National Public Housing Museum

Last updated

The National Public Housing Museum is a historical institution that will be opening at 1322 W Taylor St. in Chicago, Illinois, and currently is located at 625 N Kingsbury St. in Chicago. [1] The museum is located in the last remaining building of the Jane Addams Homes of ABLA Homes, and will feature an oral history archive, public programming, and an entrepreneurship hub. Exhibitions will include restored apartment of three families who lived in the Jane Addams homes. The building that the museum is contained within opened in 1938 as the first federal government housing project in Chicago. It housed thousands of families over six decades and has been vacant since 2002 [2]

Contents

History

The movement for conservation of a public housing building began in the 1990s with the announcement of the Plan for Transformation, a Chicago Housing Authority initiative to demolish 17,000 units of public housing and replace them with mixed-income housing. [3] Residents, led by Deverra Beverly, a former commissioner for the Chicago Housing Authority, began and led the movement for the creation of a memorialization of their presence. [4] Beverly and other public housing residents approached Sunny Fischer, a philanthropy professional and former public housing resident herself, with their proposal for a museum. [5] Along the way, CHA residents were joined by "civic leaders, preservationists, historians, and cultural experts who also wanted to create a new architectural landmark to recognize an important historic site." [6] This group came together to preserve and transform the current site of the museum, originally designed by a team of architects led by John Holabird. As the project moved forward, the museum maintained a commitment to uplifting the voices and narratives of public housing residents, and includes public housing residents as about a third of its board.

Exhibits, collections and programming

The mission of the museum is to “promote, interpret, and propel housing as a human right” . This mission manifests in the museums oral history-focused approach to storytelling and community development and programming. The museum’s planned exhibitions and collections include an archive of oral histories of public housing residents, three restored apartments of three diverse (One Russian Jewish, one Italian-American, and one African American) families that lived in the public housing based on the oral histories of Inez Medor, members of the Rizzi family, and Marshall Hatch, and a community space for discussion and interpretation. [7] [4] Prior to opening, the museum served largely as a “museum in the streets” and hosted events like neighborhood storytelling and poetry readings, beautification projects at the site of the museum, and panels across the country. Most recently, National Public Housing Museum has partnered with Oral History Summer School to help train a group of activists, organizers, students, and artists in how to collect and utilize the medium of oral history, while additionally expanding the museum’s archival collection of oral histories. [8] The museum has not yet determined if it will devote a significant amount of resources to growing and maintaining a collection. As a member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, the museum holds a responsibility to not only historicize its focus but also connect the focus to current struggles and initiatives. [1]

The museum used the examples of the Apartheid Museum, District Six Museum, the Tenement Museum and the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum as inspiration. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverly Shores, Indiana</span> Town in Indiana, United States

Beverly Shores is a town in Pine Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States, about 36 miles (58 km) east of downtown Chicago. The population was 613 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Addams</span> American activist, sociologist and writer (1860–1935)

Laura Jane Addams was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of social work and Women's suffrage. In 1889, Addams co-founded Hull House, one of America's most famous settlement houses, in Chicago, Illinois, providing extensive social services to poor, largely immigrant families. Philosophically a "radical pragmatist", she was arguably the first woman public philosopher in the United States. In the Progressive Era, when even presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson identified themselves as reformers and might be seen as social activists, Addams was one of the most prominent reformers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hull House</span> 19th and 20th-century settlement house in the United States

Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Hull House, named after the original house's first owner Charles Jerald Hull, opened to serve recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had expanded to 13 buildings. In 1912, the Hull House complex was completed with the addition of a summer camp, the Bowen Country Club. With its innovative social, educational, and artistic programs, Hull House became the standard bearer for the movement; by 1920, it grew to approximately 500 settlement houses nationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabrini–Green Homes</span> Public housing development in Chicago

Cabrini–Green Homes are a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) public housing project on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois. The Frances Cabrini Rowhouses and Extensions were south of Division Street, bordered by Larrabee Street to the west, Orleans Street to the east and Chicago Avenue to the south, with the William Green Homes to the northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beverly, Chicago</span> Community area in Chicago

Beverly is the 72nd of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located 12 miles (19 km) from the Loop, it is on the city's far south side. Beverly is considered part of the Blue Island Ridge, along with the nearby community areas of Morgan Park and Mount Greenwood, and Washington Heights, and the City of Blue Island. As of 2020, Beverly had 20,027 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABLA Homes</span> Public housing development in Chicago, Illinois, United States

ABLA Homes was a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) public housing development that comprised four separate public housing projects on the Near-West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The name "ABLA" was an acronym for the names of the four different housing developments that together constituted one large site: Addams, Brooks, Loomis, and Abbott, totaling 3,596 units. It spanned from Cabrini Street on the north end to 15th Street on the south end, and from Blue Island Avenue on the east end to Ashland Avenue on the west end. Most of the ABLA Homes have been demolished for the development of Roosevelt Square, a new mixed-income community by The Related Companies, with the renovated Brooks Homes being the only part left. For most of its existence, the ABLAs held more than 17,000 residents, giving it the second largest population in the CHA. It was second only to the Robert Taylor Homes and Cabrini–Green in land area and had a higher occupancy than Cabrini–Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Italy, Chicago</span> Human settlement in Illinois, United States of America

Little Italy, sometimes combined with University Village into one neighborhood, is on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The current boundaries of Little Italy are Ashland Avenue on the west and Interstate 90/94 on the east, the Eisenhower Expressway on the north and Roosevelt to the south. It lies between the east side of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus in the Illinois Medical District and the west side of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. The community was once predominantly Italian immigrants but now is made up of diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds as a result of immigration, urban renewal, gentrification and the growth of the resident student and faculty population of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Its Italian-American heritage is primarily evident in the Italian-American restaurants that once lined Taylor Street. The neighborhood is home to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame as well as the historic Roman Catholic churches Our Lady of Pompeii, Notre Dame de Chicago, and Holy Family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Wilkinson</span> American civil liberties activist (1914–2006)

Frank Wilkinson was an American civil liberties activist who served as Executive Director of the National Committee Against Repressive Legislation and the First Amendment Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Housing Authority</span> Municipal corporation that oversees public housing in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is a municipal corporation that oversees public housing within the city of Chicago. The agency's Board of Commissioners is appointed by the city's mayor, and has a budget independent from that of the city of Chicago. CHA is the largest rental landlord in Chicago, with more than 50,000 households. CHA owns over 21,000 apartments. It also oversees the administration of 37,000 Section 8 vouchers. The current acting CEO of the Chicago Housing Authority is Tracey Scott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwestern University Settlement House</span>

The Northwestern University Settlement House is an Arts and Crafts style house located at 1400 West Augusta Boulevard in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The Settlement Association was founded in 1891 by Northwestern University to provide resources to the poor and new immigrants to the West Town neighborhood. The actual Settlement House structure was built in 1901 by Pond & Pond. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on December 1, 1993.

<i>Abraham Lincoln: The Man</i> Statue of Abraham Lincoln standing by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Abraham Lincoln: The Man is a larger-than-life size 12-foot (3.7 m) bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. The original statue is in Lincoln Park in Chicago, and later re-castings of the statue have been given as diplomatic gifts from the United States to the United Kingdom, and to Mexico.

James "Jim" R. Martin is an American writer, independent producer, director, and documentary filmmaker. He is best known for his PBS feature-length documentary Wrapped In Steel, broadcast nationally in 1984–85, and PBS documentary Fired-Up Public Housing is my Home broadcast nationally in 1988–89. Both Wrapped In Steel and Fired-Up were nominated for Emmy. Fired-Up won an Emmy for Best Independent Network Documentary, Chicago. Author, Create Documentary Films, Videos, And Multimedia: a comprehensive guide to using documentary storytelling techniques for film, video, Internet and digital media projects. ISBN 978-0-9827023-0-7, Actuality Interviewing and Listening 2017 ISBN 978-0-9827023-6-9, Documentary Directing and Storytelling 2018 ISBN 978-1-7216794-6-1, Listen Learn Share 2018 ISBN 978-0-9827023-8-3,Storytelling In The SEO Age 2023 ISBN 979-8-9875933-87, Office and Home Tai Chi with Yue Zhang 2020 ISBN 979-8-9875933-5-6, The Shaolin Temple Story with Shi Yongxin 2023 ISBN 979-8-9855287-4-9, Silhouettes and Shadows 2022 ISBN 979-8-9855287-2-5

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subsidized housing in the United States</span> Rental assistance for low-income households

In the United States, subsidized housing is administered by federal, state and local agencies to provide subsidized rental assistance for low-income households. Public housing is priced much below the market rate, allowing people to live in more convenient locations rather than move away from the city in search of lower rents. In most federally-funded rental assistance programs, the tenants' monthly rent is set at 30% of their household income. Now increasingly provided in a variety of settings and formats, originally public housing in the U.S. consisted primarily of one or more concentrated blocks of low-rise and/or high-rise apartment buildings. These complexes are operated by state and local housing authorities which are authorized and funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In 2020, there were one million public housing units. In 2022, about 5.2 million American households received some form of federal rental assistance.

Elizabeth Wood was the first Executive Director of the Chicago Housing Authority from 1937 until 1954.

The First Aid Care Team (FACT) was a rapid-response emergency medical program unit serving areas of Chicago in conjunction with standard Emergency Medical Services units. The unit existed from 1984 to 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ida B. Wells Homes</span> Former public housing development in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Ida B. Wells Homes, which also comprised the Clarence Darrow Homes and Madden Park Homes, was a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) public housing project located in the heart of the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was bordered by 35th Street to the north, Pershing Road to the south, Cottage Grove Avenue to the east, and Martin Luther King Drive to the west. The Ida B. Wells Homes consisted of rowhouses, mid-rises, and high-rise apartment buildings, first constructed 1939 to 1941 to house African American tenants. They were closed and demolished beginning in 2002 and ending in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dearborn Homes</span> Public housing development located on the Southside of Chicago, Illinois, US

Dearborn Homes is a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) public housing project located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is located along State Street between 27th and 30th Streets, and bounded by the Metrarail line to the west. It is one of only two housing projects that still exist from the State Street Corridor which included other CHA developments: Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, Harold Ickes Homes and Hillard Homes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold L. Ickes Homes</span> Former public housing development in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Harold L. Ickes Homes was a Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) public housing project on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was bordered between Cermak Road to the north, 24th Place to the south, State Street to the east, and Federal Street to the west, making it part of the State Street Corridor that included other CHA properties: Robert Taylor Homes, Dearborn Homes, Stateway Gardens and Hilliard Homes.

Addams Park is a public park in Chicago named after Jane Addams. It is located in Little Italy in the Near West Side Community Area.

Siobhán McHugh is an Irish-Australian author, podcast producer and critic, oral historian, audio documentary-maker and journalism academic. In 2013 she founded RadioDoc Review, the first journal of critical analysis of crafted audio storytelling podcasts and features, for which she received an academic research award. She is Associate Professor of Journalism (honorary) at the University of Wollongong (UOW). and Associate Professor of Media and Communications (honorary) at the University of Sydney. Her latest book, The Power of Podcasting: telling stories through sound, was published by NewSouth Books in February 2022. A US edition with Columbia University Press is due October 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Public Housing Museum (USA)". Sites of Conscience. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  2. "Place". National Public Housing Museum. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  3. "Plan for Transformation". The Chicago Housing Authority. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  4. 1 2 Dukmasova, Maya. "The National Public Housing Museum's long journey home". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  5. "Remarkable Woman: Sunny Fischer". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  6. Lee, Lisa Yun (2017-08-11). "The Stories We Collect: Promoting Housing as a Human Right at the National Public Housing Museum". Forum Journal. 31 (3): 9–20. ISSN   2325-7296.
  7. Ian Elsner (5 March 2018). "37. The National Public Housing Museum with Robert J. Smith III" (Podcast). Museum Archipelago. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  8. "Exhibits". National Public Housing Museum. Retrieved 2017-10-01.
  9. Johnson, Steve (6 May 2016). "Chicago National Public Housing Museum aims for the conscience". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-10-01.

41°52′10.7″N87°39′35.5″W / 41.869639°N 87.659861°W / 41.869639; -87.659861