The Founding: The Co-op started out small. There were just nine members who rented "Adam House" in West Los Angeles in December 1936. But the idea was big. So was the foresight and the leadership of the person with the idea: John Essene, for whom Essene Hall is named.

Incorporation: When the Co-op actually incorporated in September 1938, the officially recorded name was University of California at Los Angeles cooperative Housing Association, commonly referred to as just "CHA". There was a forced name change from UCLACHA to UCHA in 1954 at the insistence of the Regents of the University of California who wanted the initials UCLA to apply only to the school and to nothing else they didn't own.

Buying Robison: In April 1941, John Essene found the "most favorable possibility yet uncovered for purchase." It was the Richard Neutra-designed "Glass House" on Ophir Drive - our Robison Hall.