Herman Jessor
Encyclopedia
Herman J. Jessor was an American
architect
who helped build more than 40,000 units of cooperative housing in New York City
. He, along with Abraham Kazan, was a driving force of the cooperative housing movement in the United States.
at age 12, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School
in Manhattan
, and then the Cooper Union
School of Engineering. During school, he worked as an engineer.
He was a young architect on the staff of architect George W. Springsteen, of Springsteen & Goldhammer, when that firm engineered the first limited-equity cooperative in New York City
, the Amalgamated Housing Cooperative
in The Bronx
, in 1927. Jessor was the architect for Seward Park Housing Corporation; Hillman Housing Corporation; phase two of the United Workers Cooperative Colony; East River Housing Corporation, the large complexes at Grand Street on the Lower East Side
also known as Cooperative Village
; Rochdale Village
in Queens
and the Penn South
complex in Chelsea, Manhattan
. In one of his largest undertakings, Jessor was the major designer of Co-op City, the 15,500-unit cooperative development in The Bronx.
Jessor died in Manhattan, New York.
s, eat-in kitchens with windows, and bedrooms with cross-ventilation, so working-class families without air-conditioning could benefit from natural breezes. At the time Jessor was an architect, air-conditioning was especially expensive.
, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union
, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
. Many of the buildings he worked on were funded with the help of these unions.
opened an investigation into other Jessor projects to test for durability. The investigation did not turn up any major design flaws, and cited convergence of many elements including several days of warm rain, followed by quick freezing, thawing, and refreezing, along with a stoppage in the drainage system combined with minor cracking of the concrete in the roof and the immense weight above. After a four-year lawsuit, the Greater New York Insurance Company, insurer for Seward Park Housing, lost their nonpayment case to the cooperative, and $18 million for the damages.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who helped build more than 40,000 units of cooperative housing in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He, along with Abraham Kazan, was a driving force of the cooperative housing movement in the United States.
Biography
Herman Jessor was born in Imperial Russia. He arrived with his family in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at age 12, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School , commonly referred to as Stuy , is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and then the Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
School of Engineering. During school, he worked as an engineer.
He was a young architect on the staff of architect George W. Springsteen, of Springsteen & Goldhammer, when that firm engineered the first limited-equity cooperative in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the Amalgamated Housing Cooperative
Amalgamated Housing Cooperative
Amalgamated Housing Cooperative, originally the Amalgamated Cooperative Apartment House, is a pioneering American limited-equity cooperative apartment complex originally built from 1927 to 1930 in The Bronx, New York City, New York....
in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, in 1927. Jessor was the architect for Seward Park Housing Corporation; Hillman Housing Corporation; phase two of the United Workers Cooperative Colony; East River Housing Corporation, the large complexes at Grand Street on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
also known as Cooperative Village
Cooperative Village
Cooperative Village is a community of housing cooperatives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The cooperatives are centered around Grand Street in an area south of the entrance ramp to the Williamsburg Bridge and west of FDR Drive...
; Rochdale Village
Rochdale, Queens
Rochdale is a neighborhood in the southeastern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 12, Rochdale, along with other neighborhood areas are grouped as part of Greater Jamaica, corresponding to the former Town of Jamaica...
in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
and the Penn South
Penn South
__notoc__Penn South is the common name for the Mutual Redevelopment Houses, a limited-equity housing cooperative development located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues and East 23rd and 29th Streets, in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
complex in Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
. In one of his largest undertakings, Jessor was the major designer of Co-op City, the 15,500-unit cooperative development in The Bronx.
Jessor died in Manhattan, New York.
Design hallmarks
Jessor became known for ensuring working-class families had proper social amenities in their daily lives. He included entrance foyerFoyer
A foyer or lobby is a large, vast room or complex of rooms adjacent to the auditorium...
s, eat-in kitchens with windows, and bedrooms with cross-ventilation, so working-class families without air-conditioning could benefit from natural breezes. At the time Jessor was an architect, air-conditioning was especially expensive.
Labor unions
Jessor was a close ally of such labor unions as the Amalgamated Clothing Workers UnionAmalgamated Clothing Workers of America
The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations...
, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membership, and a key player in the labor history of the 1920s and 1930s...
, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is a labor union which represents workers in the electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Panama and several Caribbean island nations; particularly electricians, or Inside Wiremen, in the construction industry and linemen and other...
. Many of the buildings he worked on were funded with the help of these unions.
Seward Park Housing collapse
In January 1999, in the wake of a collapse in the Seward Park Housing parking garage, New York City building inspectors suspected there could be a potential flaw in Jessor's "honeycomb" design of the massive garage roof. The roof had been built to support a vast playground/park above, with trees and grass upon hundreds of thousands of pounds of soil. After the collapse on Friday night, January 15, 1999, the New York City Department of BuildingsNew York City Department of Buildings
The New York City Department of Buildings is the branch of municipal government in New York City that enforces the City's building codes and zoning regulations, issues building permits, and inspects new and existing buildings.-History:...
opened an investigation into other Jessor projects to test for durability. The investigation did not turn up any major design flaws, and cited convergence of many elements including several days of warm rain, followed by quick freezing, thawing, and refreezing, along with a stoppage in the drainage system combined with minor cracking of the concrete in the roof and the immense weight above. After a four-year lawsuit, the Greater New York Insurance Company, insurer for Seward Park Housing, lost their nonpayment case to the cooperative, and $18 million for the damages.