Jane Addams Hull House Museum

I took about 25 – 30 people for a guided tour yesterday. It’s a small house, but it has a very rich history. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, engaging and energetic! I would highly recommend if you’re interested in any sort of nonprofit and/​or social work, or if you’re interested in Chicago history. In addition to the info on Jane Addams, her life and work, we got a lot of info about the history of the neighborhood.

A must for social workers! I am so glad I made the pilgrimage. At the turn of the last century Jane made social strides that I wish we were making today. She reformed immigration with compassion and fervor.

The Jane Addams Hull-​House Museum serves as a dynamic memorial to social reformer Jane Addams. Its current location is conveniently situated (the 8 bus stops right at the door and the CTA Blue line is within striking distance) on the UIC campus. I came here yesterday for the Migration Stories program that was scheduled to take place at the nearby Residents’ Dining Hall. Though the museum closes at 4 pm on weekdays, the hours were generously extended so that the program’s attendees could tour the house. Since I was on the waiting list and had gotten here early in hopes of nabbing a spot, I took advantage of the opportunity to take a walk through the home. An excellent feature of this museum is that it is free to the public and no one is turned away. A nominal minimum donation will suffice.
The exhibits are quite comprehensive, covering the typical day-​in-​the life and structure of the house and even going so far as to encompass a room full of maps and papers (one of the Settlement’s most important projects) on the second floor. I especially enjoyed the library/​parlor on the first floor, as it is filled with art from prominent Chicagoans along with books and essays that were part of Addams’ personal library. The architectural details alone are worth a look, and the overall nature of this museum is inviting and interactive, connecting the Hull House legacy to current social and cultural issues of today. Regrettably, the program that I was scheduled to attend was sold out (I did not make the wait list!) but I am glad that I had the opportunity to tour the house and take in some exhibit highlights.

Yay! I am definitely a fan! I love small, well done museums like this one. Jane Addams came up in several of my readings for a grad school course I was taking last quarter so I wanted to take advantage of the proximity to the museum. Glad I did, it made for a nice «field trip» over my quarter break.
The museum is free, but they encourage a donation — $ 5 will suffice. You can wander around on your own or join a more formal tour. I chose to wander on my own. There is plenty to read, plenty to look at, some things to touch (others not so much), a short film depicting life in the late 19^th century/​early 20^th century, and even a room (the veranda) with the sound of the hood at any given time back in the day. You can stand in Jane’s actual bedroom, surrounded by her desk, clothing, diaries, books and personal photographs. Powerful experience.
I love being able to look at a photo and then glancing across the room and seeing the exact same fireplace or wallpaper; it makes it real and makes me appreciate the restoration. Someone did a really nice job keeping track of Jane’s belongings (clothes, books, letters, photographs, diaries, etc) and it’s on display for your enjoyment and educational advancement. Let’s not forget Jane A. was the first female to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This woman did more for social justice than most, even to this day. She had her hand in education, immigration, child welfare and many other areas that required attention.
You can tour both remaining buildings (there used to be over 12 before UIC demolished them) in a little over an hour. The 8 bus drops off at the front door. It’s so well done and restored.
My suggestion: Go. Now.

Stop #3 on my museum tour for Sunday, January 13.
This was my final stop on my museum hopping day. The museum is on the UIC campus, and two blocks south of the UIC/​Halsted Blue Line stop. The museum had interesting ways of interacting with exhibits, including a sound room and booklets to read instead of panels for some of the exhibits.
There was also a tour that was given to another group of people when I was there. I ended up going with the tour group in the museum, and the guide was very informative and enjoyed talking about the material. The only problem was that the third floor was roped off, but that was very minor.
4.5 stars/​5 (with 0.5 extra stars for the tour guide) = 5 stars

I’m surprised Jane Addams Hull House Museum has received so few reviews– it’s one of the most unique and well-​done small museums I’ve ever been to. Not far from the UIC/​Halsted Blue Line stop and right on the Halsted bus line, it’s truly worth your time and a visit!
The history of the Hull House and Jane Addams’ activism are told through period pieces, memorabilia, and inventive ways, like projecting a film against glass windows, or a piece of sheet music that relates how children of Hull House were taught art and music classes. An empty octagonal room presents a sound installation of the activity of the destitute neighborhood during the Depression, and was one of my favorite experiences at the Museum.
Two levels of the house are open, and don’t forget to find the Gift Shop, a short walk away, for books on activism, art, and even Intelligentsia Hull House Blend coffee beans. With all of the upheaval and activism happening in the World and the U.S. right now, there’s no better time for a visit to the Jane Addams Hull House Museum.

The Jane Addams Hull House Museum is possibly one of the best executed museums in the city. The small space has been used very well and exhibits are easy to follow and thorough.
The exhibits gracefully transition from being about the structure (and former structures) of Hull House itself on the first floor to the work and life of Jane Addams on the second floor. There is tons of written information effortlessly laced with eye catching displays and artifacts. The reading material is well written and easy to read, it’s large enough in most places that you don’t have to squint and it’s displayed properly so more than one person can read it at a time. This may sound like something you should expect at a museum, but it’s surprisingly absent at most.
The octagonal room formerly used by Jane Addams as an office is now an empty room separated from the adjoining room by a heavy velvet curtain. This room is used as an auditory exhibit, filled with the sounds you would have heard had you been standing in the same spot with the windows open more than 100 years ago. This exhibit was one of the most impressive to me. Most museums are all about reading and some are prepared for people to want to touch the exhibits, some have information being read to you that you can listen to while relying on your eyes to learn about the subject matter. It’s rare to find a beautiful space dedicated to engaging another sense in a very different way, the sounds and voices are meant to transport you to Halsted street in 1889, the sounds Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr would’ve heard. It is a very nice change of pace at a museum.
You can walk yourself around the museum and take in the exhibits or you can wait for a tour and listen to the guide discuss them. Or both. Personally, the tour seemed a bit too big for my tastes. There is plenty of information to soak up on your own.
One of the best parts of the Jane Addams Hull House Museum? It’s free! That’s right, no charge to learn about how Jane Addams and her Hull House Residents made history in our fair city (and nation).

As of September 2010, the museum has been totally renovated with new permanent and temporary exhibits. Jane Addams really was quite a radical person, and the museum has continued her tradition of socially-​conscious work. They have a wonderful website
and the events they host look really neat.
I was expecting a kind of boring, stuffy, history museum, but I was pleasantly surprised by the engaging exhibits they have such as an auditory soundscape. They ask interesting questions like, «Why was Jane Addams on the FBI’s most wanted list?» I highly recommend the museum for student groups or anyone with an interest in social justice.

I have to say I’m more than a little bummed out by my experience here. Jane Addams was a pretty fucking amazing woman by all accounts; take your pick why, whether it’s championing the peace movement during WW I, immigrant rights, workers rights, women’s suffrage or overall basic human dignity, she was involved in a ton of absolutely revolutionary stuff.
Now these things I knew before walking into the museum, and it’s pretty much what I came out with. You get a real base, almost sub-​cliff notes version of these things from walking around the museum. There are still a few original artifacts there to give a good sense of how things were at Hull House during the formative years for those involved in the social programs. And for some reason, lots of pottery.
Two things in particular jumped out at me during the tour that I would’ve absolutely loved to have learned more about. The first was the fact that J Edgar Hoover and the FBI were monitoring Addams and had copious files about her activities. That was honestly the coolest thing in there but it amounted to little more than one photocopy. The other was the struggle of the neighborhood to fight off the construction of UIC’s campus in the 1960s, which as we all know led to the destruction of the Hull House complex. It gets mentioned but not in nearly enough detail to satisfy me. Guess they don’t want to bite the hand that feeds?
I don’t want to knock the place since it’s free and an important part of not just Chicago history but world history too, but it just seemed kind of stunted. It’s definitely worth checking out but don’t expect your mind to be blown.

FREE!
It’s kind of an odd museum, you should ask to see the introductory video (20 min long) to get a good context for it because the museum seems to be in no particular order, thus a little confusing.
The interpretive signs are not real well written and I walked out wondering more about Hull House than I would have liked, but I guess I’ll just have to read a book or two to figure it out. They kind of skate over some of the more important points of the place’s existence — like how very middle-​class some of their ideals were (teaching art to people that needed food) and they back away from talking in-​depth about the labor organizing or social change part to instead focus on the classes the center gave. Sort of a disappointment.

I can’t believe I’ve passed this place about 2343 times and only now, today, have made it a point to make sure I’ve seen it.
The historic house is certainly done in a «you can’t buy ‘em like this anymore» fashion. Make sure to ask the person working the front desk if you can view the 20 minute video to get a good kick start to your time there. Or even better, see if you can go here when there’s a tour going on.
Jane Addams was an amazing woman, and it is important to know about her and her life’s work.
The most interesting parts of the single-​floor gallery space for me, was seeing how the area USED to be in history; Including such lovely perks like the old red-​light district over by the South Loop Target, and how Blue Island Ave use to cut right up and through where the highway is today.
I really just wish she could see what it was like today.

Very small museum but within the historic Hull House itself. Unfortunately, due to UIC’s construction, all the buildings and projects were taken down except for the house and neighboring hall. The museum is free but full of knowledge, several antiques, a 20-​minute historical video and beautiful glass windows. My personal favorite viewing items were the maps of the ethnic makeup and cost of housing that once existed in the area. Who knew there were so many white-​colored square brothels?! Jane Addam’s truly was an amazing person! If you’re up to it, go at night when the museum’s closed and look for the Devil Child who is said to roam the courtyard.

Jane Addams was an amazing lady with a lot of good works tucked into her black belt arsenal of humanitarian awards. Her home was gorgeous (and now rentable for your special events ! at a fee, of course). .. the museum is nice, though not going to keep the kids attention for long. More for the aged then the young, and the history buff than the kinestetically needy. Take a look at it in order to come down from sensory overload garnered by Museum de Science & Industry

This building has a lot of history associated with it. Just take a look into their museum and you will surely learn a ton of information. This building was originally bought by Jane Addams in the late 1800s for her social welfare work. Today it is a nice museum that hold lots of exhibitions and lectures about the building’s history.

This attractive Italianate-​style building dates back to 1856 and is currently located on the UIC campus. This was originally a residence for Charles Hull, and later adopted for use by social reformer Jane Addams for the poor. This free museum has limited hours.