Scope and arrangement
The records of the Union Settlement Cultural Center primarily document the Center's administration and activities under the leadership of H. Blake Hobbs. There are also documents relating to Union Settlement's other programs, and material about and by Hobbs. Included are annual reports, administrative records, activities' files, correspondence, diaries, poetry, drawings, financial ledgers, flyers, newspaper and magazine clippings, and printed material.
The Union Settlement Cultural Center records are arranged in three series:
-
1904-1975
This series provides an overview of the settlement house since its founding in 1895. There is limited information about the organization's other programs.
-
1945-1977
This series is divided into administrative and activities files. The administrative material includes a record book listing the Center's art inventory and two financial ledgers. Additionally, address books include miscellaneous data about the Center's activities. The activities file is divided into four categories based on the functions of the Cultural Center: music, art, literary, and library. The Center was known as the Music School until the 1960s, when Hobbs expanded the program to include other activities. The art category is divided into files of specific artists. Documents in these files include original artwork and reprints, flyers, articles, and letters. The literary file includes information on activities of which the Cultural Center was a continuing or initial sponsor and participant, such as the East River Players and East Harlem Writing Center. It also includes poems written by East Harlem residents and famous Black authors.
-
1938-1973
This series includes personal and professional correspondence, writing, and minutes of the cultural committee of the East Harlem Council for Community Planning, of which Hobbs was the chair. Writing describe Hobbs's life, several trips, and activities in East Harlem. Hobbs was also chairman of the Union Settlement's credit union; this material can be found in the Union Settlement series.