Founded By Public Housing Residents, Museum Prompts Reflection and Highlights Calls to Address Urgent Housing Issues
Chicago, Illinois (March 11, 2025) – The National Public Housing Museum today announced that it will open to the public on April 4, 2025, completing an expansive adaptive reuse project of the last remaining building of the Jane Addams Homes, 919 S. Ada Street, on Chicago’s Near West Side. From its permanent home, the Museum will be a vibrant new cultural destination in Chicago and a place to experience national public housing stories of hope and personal achievements as well as struggle, resistance, and resilience.
The Museum is the first institution of its kind dedicated to interpreting the histories and policies that have shaped the experience of public housing across the United States. Its opening fulfills the long vision of Deverra Beverly, a Commissioner of Housing and a public housing leader, and other residents who, in the late 1990s, began to dream of creating a museum that preserved the collective voices, experiences, and histories of public housing residents nationwide.
“The National Public Housing Museum is dedicated to the belief that housing is a human right, and our new home is designed in every way to further our commitment to preserve, promote, and propel the right of all people to a place where they can live and prosper—a place to call home,” said National Public Housing Museum Executive Director Dr. Lisa Yun Lee. “Through enthralling exhibits that draw on the power of memory and place to world-class artworks, the Museum will inspire visitors to examine and engage with critical issues around housing policies, and to reimagine the future of our communities, our society, and the places we call home.”
The Museum will feature exhibits rooted in personal objects and stories from people who call public housing home—including restored apartments from different generations of Jane Addams Homes residents—alongside art installations and programmatic and advocacy spaces that share and inspire creative solutions to the nation’s ongoing housing crisis.
The Museum plans a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 4, followed by a weekend full of activities and programming that will immerse visitors in the story of public housing in America. The schedule of opening weekend programming will be available online at www.nphm.org, with new programs being added regularly.
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Images Available at National Public Housing Museum Media Center
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PUBLIC HOUSING MUSEUM
Our story starts with a simple truth: that all people have the right to a home. Founded by public housing residents, the National Public Housing Museum is the first cultural institution dedicated to interpreting the American experience in public housing. Filled with history, memories, music, and art, the Museum is a welcoming community gathering place that honors the stories and experiences of public housing residents. Through partnerships and programs, the Museum also serves as a civic incubator that inspires visitors to take informed action to advance housing justice.
Mission
To preserve, promote, and propel the right of all people to a place where they can live and prosper—a place to call home.
Location
919 S Ada Street
Chicago, IL 60607
(773) 635-9919
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