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Our mission is to preserve, promote, and propel the right of all people to a place where they can live and prosper—a place to call home.

    Museum Spaces

    Beyond exhibitions and installations, our museum is home to spaces that ignite the imagination and catalyze change.

    We invite you to visit all parts of the museum and to get engaged to make a difference in your community.

    A close up of an older Black man wearing a red shirt and glasses gestures and speaks to someone off camera.

    Timuel Black Jr. Recording Studio

    Named after the godfather of Chicago oral history, this soundproof professional recording studio is used for conducting oral history interviews, as well as focused listening to archival interviews by individuals and small groups. The studio may also be reserved by community members who want an accessible environment to produce their own audio-based work.

    NPHM collaborates with Dr. Black’s loved ones to design this space and will continue to cultivate the legacy of this seminal, but nationally under-appreciated, memory worker.

    Please contact us to arrange a session.

    This space is generously made possible by  Lisa Yun Lee and Adam Bush.

    A Black woman in a bright red sweater and sunglasses stands amidst two large stone animal sculptures. She rests her hand on the sculpture in front of her and speaks with passion.

    Doris Conant Demand the Impossible Advocacy Space

    Drawing on the work of people and campaigns across the country, the Demand the Impossible Advocacy Space inspires visitors to act as co-creators of a shared future in which housing is a human right. 

    This space is generously made possible by Doris Conant.

    A historic advertisement for the Altgeld Cooperative that broadcasts its commitment to shared profits with two Black women shopping in a community grocery store.

    Museum Store: Corner Store Co-op

    The museum’s store, the Corner Store Co-op, amplifies the entrepreneurial history of public housing and supports small businesses and cooperatives owned by public housing residents to promote economic equity. In addition to serving as the primary retail provider for the National Public Housing Museum, the physical and online stores also function as informal sites of activation for visitors and community members to learn and share the important history and present-day advocacy of cooperatives, including how public housing residents contribute to, and benefit from, a solidarity economy ecosystem.

    This space is generously made possible by the Alvin H Baum Family Foundation.

    Shop the Co-op!

    Sunny Fischer Lobby

    The Sunny Fischer Lobby is the warm and welcoming entrance to the museum named after one of our visionary co-founders.

    This space was generously made possible by her friends and family, who adore and value her many contributions to the world.