History

In 1820, the General Society founded Mechanics' Institute as a day school to provide tuition-free education to the children of its members.

In this sense, the Society operated the first free school in the City of New York. (It was not until 1850 that New York City would have its own public school system.)

In 1858, after the New York City public school system had been sufficiently developed and daytime instruction became widely available, it was determined that the General Society’s day school would be redesignated as a Mechanics Institute and would instead provide evening instruction to adults whose daytime work obligations prevented their pursuit of a technical education. The School's focus was revised to provide "privately-endowed free evening instruction to respectable young men and women to improve themselves in their daily vocations" and to assist those who were obliged to become wage earners before completing their desired education.

Many of the Institute’s alumni, such as Andrew H. Dykes of Dykes Lumber, Harry S. Weller of the L.J. Wing Manufacturing Co., and Andrew G. Hagstrom, founder of the Hagstrom Map Company, have become renowned and respected members of industry and society.

Today, with expanded facilities and curricula, the Institute has three lecture classrooms, three drafting classrooms, and two computer labs, offering instruction in nearly fifty courses to meet the demands of the industry it serves.

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