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A landmark of housing and history

National Public Housing Museum

Location Chicago, Illinois
Client National Public Housing Museum and Related Midwest
Expertise Resilience & Sustainability, Inclusive & Accessible Design, Community Collaboration
Size 0.8 acres
Completion 2025
National public housing museum street entrancesite design group

Occupying the last remaining building of the historic Jane Addams Homes at the corner of Taylor and Ada Streets on Chicago’s West Side, the National Public Housing Museum preserves and reexamines a critical chapter in the history of public housing in the United States. 

National public housing museum jane addams site design group

Chicago Historical Society, circa 1938

Originally constructed in 1938 and vacant since 2002, the building was carefully rehabilitated and expanded to accommodate recreated exhibition apartments, galleries, public programming spaces, administrative offices, and affordable housing units. The landscape design extends this adaptive reuse strategy into the public realm, creating a sequence of outdoor spaces that connect history with everyday use.

When the Jane Addams Homes were constructed, architects Holabird & Root commissioned artist Edgar Miller to create a sculptural central courtyard. Miller designed a set of large, Art Deco-influenced limestone animals, believing the imagery would connect residents, especially children, with nature and humanity. The space was interactive, allowing children of many backgrounds to play, climb, and cool off together in the reflecting pool and sprinkler system.

As support for public housing began to decline in the 1960s, residents continued to maintain the beloved sculptures through the eventual closure and demolition of the Jane Addams Homes. The creation of the National Public Housing Museum helped preserve the last remaining building, while the animal sculptures were restored and reinstalled in a new courtyard, reconnecting the site with the shared outdoor life of the original landscape.

New Restorative Ecologies

Along the south edge of the building, intimate seating areas are woven among native plantings and permeable paving beside the sidewalk. These spaces help manage stormwater while offering places to rest and engage with neighborhood life. Within the courtyard, native plants frame the seven restored sculptures, reestablishing the cherished focal point. To the north, a surface parking lot is animated by vibrant geometric fields of color that extend the museum’s artistic identity across the site. 

Public Art and Play, Continued

HOOPcycle, an interactive public art installation designed by Marisa Morán Jahn and Rafi Segal, features a mobile tricycle-mounted hoop inspired by basketball and ancient Mesoamerican ballgames. Transforming the permeable parking lot into a flexible recreational space, the project uses play to spark dialogue about equity, community, and public space.

"We believe that in order to preserve history, you have to make it relevant to the most critical social justice issues of today. There is no way that we can actually address [them] unless we go back in time and ask, 'What have we not yet learned from history?' "

Executive Director Lisa Yun Lee, in an interview with NPR

The National Public Housing Museum stands as an important cultural destination that amplifies the voices and lived experiences of public housing residents while serving as a living testament to the enduring social purpose of housing.

Collaborators

LBBA

Architect (Museum)

HED

Architect (Housing)

EVA Design & Engineering

Civil Engineer

Brush Architects

Preservation Consultant

McGuire Igleski & Associates

Preservation Consultant

Dynacept Engineering

MEP Engineer (Museum)

dbHMS

MEP Engineer (Housing)

WSP USA

Structural Engineer

Awards

  • 2026 Nominee USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards Best New Museum
  • 2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards Richard H. Driehaus Legacy Award
  • 2025 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards Adaptive Reuse
  • 2025 National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) Community Innovation Awards Community Revitalization
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