Neighborhood News: National Public Housing Museum on Near West Side chronicles the history of public housing
“Everyone deserves a place to call home.”
Located in the last remaining building of the historic Jane Addams Homes, the National Public Housing Museum, 919 S. Ada Street, on Chicago’s Near West Side, is the first museum to preserve the legacy of public housing.
The museum was opened earlier this year, so visitors would have “a nuanced understanding of its impact.”
The museum aims to rewrite the narrative of public housing, showcasing both the successes and failures of the system and highlighting the experiences of its residents.
History of the Chicago Housing Authority
The CHA was created in 1937 to own and operate housing built by the federal government’s Public Works Administration, as Wikipedia sources note. In addition to providing affordable housing for low-income families and combating blight, it also provided housing for industry workers during World War II and returning veterans after the war. By 1960, it was the largest landlord in Chicago.
In 1965, a group of residents sued the CHA for racial discrimination. After the landmark court decision Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority (see below), the CHA was placed in receivership, which would last for more than 20 years.
Things continued to deteriorate for the agency and its residents, and by the 1980s, the high concentrations of poverty and neglected infrastructure were severe.
In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, many high-rise projects were demolished or redeveloped, with a shift towards mixed-income housing and tenant-based subsidies like Section 8.
The demolition of these projects represented a shift away from large-scale public housing and towards more dispersed and mixed-income housing models.
Immersive Experiences
The Jane Addams Homes offer an experience in the texture and fabric of public housing throughout time by visiting three recreated historic apartments showcasing different families’ experiences at different moments in public housing history between 1938 and 1975.
As their website notes, the intimate individual, family and community stories become the lens to understand large national public housing policies and their impact.
Take, for example, a stroll through the Turovitz Family Apartment.
In the Turovitz family apartment, you’ll meet Meyer and Mollie and their children, Bessie, Jack, and Inez, who were among the first tenants of the Jane Addams Homes when they came to live there in 1938. You’ll experience a lovingly recreated kosher kitchen and hear the voice of Inez remembering her childhood experiences in public housing.
You’ll also discover how the U.S. got its first public housing and about the families who believed in this experiment.
Other homes featured include the Hatch Family Apartment, where Reverend Elijah Hatch and Helen Holmes Hatch and their eight children moved into the Jane Addams Homes in 1960 after a fire in their tenement home. Hear about some of the issues that families, like the Hatches, encountered while living in public housing, including the connection between public housing and the Civil Rights Movement, the continued impacts of environmental racism, and how they fought back.
You’ll also learn how 1950s redlining, racial covenants, blockbusting and other federal and local housing policies shaped the demographics of cities and of public housing and impacted the lives of families living in the Jane Addams Homes.
New Exhibit: ‘Living in the Shade’
From July 23-November 12, in the Special Exhibits Gallery on the second floor, Living in the Shade explores the role of open space—large lawns and tenant gardens, paved paths and play spaces, shady seating areas and public art—in creating more livable, healthy, and thriving communities.
The exhibit highlights the significant role of open space in the daily lives of millions of public housing residents who have called New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments home. It explores different facets of this unique environment through large-scale architectural models, archival and contemporary photographs, renderings and site plans, and community testimonials and photographs. It assesses the successes and failures of NYCHA’s landscaping efforts over a 90-year period, telling the story of how open spaces were first designed for public housing residents in the 1930s and how they have been reimagined over the years to meet changing community needs.
Upcoming Events
Join the National Public Housing Museum for Where I’m From: Poetry Writing Workshop led by creative writing instructor, poet, healer, and former Hilliard Homes resident, Toni Asante Lightfoot.
The workshop will explore themes such as “Where are you from? Do you remember the soundtrack, flavors, and scents from the places and spaces that shaped you?”
Light bites and refreshments included, but space is limited. Please register in advance by clicking here.
On August 23, from 11am-6pm, the Museum will celebrate Community Day, featuring engaging activities for all ages and a chance to explore the newly expanded Intuit Art Museum.
The Museum is open Wednesday–Sunday, from 10am–5pm. They are closed Monday and Tuesday. Admission is free, with tickets required for the Historic Apartment Tours. For information and tickets, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
