It was lovely while it lasted
Imagine a world in which individuals came together as a community, connected by heritage and political ideals. By coming together, the collective power is unmeasurable and strong. Perhaps such a world does not need to be imagined.
At Home in Utopia, a documentary by Michal Goldman that was originally aired on PBS in April, tells the story of such a community. The documentary was shown on Nov. 19 at the Lowell National Historical Park Visitor Center on Market St. in downtown Lowell.
Utopia tells the story of The United Workers Cooperative Colony, also known as the Coops, who were the largest cooperative housing project in the United States. Built in 1927 in the Bronx, the Coops were created by recently immigrated Eastern European Jews, many of whom were members of the communist party.
Goldman captured this daring social experiment using narratives of the children of those immigrants, who tell the unique story of their parents and their own lives as it was lived within the Coops’ walls.
These narratives paint a picture of ideal communal living, one that was virtually unheard of before. Daily life in The Coops included cooperative stores, youth clubs, and a 20,000-volume library. They were on the forefront of social justice issues, actively recruiting black families and defending the Scottsboro Boys during their 1932 rape case.
The Coops were built with 740 apartments, and shares were sold at $50 per room. At a time when $50 was a family’s life savings, buying into the Coops was a giant leap of faith. Purchased for $2 million dollars, buildings were designed in such a way to make you feel as though you were coming into a community.
One of the most outstanding aspects of the Coops physical design was its expansive gardens. In the heart of New York City, the gardens represented the thriving community of the people within.
Pete Rosenblum, who was 2 years old when he moved into the Coops with his family, spoke of his fathers’ gardening habits.
“My father would always find places to garden,” said Rosenblum. “If he couldn’t find his own place, he’d garden in others.”
The rise and eventual fall of the Coops are powerfully shown in At Home in Utopia. The community lasted until the 1940s, when debt led them to propose a $1 rent raise per room. This rent raise was strongly opposed, and eventually rejected, by residents. In 1943, the Coops were sold to a private owner.
Rosenblum’s mother, in archived footage, said of the Coops, “…It was like lovers. It’s sad, it’s a tragedy. But it was lovely while it lasted.”
Danielle Gemmell, a graduate student at Umass Lowell, was present at the showing of the documentary here in Lowell on Thursday.
“I think it is a really charming history of community we don’t usually see,” said Gemmell. “This cultural family coming from all parts of Eastern Europe made communism work in the most peaceful way,”
Utopia shows a world in which communal living was not an unrealistic ideal, but rather everyday life.
Using vintage film footage and photography, combined with present day interviews, Goldman weaves the magical yet realistic story of these Jewish families. She follows the powerful social experiment from its inception to eventual downfall, allowing viewers an alternate view of New York City in the 1930’s.
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