Alku and Alku Toinen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Alku and Alku Toinen
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Exterior view of Alku Toinen from 43rd Street
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 Location in New York City
Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | 816–826 43rd Street, Brooklyn, New York 11232 |
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| Built | 1916 |
| Architect | Eric O. Holmgren |
| Architectural style | Arts and Crafts |
| NRHP reference No. | 100003932 |
| Added to NRHP | May 20, 2019 |
Alku and Alku Toinen are two apartment buildings in Brooklyn, New York City. They were built in 1916 by Finnish American immigrants. These buildings are special because they were the very first nonprofit housing cooperatives in New York City. This means people living there owned a share of the building together, instead of renting from a landlord.
You can find them at 816–826 43rd Street in the Sunset Park neighborhood. In 2019, they were added to the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes important historical places across the country.
Contents
History
Why Finns Built Co-ops
Many Finnish immigrants settled in northern Sunset Park. This area became known as "Finntown." In the early 1900s, about 10,000 Finnish people lived there. They even had their own newspaper in the Finnish language.
In 1916, sixteen Finnish and Scandinavian American families decided to do something different. They were tired of unfair rules from landlords. They wanted to build their own homes in a cooperative way, like they had seen in Finland.
The Beginning of Alku
The next year, this group formed the Finnish Home Building Association. They started building apartments for their 16 families. They named the buildings "Alku" and "Alku Toinen." In Finnish, "Alku" means "Beginning," and "Alku Toinen" means "Beginning Second."
The buildings were designed by Eric O. Holmgren. He used the Arts and Crafts architectural style.
Building Together
Since Alku and Alku Toinen were the first nonprofit housing co-ops in New York City, they followed special rules. These rules were usually for farm cooperatives.
During construction, a member of the Finnish Home Building Association watched the work every day. Other members were skilled workers from unions. They knew how to do things like bricklaying and plumbing. These members were hired to help build the apartments themselves.
A Model for Others
The Finnish Home Building Association wrote down rules for their co-op. They also created five main ideas or "principles." These principles became a guide for other co-ops built later, not just in New York City but across the country.
By 1922, the Finnish community had built twenty co-ops in Sunset Park. At first, mostly Finnish people lived in them. But soon, other European families moved in too. The success of Alku and Alku Toinen led to many more housing co-ops being built in New York City. By 2017, there were three co-op apartments for every one condominium in the city. The Finns in Sunset Park kept building, and by 1947, there were 50 co-ops in their neighborhood.
Description
What the Buildings Look Like
The outside of the Alku and Alku Toinen buildings is made of light brown bricks.
Living in a Co-op
When the apartments first opened, families paid $500 to join. Then, they paid a monthly fee of $25 to $33. This was much cheaper than the average rent in the area at the time, which was $75 to $85 per month.
Each apartment was built for one family and had five rooms. They had modern comforts like heat, electricity, kitchens, and bathrooms.
The Five Principles
The members of the Finnish Home Building Association created a set of rules and five important principles for their co-op. These principles guided how the building was run:
- Democratic control: Everyone had a say in how things were managed.
- Nonprofit structure: The goal was not to make money, but to provide affordable homes.
- Voluntary membership: People chose to join the co-op.
- Individual economic participation: Members contributed money to the co-op.
- Concern for community: The co-op cared about the well-being of everyone living there.
