Things I Like - Chicago

It’s time for another famous Chicagoan.

If you grew up in the Chicago area in the 70’s or 80’s, chances are one of your middle school or high school field trips was to Jane Addams’ Hull House. My field trip was a long time ago but what stuck with me was that Jane Addams was a social worker and she won the Nobel Peace prize.

It turns out that she was only the second woman (and the first American woman) to receive the prize which was awarded in 1931 in recognition of her international efforts for peace. But before this great honor, Jane was one of the country’s foremost promoters of social reform in support of women and children. Hull House was her most visible contribution to Chicago.

Founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr, Hull House was the first Settlement House in Chicago. Located in the Charles Hull mansion on Chicago’s Near West Side, Hull House quickly grew to a complex of thirteen buildings, including a theater, art gallery, clubs, dining hall, nursery school, residence for working women, the only library in the neighborhood, and one of the first free gymnasiums in the country. More than a thousand people from the neighborhood came to the settlement each week for its education, artistic, and social programs.

The Hull House community encouraged a remarkable number of social reforms, many of which were pushed by women. Residents helped establish the world’s first juvenile court, the city's first public playground, and campaigned for improved housing regulations, sanitation, public schools, and ward politics. They also launched initiatives calling for passage of the Illinois’ Mothers’ Pension Law, occupational health and safety regulations, child labor laws, and woman’s suffrage.
~ Hull House Museum

The video below is a quick summary of her accomplishments – you can read more about her life and impact on Chicago here.



Happy 4th of July!