The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum commemorates the work of social welfare pioneer and peace advocate Jane Addams, her settlement house associates, their innovative programs and the neighborhood they served. Housed in an original Hull-House building, preserved and operated by the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Museum is an internationally recognized symbol of multicultural understanding, educational innovation, social service, urban research and social reform. Restored by the University in the mid-1960s, the two-building Hull-House complex includes a National and a Chicago Historic Landmark.
The Hull Home was built in 1856 by Charles J. Hull and occupied by Jane Addams in 1889. The interior of the building displays original furnishing, paintings, photographs and exhibits that interpret the history of the settlement and work of its residents.
The Jane Addams Hull House Museum is open to the public for tours Tuesday - Friday, from 10 am - 4 pm, and Sundays from 12 Noon - 4 pm. It is closed Mondays, Saturdays and on select holidays. An introductory slide presentation is available to drop-in visitors. Special programs on topics relating to the history of Hull-House are available to groups making reservations in advance.
Exhibits and Events
The museum’s engaging exhibits include an alternative labeling project about Jane Addams and her relationship to Mary Rozet Smith, and an innovative cell phone tour where you will hear contemporary activists, intellectuals and artists like Bill Ayers, Paula Giddings, and Vijay Prashad discuss Hull-House history.
Every Tuesday from 12-1:30, come to the Museum for FREE, delicious soup made from local ingredients and served in the beautiful Arts & Crafts Residents' Dining Hall. Meals include a free conversation about urban agriculture and other critical local and global, food issues.
About Jane Addams
Jane Addams was the first American woman to win the Nobel peace prize in 1931, and was also described as “the most dangerous person in America” and "Public Enemy #1" because of her passivism, advocacy for women's rights and her commitment to a radically inclusive democracy.
She was the co-founder of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and helped to establish the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as well as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
As a close friend and associate of John Dewey, she played a role in the development of the philosophical school of American Pragmatism and the Chicago School of Sociology.
