Historic Apartments
Three recreated apartments at the heart of the National Public Housing Museum showcase the stories of diverse families who lived in the Jane Addams Homes.
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Spirit of Kittihawa, Chris Pappan, 2019.
Special Exhibits Gallery,
2nd Floor
Still Here uses art, archives, and public dialogue to explore and connect histories of displacement on the land where the National Public Housing Museum is located. As an institution that addresses displacement of public housing residents, we also want to understand the forcible removal of Indigenous peoples that came before and grapple with how those experiences are interwoven.
This exhibition includes a large public wall mural by Andrea Carlson (Ojibwe) that is part of the city of Chicago’s Monuments and Memorials Project.
Curated by Dr. Lucy Mensah. Designed by Bodwe Group, whose mission is to grow the economy and legacy of the Pokagon Band of the Potowatomi.
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Still Here is part of Art Design Chicago, a citywide collaboration initiated by the Terra Foundation for American Art that aims to expand understanding of Chicago’s creative communities, past and present.
Lead support for the exhibition is provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, with funding from the Mellon Foundation as part of the Chicago Monuments Project.

Additional support provided by Dedrea and Paul Gray, Sunny and Paul Fischer, Marisa Novara, Susan and John Russick, Mark Thiele, and the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO).
Three recreated apartments at the heart of the National Public Housing Museum showcase the stories of diverse families who lived in the Jane Addams Homes.
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.
History Lessons offers intimate glimpses of life in public housing through everyday objects and personal memories.
Additional resources available at the front desk.