[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1557-E1558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


IN HONOR OF 17 LEXINGTON AVENUE, THE SITE OF THE FIRST FREE INSTITUTION 
                          OF HIGHER EDUCATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 17 
Lexington Avenue, the site of the Free Academy, the first free publicly 
funded institution of higher education in the United States. Baruch 
College now carries on the proud tradition of public education at this 
location.
  The Free Academy was approved by New York's legislature in 1847. 
Townsend Harris, a strong advocate of publicly funded educational 
opportunities, advocated a school that would ``Open the door to all--
let the children of the rich and poor take their seats together and 
know no distinction save that of industry, good conduct and 
intellect.''
  The original building was designed by James Renwick, Jr. who went on 
to design St. Patrick's Cathedral. Gaslights, warm-air heating and 
drinking fountains made the building modern and luxurious, yet he 
managed to keep the final cost $2000 under budget. In January 1849, the 
Free Academy held its formal opening, admitting its first class of 149 
students.
  The exquisite building that originally housed the Free Academy became 
too small for the growing business campus. In 196, using the proceeds 
of a $1.5 million bond offering by the City, the college built a 16-
story structure that housed a new library, science labs and accounting 
classrooms. Since its opening, 17 Lex has welcomed generations of 
talented students, students with limited means, but unlimited dreams. 
Scores of prominent and successful business leaders have been educated 
in the building, which came to represent the place where they began to 
achieve the American dream.
  In 1866, the Free Academy became known as the College of the City of 
New York, popularly called CCNY or City College. When

[[Page E1558]]

CCNY moved its campus uptown in 1909, 17 Lex continued to house the 
downtown business campus. CCNY grew into City University of New York, 
which today educates 200,000 students on more than 18 different 
campuses.
  In 1919, CCNY's business campus became an independent entity known as 
the School of Business and Civic Administration, which changed its name 
in 1953 to the Bernard M. Baruch College of Business and Public 
Administration, in honor of the economist and financier, Class of 1889, 
who advised six U.S. Presidents from Wilson to Truman. By 1968, Baruch 
College emerged as a separate senior college in the CUNY system. Today, 
Baruch College enrolls over 15,000 students and enjoys a national 
reputation for excellence in business education and public 
administration.
  Baruch College continues to open doors for young people from all 
types of backgrounds. U.S. News and World Report has called Baruch 
College the most diverse school in the United States.
  17 Lex is about to undergo its third incarnation, thanks to a $200 
million capital project approved by CUNY. The new building will, no 
doubt, continue the tradition of educational excellence available at 
this location for the past century-and-a-half.
  Mr. Speaker, I salute the visionaries who believed that everyone 
should have an opportunity to have higher education and I ask my fellow 
Members of Congress to join me in celebrating a new beginning for 17 
Lexington Avenue, the site of the first free public institution of 
higher education.

                          ____________________