Hull House (Chicago, Ill.)

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Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of the city, Hull House (named after the original house's first owner Charles Jerald Hull) opened to serve recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had expanded to 13 buildings. In 1912 the Hull House complex was completed with the addition of a summer camp, the Bowen Country Club. With its innovative social, educational, and artistic programs, Hull House became the standard bearer for the movement that had grown nationally, by 1920, to almost 500 settlement houses.

The Hull mansion and several subsequent acquisitions were continuously renovated to accommodate the changing demands of the association. In the mid-1960s, most of the Hull House buildings were demolished for the construction of the University of Illinois-Chicago. The original building and one additional building (which has been moved 200 yards (182.9 m)) survive today. On June 12, 1974, the surviving Hull mansion was designated as a Chicago Landmark. On June 23, 1965, it was designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark. On October 15, 1966, the day that the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was enacted, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Addams followed the example of Toynbee Hall, which was founded in 1884 in the East End of London as a center for social reform. She described Toynbee Hall as "a community of university men" who, while living there, held their recreational clubs and social gatherings at the settlement house among the poor people and in the same style they would in their own circle. Addams and Starr established Hull House as a settlement house on September 18, 1889.

In the 19th century a women's movement began to promote education and autonomy, and to break into traditionally male-dominated occupations for women. Organizations led by women, bonded by sisterhood, were formed for social reform, including settlement houses such as Hull House, situated in working class and poor neighborhoods. To develop "new roles for women, the first generation of New Women wove the traditional ways of their mothers into the heart of their brave new world. The social activists, often single, were led by educated New Women.

Hull House became, at its inception in 1889, "a community of university women" whose main purpose was to provide social and educational opportunities for working class people (many of them recent European immigrants) in the surrounding neighborhood. The "residents" (volunteers at Hull were given this title) held classes in literature, history, art, domestic activities (such as sewing), and many other subjects. Hull House also held concerts that were free to everyone, offered free lectures on current issues, and operated clubs for both children and adults.

In 1892, Addams published her thoughts on what has been described as "the three R's" of the settlement house movement: residence, research, and reform. These involved "close cooperation with the neighborhood people, scientific study of the causes of poverty and dependence, communication of these facts to the public, and persistent pressure for [legislative and social] reform..." Hull House conducted careful studies of the Near West Side, Chicago community, which became known as "The Hull House Neighborhood". These studies enabled the Hull House residents to confront the establishment, eventually partnering with them in the design and implementation of programs intended to enhance and improve the opportunities for success by the largely immigrant population.

According to Christie and Gauvreau (2001), while the Christian settlement houses sought to Christianize, Jane Addams, "had come to epitomize the force of secular humanism." Her image was, however, "reinvented" by the Christian churches. According to the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, "Some social settlements were linked to religious institutions. Others, like Hull-House [co-founded by Addams], were secular."

Hull mansion was one of the first four structures to be listed on both the Chicago Registered Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places list (along with Chicago Pile-1, Robie House & Lorado Taft Midway Studios). After The Hull House Association moved from the original buildings complex in the 1960s, it continued to provide social services in multiple locations throughout Chicago. It finally ceased operations in January 2012. The Hull mansion and a related dining hall, the only remaining survivors on the Hull House complex, are now maintained as a history museum.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Molinaro, Frances, 1896-1986,. Frances Molinaro collection, 1900-1985. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Florence Kelley papers, 1836-1932, 1881-1932 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn O'Connor, Jessie Lloyd, 1904-. Papers, 1850-1988. Smith College, Neilson Library
referencedIn Jane Addams Papers MS 1., 1904-1960, 1904-1936 Sophia Smith Collection
referencedIn Bowen, Louise de Koven, 1859-1953. Louise Hadduck DeKoven Bowen collection, 1864-1953. Chicago History Museum
referencedIn Polacheck, Hilda Satt, 1882-1967. Papers, 1907-1992. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Jessie Lloyd O'Connor Papers MS 254., 1850 - 1988 Sophia Smith Collection
referencedIn Hull-House oral history collection, 1974-2002. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Harrison, Theodore, 1876-1965. Theodore Harrison memorabilia, 1912-1949. Newberry Library
referencedIn Addams, Jane, 1860-1935. Papers, 1904-1960 (bulk 1904-1936). Smith College, Neilson Library
referencedIn Heisler, Friedy Baumann, 1900-1997. Further interviews on personal and professional life : oral history transcript / Friedy Baumann Heisler. Interviews conducted by Suzanne B. Riess in 1991-1992. Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1998. UC Berkeley Libraries
referencedIn Jans, Paul. Papers, 1963-1968. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Jessie Binford collection, 1957-1966. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Blaine, Anita McCormick. Correspondence and papers, 1828-1958. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Addams, Jane, 1860-1935. [Scrapbook relating to Jane Addams]. Chicago History Museum
referencedIn Biographical data on Jane Addams, 1960. Minnesota Historical Society, Division of Archives and Manuscripts
referencedIn Jane Addams Papers Swarthmore College, Peace Collection, SCPC
referencedIn Tyler, Miriam. Papers, 1935-1968. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn [Miscellaneous pamphlets, centennial brochures, programs, etc.]. Chicago History Museum
referencedIn Kirkland, Wallace. Wallace Kirkland papers, 1890-1983. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Dilliard, Irving, 1904-2002. Papers, 1960-1967. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
referencedIn Rich, Adena Miller, 1881-. Letter : Chicago, to Harriet Comstock, Alpena, Mi., 1935 Aug. 23. University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Mary Addams Hulbert collection, ca. 1930s University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Watson, Luda, d. 1965. Luda Watson papers, 1895-1900. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Durr family. Papers, 1868-1968. Alabama Department of Archives and History
referencedIn Chicago Federation of Labor and Industrial Union Council. Chicago Federation of Labor records, ca. 1890-1983. Chicago History Museum
referencedIn Breckinridge, Sophonisba P. Papers Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library,
creatorOf Kelley, Nicholas, 1885-1965. Nicholas Kelley papers, 1823-1967, bulk (1862-1967). New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Kelley family. Kelley family papers, 1681-1936. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Florence Scala collection, 1963-1991. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
creatorOf Hull-House (Social settlement : Chicago, Ill.). [Miscellaneous pamphlets]. Chicago History Museum
referencedIn Cyrus Hall McCormick Jr. Donation Papers, 1880-1937 Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn McCormick, Nettie Fowler, 1835-1923. Nettie Fowler McCormick correspondence, 1775-1939. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Schlotter, Bertha E. Papers, 1916-1970. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Berry, Sue Douglas,. Sue Douglas Berry and Margaret Keller Douglas oral history interview, 1977 Nov. 11. Georgia State University
referencedIn White, Hervey, 1866-1944. Papers, 1889-1975, 1889-1930 (bulk) Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
referencedIn Rosenwald, Julius. Papers, 1905-1963 Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library,
referencedIn Hull-House Woman's Club (Chicago, Ill.). [Various pamphlets in envelope]. Chicago History Museum
referencedIn Addams, Jane, 1860-1935. [Correspondence] / Jane Addams. Knox College, Seymour Library
referencedIn Edith and Grace Abbott papers 1897-1954. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
referencedIn Chicago Public Library Archives. Hull House, ca. 1890s [picture]. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center
referencedIn Currie, Leonard J. (Leonard James), 1913-. Leonard and Virginia Currie collection, 1950-1979. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Petersen, Alma, b. 1894. Alma Petersen papers, 1943-1972. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Young, Marion C., 1895-1985. Hull House collection, 1929-1967. Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center
referencedIn Schwartz, Charles P. (Charles Phineas), b. 1886. Papers, 1915-1975. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Rosenwald, Julius, 1862-1932. Papers, 1905-1963 (inclusive), 1905-1933 (bulk). University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Addams, Jane, 1860-1935. Papers selected from the McCormick Collection [microform], 1893-1935. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Kirkland, Wallace. Papers, 1908-1977. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Florence Kelley papers, 1836-1932, 1881-1932 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Starr, Ellen Gates. Papers 1659-1975 bulk 1850-1970. Smith College, Neilson Library
referencedIn Rendel, Elinor, 1885-1942. Diary of Elinor Rendel, 1907-1909 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Keyser, Frank D., b. 1874. Papers, 1896-1946. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Bosworth, Louise Marion, 1881-1982. Papers, 1890-1946 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Hull, Charles J. (Charles Jerald), 1820-1889. Hull-Culver papers, 1848-1948. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Abbott, Edith and Grace. Papers, 1870-1967 Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library,
referencedIn Kirkland, Wallace. Jane Addams Memorial Collection photographs, ca. 1890- University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Kelley, Florence, 1859-1932. Hull House scrapbook. Chicago History Museum
referencedIn Breasted, Helen Culver Ewing. Helen Culver Ewing Breasted papers, 1910-2000. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Papers of the Hamilton family, 1818-1974 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Emily Edwards. Texas Woman's University Library, Mary Evelyn Blagg-Huey Library
referencedIn Bennett, Eleanor F. Diaries of Eleanor F. Bennett, 1905-1943. Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens
creatorOf Hull-House collection, 1889- University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
creatorOf Hull-House (Chicago, Ill.). Collection, 1890- Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies Library
referencedIn University of Illinois at Chicago. Institute for the Humanities. Jane Addams' Hull-House Centennial, UIC collection, 1989-1990. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Ellen Gates Starr Papers MS 151., 1659 - 1975, 1850-1970 Sophia Smith Collection
referencedIn Shipps, Barbara. Barbara Shipps' Hull-House collection, 1892-1978. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Hicks, Robert, 1900-1987. Robert and Ada Hicks papers, 1913-1988. University of Illinois at Chicago Library, UIC
referencedIn Hamilton family. Papers of the Hamilton family, 1879-1947 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Kelley family. Papers, 1681-1936, [microform]. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Breckinridge, Sophonisba Preston, 1866-1948. Papers, 1908-1949 (inclusive). University of Chicago Library
referencedIn Abbott, Edith, 1876-1957. Edith and Grace Abbott papers, 1870-1967 (inclusive). University of Chicago Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Abbott, Edith, 1876-1957. person
associatedWith Addams, Jane, 1860-1935. person
associatedWith Bennett, Eleanor F. person
associatedWith Berry, Sue Douglas, person
associatedWith Blaine, Anita McCormick. person
associatedWith Bosworth, Louise Marion, 1881-1982. person
associatedWith Bowen, Louise de Koven, 1859-1953. person
associatedWith Breasted, Helen Culver Ewing. person
associatedWith Breckinridge, Sophonisba Preston, 1866-1948. person
associatedWith Chicago Federation of Labor and Industrial Union Council. corporateBody
associatedWith Currie, Leonard J. (Leonard James), 1913- person
associatedWith Dilliard, Irving, 1904-2002. person
associatedWith Durr family. family
associatedWith Hamilton family. family
associatedWith Hamilton family. family
associatedWith Harrison, Theodore, 1876-1965. person
associatedWith Heisler, Friedy Baumann, 1900-1997. person
associatedWith Hicks, Robert, 1900-1987. person
associatedWith Hull, Charles J. (Charles Jerald), 1820-1889. person
associatedWith Hull-House Woman's Club (Chicago, Ill.) corporateBody
associatedWith Jans, Paul. person
associatedWith Kelley family. family
associatedWith Kelley family. family
associatedWith Kelley, Florence, 1859-1932. person
associatedWith Kelley, Nicholas, 1885-1965. person
associatedWith Keyser, Frank D., b. 1874. person
associatedWith Kirkland, Wallace. person
associatedWith McCormick, Cyrus Hall, 1859-1936. person
associatedWith McCormick, Nettie Fowler, 1835-1923. person
associatedWith Molinaro, Frances, 1896-1986, person
associatedWith O'Connor, Jessie Lloyd, 1904- person
associatedWith Petersen, Alma, b. 1894. person
associatedWith Polacheck, Hilda Satt, 1882-1967. person
associatedWith Rendel, Elinor, 1885-1942. person
associatedWith Rich, Adena Miller, 1881- person
associatedWith Rosenwald, Julius, 1862-1932. person
associatedWith Schlotter, Bertha E. person
associatedWith Schwartz, Charles P. (Charles Phineas), b. 1886. person
associatedWith Shipps, Barbara. person
associatedWith Starr, Ellen Gates person
associatedWith Starr, Ellen Gates. person
associatedWith Tyler, Miriam. person
associatedWith Watson, Luda, d. 1965. person
associatedWith White, Hervey, 1866-1944 person
associatedWith Young, Marion C., 1895-1985. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Chicago IL US
Illinois--Chicago
Chicago IL US
Subject
Social settlements
Occupation
Activity

Corporate Body

Establishment 1889-09-18

Disestablishment 2012-01

Americans

English

Information

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SNAC ID: 85718092