BREAKTHROUGH: Housing Futures
This immersive exhibition blends historical documentation of HUD’s Operation Breakthrough from the 1970s with new prototypes for urban living from The Housing Futures Initiative.
Historic Apartments
Experience public housing history
Left and bottom right: Photos by Jenny Fontaine/UIC. Top right: Photo by Robert King
Guided Tour
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Adults: $25
Seniors (65+): $15
Students: $15
Youth (6–18): $15
Members: Free - Get Tickets
An immersive visit to the Jane Addams Homes
Experience 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. The intimate individual, family and community stories become the lens to understand large national public housing policies and their impact.
Decorated for the season!
Until January 4, celebrate family holiday memories from the Jane Addams Homes and make new ones with a festive visit to the National Public Housing Museum. During an enthralling tour, experience recreated Hanukkah and Christmas decor in the 1930s Turovitz and 1970s Hatch Family Historic Apartments, enjoy tasty treats, and reflect upon the diverse traditions and stories that shape resident life in public housing.
On your way out, don’t forget to visit the Alphawood Sculpture Garden to see Edgar Miller’s Animal Court framed by holiday lights!
Plan your visit
The Historic Apartments can only be experienced through a guided tour led by one of our educators. These intimate tours for up to 15 guests are offered daily and last approximately 60 minutes
Our Historic Apartment tours are also available for K–12 classrooms and private groups of all ages.
What’s inside
Turovitz Family Apartment
In the Turovitz family apartment, 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. Discover how the U.S. got its first public housing and about the families who believed in this experiment. Experience a lovingly recreated kosher kitchen and hear the voice of Inez remembering her childhood experiences in public housing.
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Generously made possible by Debra and Harry J. Seigle.
What Happened Next?
In this recreated 1950s apartment, learn how 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. Created by Manual Cinema with Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor.
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Generously made possible by the Ford Foundation.
Hatch Family Apartment
In the Hatch family apartment, meet Reverend Elijah Hatch and Helen Holmes Hatch and their eight children who 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. Audio tour in collaboration with Lil Rel Howery and Nate Marshall.
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Generously made possible by the Mellon Foundation.
More exhibitions
History Lessons
History Lessons offers intimate glimpses of life in public housing through everyday objects and personal memories.
Project Greenway: A Reimagination of 130th Street
Students share their vision for connected community green space in this exhibition centered on underused land in Altgeld Gardens on the South Side of Chicago.
Exhibition Resources
Additional resources available at the front desk.