University Cooperative Housing Association
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The University Cooperative Housing Association (UCHA) is a student housing cooperative in
Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCL ...
near the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(UCLA) campus. Able to house and feed over 400 members, the UCHA primarily offers housing to UCLA students, but welcomes members from any institution. 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. Alongside the UCLA campus, Hardman-Hansen and Robison Halls were used as filming locations for the 1982 horror film, '' The Dorm That Dripped Blood''. Many students of China's Lost Generation studying at UCLA resided at the UCHA.


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. In 1941, the UCHA purchased for $45,000 the Landfair Apartments (also known as the Glass House), which was designed by
Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...
and was designated in 1987 as a historic-cultural monument in Los Angeles. The Landfair Apartments was renamed Robison Hall after UCHA member Everett Robison, who was drafted and killed in action in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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. 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. 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.


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

{{Reflist, 30em University of California, Los Angeles Student housing cooperatives in the United States