Mapping The Expansion of Hull House between1889-1912
A companion to the document set by Kathryn Kish Sklar, Rima Lunin Schultz, Melissa Doak, Marian Horan, and Kerry Lippincott.
Photograph of Jane Addams in 1899
Between its founding in 1899 and the zenith of its expansion in 1912, Hull House shaped politics and social programs in the Progressive Era as well as the Near West Side of Chicago.
The settlement house founded by Jane Addams initially offered the largely immigrant and working class neighborhood nurseries, kindergartens, a library, a boy's club and limited lodging .
The initial site for Hull House was the first two floors of large building which was then also home to factories and homes.
"We furnished the house as we would have furnished it were it in another part of the city, with the photographs and other impedimenta we had collected in Europe, and with a few bits of family mahogany. While all the new furniture which was bought was enduring in quality, we were careful to keep it in character with the fine old residence. Probably no young matron ever placed her own things in her own house with more pleasure than that with which we first furnished Hull-House. We believed that the Settlement may logically bring to its aid all those adjuncts which the cultivated man regards as good and suggestive of the best life of the past." -
Florence Kelly directed a survey of the Near West Side in which she sought to map the wages , professions, and "nationalities" of the primarily tenement-dwelling residents of the neighborhood. Results from these surveys demonstrating the low wages of the community inspired further expansion of Hull House that would offer more resources. Photographs from the series of expansions are pinned on the map below of contemporary Chicago.
Entrance to Hull House from Halsted Street, c. 1898
Hull House Dining Hall
Hull House Coffee House and Gymnasium Building, 1895.
Children's House
Hull House Women's Club Building
1920s Class held in Hull House Gymnasium / Hull House Basketball Team 1907
View of Hull House from Polk Street c. 1907
1910 Postcard
Hull House Residential Apartments
Entrance to Hull House from Halsted Street, c. 1898
Between 1889 and 1912, Hull House expanded to include 13 buildings. This documen t created by Vincent Michael helps us imagine the layout of early 20th century Hull House buildings in contemporary Chicago.
Hull House Dining Hall
Resident Dining Hall c. 1898 and 1936
A new addition to the mansion was built in 1895 for a dining room, and the reception room was remodeled, although these spaces still remained inadequate. In 1907 a two-story dining hall was added behind the original mansion, allowing residents to have their own dining space. That year a new kitchen was also built in the 1895 dining hall addition.[ 10 ]
Hull House Coffee House and Gymnasium Building, 1895.
The "Coffee House" at Hull House opened in 1893 to serve hot coffee, soup, stew, and rolls to factory workers and families in the community.
Children's House
The two story building referred to as"The Children's House" was added in 1895 and included a nursery, kitchen, kindergarten, and "sleeping rooms" for babies who still slept in cribs. The above image was captured in 1895 and depicts children from the kindergarten playing on the second floor of the building.
"These rooms open off the large front hall, where is a broad staircase with frequent landings, which make it easy for the little feet to climb. The south room has light woodwork, pale yellow walls, pretty rugs on the floor, and comfortable chairs scattered around; the north room is pale sea green, and furnished with small chairs and tables for the baby kindergarteners." - Document 12
Hull House Women's Club Building
Finished in 1905, the Women's Club Building at Hull House featured a cloak room, kitchen, club rooms, and an auditorium. While the smaller kitchen and club rooms were more suited for providing residents with spaces to sew and store linens and garments to serve the community, the Bowen Auditorium was used to host women's club meetings of up to 800 people at a time.
"If one planted a small acorn that seemed very insignificant and then watched it grow into a strong oak tree that gave shade to the weary in the beat of summer and shelter to bird and beast, that one can enter somewhat into my feelings on the day of the opening of the Hull House Woman's Club Building." - Document 17
1920s Class held in Hull House Gymnasium / Hull House Basketball Team 1907
The Hull House gymnasium was a venue for concerts, classes in sport and physical education as well as basketball games. By 1896, Hull House had its first basketball team. In 1913, the director of the gymnasium, Rose Gyles , recorded that membership peaked at 850 people.
View of Hull House from Polk Street c. 1907
1910 Postcard
this 1910 postcard features a photograph of 1902 Residents' Apartment Building, the Men's Club Building, the Butler Building, the Entrance Gate, and the Children's Building.
Hull House Residential Apartments
This photo of the inside of one apartment was taken by Wallace Kirkland in the 1920s.
Most Hull House buildings were located on property acquired by the University of Illinois, Chicago in 1963 and were demolished in order to create space for university structures. The map below shows the contemporary neighborhood as it has been shaped by the university. The map also depicts the placement of the original Hull House structure within the contemporary Hull House Museum building.
Location of first Hull House Building within contemporary location of museum
Click the following link to learn more about how Hull House interacted with the community between 1889-1912 and access all the wage maps, photographs, and written accounts of Hull House visitors collected by Women and Social Movements.
