Political officials and National Public Housing Museum staffers, residents and advocates were on hand for the National Public Housing Museum groundbreaking at 919 S. Ada Street on Chicago’s Near West Side on Friday (April 4) (Photo Credit: Tacuma R. Roeback).
The battle over affordable housing has raged for decades in Chicago, where Black and Brown communities have long been disadvantaged and caught in the middle. Public housing, with its complicated history of promise and neglect, is no exception.
Now, a new chapter begins—on the 57th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, less than five miles from the North Lawndale apartment where the civil rights leader lived while fighting housing discrimination in the city.
On the Near West Side, a project nearly 20 years in the making has finally come to life. The National Public Housing Museum, located at 919 S. Ada Street in the last remaining building of the Jane Addams Homes, officially opened its doors Friday. It is the first cultural institution in the country dedicated to telling the story of public housing through the voices of those who lived it.
The museum uplifts the lives and legacies of public housing residents—sharing their hopes and aspirations alongside their struggles.
“This is the preservation of vital history stories. When oppressive regimes come in, they try to eliminate history and our culture. Because if you can take away someone’s story, you can take away your existence. So we are building not just stories, but a more just and ethical society,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson.
The museum’s foundation wasn’t just poured in concrete. It was laid in memory, care, and community. Organizers made it a point to center people with lived experience in public housing at every stage of the process.
“This museum was built by hundreds of dedicated people who have made it a reality,” said Sunny Fischer, Co-Founder and Board Chair. “They shared their stories, and they patiently provided their labor and love and support over the last 18 years. As a Site of Conscience, we join museums around the world committed to telling complicated and difficult stories, preserving history, and imagining a more just future.”
Francine Washington, who chairs the Central Advisory Committee for the Chicago Housing Authority and serves on the museum’s board, emphasized the deeper purpose behind the project.
“Growing up in public housing, I saw the strength, pride, and resilience of our communities, which are too often erased,” she said. “This Museum is personal. It’s the first in the country to tell our stories—not just the bricks and buildings but the people who made public housing, home. We’ve always had a voice. Now we have a place that listens.”
For DJ Spinderella, who curated a music exhibit inside the museum, the experience was deeply emotional.
“I am a product of public housing, born and raised in public housing because I’m so moved, y’all,” she said. “This is really exciting. The rec room that I curated and this whole museum pays deep respect to my dad, the first DJ I knew.”
The museum is more than a place to remember. It’s a space to gather, question, and reimagine what housing justice can be.
“The dazzling stories, precious keepsakes, compelling cultural production of public housing, and activism of public housing residents have much to teach us,” said Executive Director Dr. Lisa Yun Lee. “And because housing insecurity and injustice is such a critical issue facing so many people across our nation, the National Public Housing Museum will be an important civic anchor that brings people together to imagine innovative solutions and envision a more equitable future.”
What’s Inside
Restored Apartments
Three historic apartments belonging to different generations of public housing residents engage and teach visitors about the cultural, social, and economic history of housing.
Everyday Objects
The National Public Housing Museum features artifacts, objects and stories from public housing across the country that encourage empathy and connection. By foregrounding storytelling, the Museum encourages innovative and creative public policy that responds to people’s lived experiences.
Art and Exhibition Spaces
Enthralling art that expands people’s imaginations and their horizons of learning. Highlights include a public art commission by internationally renowned artists Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous and the Alphawood Foundation Sculpture Garden with restored WPA-era Animal Court sculptures by Edgar Miller.
Oral History Archive and Oral History Collective
The Museum is home to the nation’s largest archive of the stories of public housing residents. These stories are featured in podcasts, exhibits, research, and scholarship. The new building includes the Dr. Timuel Black Recording Studio.
Empowerment Hub
Good Chaos Empowerment Hub
The National Public Housing Museum has a space dedicated to programs that address the racial wealth gap, build solidarity economies and cooperatives, and create a cultural workforce that contributes to diversifying the museum profession.
Corner Store Co-op
Alvin H. Baum Family Foundation Museum Store
In place of traditional museum retail, the National Public Housing Museum’s official shop is co-owned and operated by public housing residents.
Demand the Impossible
Doris Conant Advocacy Space
Here, visitors participate in discussions of social justice issues to encourage action and meaningful civic dialogue. The museum enables people to understand the principles of urban planning and systemic racism and find new ways of addressing segregation. Through the Doris Conant Advocacy Space, visitors learn to challenge perceptions of what public housing was in order to re-imagine the future of housing for all.
The REC Room
An interactive exhibit curated by DJ Spinderella showcases the music that has emerged from public housing projects. It encompasses a range of popular sounds that have expanded our idea of American culture and American identity.
Visiting the Museum
The National Public Housing Museum is now open at 919 S. Ada Street. General admission is free. Guided Historic Apartment Tours are available daily in limited numbers and must be reserved in advance ($25 for adults, $15 for seniors, students, and children; free for members). The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Visit www.nphm.org for details.
Here are more photos from the National Public Museum groundbreaking:
Mayor Brandon Johnson (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
The assembled crowd on hand for the National Public Housing Museum groundbreaking (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
Hip-hop artist DJ Spinderella, best known for being a member of Salt-N-Pepa, addresses the crowd at the groundbreaking (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
Chicago Department of Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
Angela Hurlock, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago Housing Authority, delivers her address (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin with DJ Spinderella and Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
Francine Washington, CHA resident and Museum Board Member, addresses the crowd (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
The site of the National Public Housing Museum at the last remaining building of the Jane Addams Homes (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
The famed Jesse White Tumblers put on a show to close out the groundbreaking ceremonies (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
The ribbon was cut, and the first-of-its-kind National Public Housing Museum opened (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).