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.
Dr. 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.
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.
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.
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.