History and Founding
The Movement
Based on the success in New York, John D. Rockefeller Jr. helped establish International Houses at the University of California, Berkeley (1930), the University of Chicago (1932), and the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris (1936). With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the International House of Japan, a scholarly center, opened in Tokyo in 1955. Today, fourteen I-Houses in Australia, Canada, Europe, the UK and the US comprise International Houses Worldwide, united by one mission: To provide students of different nationalities and diverse cultures with the opportunity to live and learn together in a community of mutual respect, understanding, and international friendship.
Background image: I-House Berkeley, circa 1950.
New Century Leader, 1932.
International Houses Worldwide brochure, 2011.
International House Chicago brochure, circa 1940.
The University of Chicago’s International House is a nine-story Gothic building that features stunning views towards Lake Michigan.
Founded in 1936, La Maison Internationale was inspired by classical French architecture and was created in the “neo-Louis XIII” style.
Designed by noted Bay Area architect George Kelham, International House Berkeley opened in 1930 as the first co-educational residence west of the Mississippi.
Founded in 1952 and built in 1955, International House of Japan features a traditional Japanese garden designed by the seventh-generation famed Kyoto landscape artist Ogawa Jihei.
