[3] Prior to its completion in 1965, the Rutgers Houses was one of the sites of a city-wide civil rights protests in 1963.

Demonstrators attempted to block construction until African Americans and Latinos get more jobs in the building trades until several were taken into custody.

[5] Designed by Hart, Jerman & Associates, the Rutgers Houses in 1961,[6] the development was completed March 31, 1965.

[8] The development is named after Henry Rutgers (1745–1830), a captain in the American Revolutionary War and a major landowner and philanthropist who was the last descendant of Dutch immigrants.

[10][11][12] In 2010, the Rutgers Houses were one of eight developments to receive a portion of $400 million in funding from the federal to address capitol needs for repairs.