The 19th century students at the college of the City of New York usually lived not too far from the 23rd Street campus. Transportation was slow and unreliable. It wasn’t until the arrival of the subway in 1904 that students could make the trip from more distant locations and even other boroughs. Since there were only two municipal colleges by the turn of the 20th century, the College of the City of New York and Hunter College, those who wanted a free college education had to travel to Manhattan.

To try to accommodate the growing number of students commuting from Brooklyn, the College of the City of New York began offering courses in Brooklyn. Dr. Robinson who became President of the college, regarded himself as “the father of the Brooklyn City College, having proposed the college first and having participated in every practical step towards its establishment.”[1]

In 1909 the college established an evening session, and Dr. Robinson proposed a branch for Brooklyn.  “The College of the City University will inaugurate evening courses in the fall, beginning October 4. The prerequisite for admission is a high school education or its equivalent.” [2]

It wasn’t until 1915, that Dr. Robinson’s proposal to offer courses in Brooklyn became a reality. Not only were there courses in Brooklyn, but also in Queens, the Bronx and Richmond County. “On account of the difficulties of travel and schedule conflicts of teachers in the Extension Courses at the College, five new centers covering each borough have been planned.” [3]

In a 1915 article in The City College Quarterly the offering of courses for the teachers in the outer boroughs was highlighted. “The solution of the problem seemed simple enough. It was to bring these courses to the teachers rather than have the teachers come to the college.” [4]

A 1917 article announced the opening of a Brooklyn branch of the Evening Session authorized by the Board of Trustees in a January 16, 1917 resolution.

“The courses offered in Brooklyn for the term are chiefly freshman courses in “nonlaboratory”  subjects but it is planned to extend the work as the students progress and there is need for the more advanced courses.” [5]

In the Annual Register of the College of the City of New York for 1917-1918, the administrators of the Brooklyn Branch are listed. There were 465 matriculated students enrolled in the Brooklyn branch in 1917-1918. The classes were held in the Boys’ High School building at the corner of Marcy and Putnam Avenues [6]

The Brooklyn branch grew in popularity, and student enrollment soared. By 1925, two bills were considered by the legislature. One was for the establishment of a separate college in Brooklyn and the other was to establish a Board of Higher Education with the trustees of the College of the City of New York, the trustees of Hunter College and three other members from Brooklyn. They were all to be part of the College of the City of New York. The legislation passed in 1926. [7]

The result was the establishment of Brooklyn College in 1930, when the college combined the Brooklyn branches of Hunter and City College. The new campus rose on the Wood-Harmon site in Flatbush. Now the students of Brooklyn had their own campus and a third college was added as a tuition-free municipal college in the City of New York.

Notes

[1] Frederick Boyd Stevenson, “Harmon Tract Price Too High says Robinson,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 28, 1930, p.1.

[2] “C.C.N.Y. Evening Courses,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 29, 1909, p.18.

[3] “More Centers in Extension Courses,” The Campus, February 1, 1915, p.7.

[4] The City College Quarterly, V. 11 (1915), p.222.

[5] “Intra Muros” The City College Quarterly, Vol. 13 (1917), p.33.

[6] Annual Register of the College of the City of New York 1917-1918, p.215, 39.

[7] Stevenson, “Harmon Tract Price Too High says Robinson,” p.1.