NicknameThe Co-op
Founded1936
Legal status501(c)(3)
PurposeStudent housing cooperative
Headquarters500 Landfair Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90024
Location
Coordinates34.068695°N 118.450715°W / 34.068695; -118.450715
Services
Membership
~420 (academic year)
Websiteuchaonline.com
The front of Hardman-Hansen Hall in 2015

History

The UCHA was originally founded as Adams House by eight students in 1936, and was incorporated in 1938 as the University Cooperative Housing Association.[5] In 1941, the UCHA purchased for $45,000 the Landfair Apartments (also known as the Glass House), which was designed by Richard Neutra and was designated in 1987 as a historic-cultural monument in Los Angeles.[6] The Landfair Apartments was renamed Robison Hall after UCHA member Everett Robison, who was drafted and killed in action in World War II.[7]

Around the time of the UCHA's inception, black students were barred from living in Westwood, but, by exploiting a legal loophole, George Brown, Jr., a founding member of the Co-op, was able to welcome Luther Goodwin into the UCHA as his roommate and as Westwood's first black resident.[8][9] In addition to being one of the first desegregated student housing communities in the nation, the UCHA would later offer refuge for Japanese-American students that faced discrimination during World War II.[10] The UCHA purchased the Landfair House in 1947, which would be replaced by Hardman-Hansen Hall, and in 1958 an apartment building next-door that would become Essene Hall, named after UCHA founder John Essene.[11]

Notable alumni
  • Rafer Johnson - American decathlete and film actor. He was the 1960 Olympic Decathlon gold medalist, Team USA's Flag Bearer. Acting appearances included the James Bond film Licence to Kill (1989).

References
  1. Rogers, K. (2011, February 1). UCLA’s cooperative housing options offer more than chores as tenants form close social ties living and working together. The Daily Bruin. Retrieved September 27, 2015, from http://dailybruin.com/2011/02/01/uclas_cooperative_housing_options_offer_more_than_chores_as_tenants_form_close_social_ties_living_an/
  2. Cosgrove, Shannon. "Audio City: _Artists Showcase Talents in Co-op Housing_." The Daily Bruin 25 May 2011, A&E, Music sec. Web. 27 Sept. 2015. <http://dailybruin.com/2011/05/25/audio_city__artists_showcase_talents_in_coop_housing_/>
  3. The Dorm That Dripped Blood. Dir. Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow. Perf. Laura Lapinski, Stephen Sachs, David Snow, Pamela Holland. New Image Releasing, 1982. Film.
  4. Mann, J. (1990, March 25). CHINA'S LOST GENERATION : After Tian An Men, the Best and Brightest Say They Can't Go Home Again. LA Times, p. 2. Retrieved September 27, 2015, from http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-25/magazine/tm-9_1_chinese-students/2
  5. Johnson, Willard, and Louise Luckenbill. "COOPERATIVE LIVING ON THE AMERICAN CAMPUS in PRINCIPLE And In Practice at UCLA and OBERLIN." National Student News 1 Dec. 1957: 5. Print.
  6. About Us. (2015). Retrieved September 27, 2015, from http://www.uchaonline.com/about.html
  7. Cooperative Housing Association at UCLA. (1950, June 1). CO-OPS ON CAMPUS.
  8. Thompson, D. (2014). As a UCLA Student George Brown Jr. Shared his Room with History. Cooperative Housing Bulletin, 1, 4-5.
  9. Thompson, D. (2014). As a UCLA Student George Brown Jr. Shared his Room with History. Cooperative Housing Bulletin, 1, 4-5. http://coophousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/CHBwinter14FINAL.pdf
  10. Thompson, D. (2014). As a UCLA Student George Brown Jr. Shared his Room with History. Cooperative Housing Bulletin, 1, 4-5.
  11. Los Angeles: Student Housing. (2004, June 18). Retrieved September 28, 2015, from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/uchistory/general_history/campuses/ucla/housing.html
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