We look forward to welcoming you to the National Public Housing Museum. Located in the last remaining building of the historic Jane Addams Homes, our museum is committed to preserving the profound legacy of public housing and fostering a nuanced understanding of its impact on communities.
Admission is free, with tickets required for the Historic Apartment Tours.
View of the Jane Addams Homes, 1938. Courtesy of the Chicago History Museum.
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.
Timed tickets required.
“What is an object that tells a story about your life and experiences in public housing?” History Lessons: Everyday Objects from Public Housing is a national effort to collect objects from public housing residents in diverse communities across the USA, and work with residents in storytelling and writing workshops to write their own labels…
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…
Beyond the uniform exteriors of public housing buildings, there are apartment units with unique, enthralling, and carefully curated interiors.
When American sitcom Good Times came out in 1974, it was the first time public housing residents saw themselves on mainstream television. We worked with Maurice Edwards, Cabrini-Green Homes Community Development Corporation President, to ask current Cabrini-Green residents to tell us their favorite episodes, clips of which are on view in our Lower Level gallery.
Conceptualized by artist Marisa Morán Jahn and architect Rafi Segal, the mobile art installation HOOPcycle offers a reimagined sports experience that challenges norms and unites communities through play.
Invitation Wall is the museum’s 40-foot outdoor public art exhibition space that reflects the museum’s commitment to radical hospitality.
Experience the enchanting seven-piece sculpture Animal Court by Edgar Miller, which has been lovingly restored and placed in our courtyard. The sculpture garden is free and open to the public during museum hours…
The National Public Housing Museum’s new space offers opportunities for our visitors and members to record oral histories, spaces of care, advocacy spaces for the Chicago community to gather.
Register as a member to reserve spaces!
Please stay tuned. We are working on virtual exhibitions that will make the museum more accessible to national visitors or for anyone who might not be able to join us in person.
General admission is free for all.
Historic Apartment Tours are ticketed. Please see tour page for more information.
919 South Ada Street
Chicago, IL 60607
Located on the northeast corner of West Taylor Sreet and South Ada Street.
Additional resources available at the front desk.
