Our story starts with a simple truth: that all people have the right to a home.
The National Public Housing Museum is the first cultural institution in the United States dedicated to interpreting the American experience in public housing. Public housing has had an enormous and often controversial impact on our nation’s history. It has shaped our definition of the public good.
Housing insecurity is one of the preeminent issues of our time, cutting across boundaries of class, race, and region. The Museum draws on the power of place and memory to preserve, promote and propel the right of all people to have a place where they can live and prosper—a place to call home.
The Museum will be a place to share public housing stories of hope and personal achievement, as well as stories of struggle, resistance and resilience. Using art, oral histories, and material culture, the Museum will archive and share these stories and create opportunities for visitors to understand and engage in innovative public policy reform in order to reimagine the future of our communities, our society, and the places we call home.
"Public housing has been an important part of the urban story of the United States and has touched the lives of countless residents and future leaders. The epicenter of the public housing story has been Chicago; therefore it is appropriate that the National Public Housing Museum be located in Chicago.”
—Henry Cisneros, Former National League of Cities President, Former US Secretary of Housing
The Power of Place Campaign will redevelop the last remaining building of the former Jane Addams Homes on Chicago’s Near West Side into a world-class civic and cultural institution. Visitors will encounter enthralling exhibits and historically significant objects, and engage with the provocative ideas of internationally renowned contemporary artists. The Museum will also be an African American Historic Site, and will be committed to telling an inclusive and diverse history. Join us and be a catalyst for change.
Click here to view our digital Case for Support.
Click here to view initial plans for a welcoming entrance by internationally renowned artists Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous that brings world-class public art to the near west side of Chicago.
WHY A MUSEUM?
“Who can call us back to the true meaning of ourselves as a nation in the caring for the least advantaged among us?
I believe it is the National Public Housing Museum.”
Over the past century, more than 10 million people across the United States have called public housing home. Since the 1990s, thousands of public housing units across the U.S. have been demolished.
In the late 1990s, public housing residents began to dream about creating a museum to preserve their collective voices, memories, and the histories of public housing across the nation. They wanted their children and grandchildren, and the public at large, to know more about their place in the American experience and to understand the public policies that helped to shape their families. They believed that the stories of public housing residents would resonate strongly with audiences throughout the world. In 2007, civic leaders, preservationists, historians, cultural experts, and many others joined with residents to help incorporate the Museum. Since then, the National Public Housing Museum has offered transformative programs that connect the past with contemporary issues of social justice and human rights.
Step inside the museum
As a Site of Conscience, the Museum is a historically significant site that links the past with today’s most urgent social issues. From the moment you enter the historic public housing building that houses the Museum, you’ll step into someone else’s home, someone else’s ups and downs, someone else’s hopes, dreams and hardships. You’ll experience someone else’s life story. And as with most true stories, there will be parts that move you and parts that make you want to make things better. Join us. Come be a part of it.
Experience the Past
Set foot inside three historic apartments from different eras of housing that engage and teach visitors about the cultural, social, and economic history of housing. Experience life in public housing from The New Deal to the present day. Connect to the intimate lives of diverse families and the national politics and culture that helped shape them.
Explore Artifacts
Get up close and personal with everyday objects and stories from public housing residents from across the country.
Unleash Your Imagination
Immerse yourself in thought-provoking art that highlights urgent housing issues, expands your imagination and pushes you to new horizons of understanding. The Museum will feature a permanent public work by Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous, and a rotating exhibit of contemporary art premiering with works by Nathaniel Mary Quinn.
Listen and Learn
Listen to the compelling first-person accounts of residents through the nation’s largest archive of oral histories of public housing residents. These stories will be featured in podcasts, exhibits, research, and scholarship.
Be a Catalyst for Change
See how programming, storytelling, art, entrepreneurship, and community engagement spaces will build on the Museum’s exhibitions to catalyze a civically engaged public that is ready and eager to strive for social justice in housing and other areas of society. Discover ways that you can become engaged and be part of the change.
Invest in Extraordinary Ideas
Fuel the dreams of entrepreneurs who are working to address the systemic and structural barriers to entrepreneurship through the creation of a robust infrastructure to support a new generation of small businesses and cooperatives launched by public housing residents.
Experience the Soundtrack of America
Immerse yourself in the permanent Music Room exhibit, curated by the most influential and iconic female DJ in hip-hip music, DJ Spinderella. The music that has emerged from public housing projects represents a range of popular sounds that have expanded our idea of American culture and American identity. Explore all genres of music, help grow our archive of musicians, and learn about diverse housing complexes across time and space.
OUR STORY IS A BOLD ONE
Public housing has had an enormous and often controversial impact on our nation’s history. It has shaped our definition of the public good in urban and rural communities alike.
Visitors will participate in discussions of social justice issues and current campaigns related to housing to encourage their own action and meaningful civic dialogue. The Museum will enable people to understand principles of urban planning and systemic racism in order to find new ways of approaching and addressing segregation. Visitors will learn to challenge perceptions of what public housing was and is in order to reimagine the future of housing for all.
“The National Public Housing Museum will be a catalyst for change by partnering nationally with others to explore innovative public policy reform in order to reimagine the future of our communities, our society, and the places we call home.”
—Lisa Yun Lee, Executive Director
Go to our FAQ to learn more about our plans and about the capital campaign.
Donor Spotlight
“We wholeheartedly support the mission of the National Public Housing Museum to tell the many stories of those who lived in public housing and to develop policies that will promote the development of safe affordable housing, which is a human right.”
—Zenobia Johnson-Black, NPHM Board Member & Vice Chair of Personnel, Retired Housing Official; and Timuel Black, American Historian, Author, Civil Rights Activist, and Expert in African American History in Chicago
“I am privileged to focus the Feinberg Foundation on the legacy of racism and racial segregation in the city of Chicago. Part of this legacy can be given voice in a permanent home for the National Public Housing Museum.”
—Janice Feinberg, The Feinberg Foundation
“Housing agencies—and the ‘housers’ that do this important work—are, like NPHM, deeply committed to working to provide every American with a place to call, and feel at, home. I couldn’t be prouder of the commitment shown by housers across the country, and particularly here in Texas, to support NPHM and its vision to tell the stories that inspire us to do more. Now, more than ever, we must not stop until all people have a place where they can live and prosper.”
—Mark Thiele, NPHM Board Member and Power of Place Committee Member; CEO, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO)
Chicago native and committed houser Laurel Appell Lipkin has been a supporter of the Museum since 2007. “I’ve remained involved supporting the Museum over the years but more recently joined the Capital Campaign Committee to work alongside staff and fellow committee members to close the funding gap and get us to the finish line. There are so many stories to be told from so many different perspectives. I see the Museum as a creative endeavor, a teaching tool, an opportunity for understanding, compassion, awareness and education.”
—Laurel Appell Lipkin, Power of Place Committee Member, Principal, LL Consulting
FOUNDING DONORS AND MuSEUM CHARTER MEMBERS
Ruth J. Abram and Herbert Teitelbaum ‡
Rolf Achilles ‡
Carol Adams, Urban Prescriptives Consulting ‡
Barry Alberts ‡
Alphawood Foundation
The Alvin H. Baum Family Fund
Anonymous (2)
Joseph Antolin ‡
Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen, P.C.
Peter and Lucy Ascoli Family Fund ‡
Barbara and Bruce Ashton ‡
Ben Austen ‡
David Bahlmann ‡
James Baird
Jill Baldwin ‡
Mary Baldwin ‡
Charles Barlow *
Fred Bates ‡
Irene and William Beck ‡
Kate Bensen ‡
Marjorie Craig Benton ‡
Timuel Black and Zenobia
Johnson-Black *
Kemery Bloom ‡
The Boeing Company ‡
Michelle Boone †‡
John Bouman and Robin Schirmer ‡
Barbara Bozon
Nonie Brennan
Jen Brown
Betsy Brill ‡
Penny Brown and Jeff Rappin ‡
Ralph and Rona Brown ‡
Jean Butzen *†
Richard and Catherine Cahan ‡
Greg Cameron and Greg Thompson ‡
Janet Chess
City of Chicago
Henry Cisneros and Mary Alice Perez Cisneros
The Clare Foundation‡
Fay Clayton ‡
Michael Cleavenger ‡
Marvin R. Cohen and Jane E. Richman ‡
Deirdre Colgan ‡
Doris Conant and Howard Conant Jr. ‡
Chanel Coney
Micki Coppel
Judy Cothran MD †
Judy Cottle ‡
Gillian Darlow and Chris Jones ‡
Jean de St. Aubin and Jim Mayhercy ‡
Dirk Denison †‡
Barbara and Harvey Dershin ‡
Jeff Deutsch ‡
Bernardine Dohrn and William Ayers ‡
The Don and Rebecca Ford Terry Family Fund ‡
Lisa Downey
Michele Dremmer *‡
Elizabeth Driehaus and Demitrios
Athens ‡
Gail Dugas *†
Edwin Eisendrath ‡
Barbara Engel ‡
Deborah Epstein ‡
Mitchell and Merri C. Ex ‡
The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation
Roberta Feldman ‡
FHLBank of Chicago
The Field Foundation of Illinois ‡
Nancy M. Finegood ‡
Nina Fischer ‡
Max and Ciria Fischer ‡
Paul Fischer ‡
Sunny Fischer *†
Cate Fox ‡
Paulette Freed ‡
Adrianne and Robert Furniss ‡
Laurie Glenn ‡
Clare Golla
Leonard C. Goodman
Ruth and Stephen Grant ‡
Dedrea and Paul Gray
Esther Grisham Grimm ‡
Guy and Joan Gunzberg ‡
Jack and Sandra Guthman ‡
Joan Hall ‡
Anne Hallett ‡
Julie Hamos ‡
Peter Handler and Mary Beth Sova ‡
Alaina Harkness ‡
Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation
Ronne Hartfield ‡
Rev. Marshall Hatch
Mark and Tracey Hennessy
Bette Cerf Hill and Bruce Sagan ‡
Saul Himelstein *
Marvin Hoffman and Rosellen Brown ‡
Holsten Real Estate Development Corporation
Mae Hong ‡
D. Bradford Hunt *
Eilene Isaacs ‡
Ubong Ituen
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation ‡
Jonathan Logan Family Foundation ‡
Jonathan Rose Companies
Climentine Jones ‡
The Joseph and Bessie Feinberg Foundation
Joyce Foundation ‡
Andrea Juracek ‡
Jackie Kaplan-Perkins and Anne Perkins ‡
Tony Karman
Marilyn Katz ‡
Charles Katzenmeyer ‡
The Kaufman Family Foundation ‡ Barbara and Ken Kaufman
Jackie Kazarian and Peter Cunningham ‡. Judith Kirschner ‡
Ethel Klein and Edward Krugman ‡
Barbara Koenen and Tim Samuelson ‡
Ben and Heather Kohl ‡
Susan and David Kohl ‡
Iris Krieg ‡
Valerie Lamont ‡
Peter Landon
The Lazar Family Fund ‡
Lisa Lee and Adam Bush
Moses Lee The Lehman-Stamm Family Fund ‡
Paul A. Levy ‡
Juju Lien and Robert C. Cross ‡
Lucia Woods Lindley
Laurel Appell Lipkin †‡
Lona and Philip Livingston ‡
Riley and Ellen Lloyd
Susan Lloyd ‡
Trinita Logue ‡
Marcena Love ‡
Linda Loving ‡
Teri and Bill Lowry ‡
James and Kay Mabie ‡
David Mandell and Jamie Kudera ‡
Rachel Mandell ‡
Rosanna Marquez ‡
Cheryl McLean ‡
Bonnie McDonald and Michael Johnson ‡
Cheryl McLean ‡
Jack and Carol Medor *
Gary Metzner ‡
Nancy Meyer and Marc Weiss The Michaels Organization (in honor of founder Michael Leavitt) ‡
Cindy Moelis and Robert Rivkin ‡
Andy Mooney and Mary Laraia ‡
Arthur and Jo Moore ‡
Mary Morten and Willa Taylor ‡
Mary Murphy and Peter Taub ‡
Murray and Virginia Vale Foundation ‡
Betty Musburger ‡
The National Endowment for the Humanities
Fran and Tim Nay
Sylvia Neil and Daniel Fischel ‡
Raymond Neirinckx and Roxanne Audette
Caroline O'Boyle
Mary Pattillo ‡
Peter and Lucy Ascoli Family Fund ‡
The Pierce Family Foundation ‡
Polk Bros. Foundation ‡
Angelique and Sean Power ‡
Teresa Prim and Sequane Lawrence Neal and Christa Rackleff
Quinn Chapel AME Church
David and Sydney Reed ‡
Reno & Cavanaugh PLLC (in honor of founder, Gordon Cavanaugh)
Retirement Research Foundation ‡
Elspeth Revere ‡
The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation ‡
Janice Rodgers ‡
Mike and Laura Rogers *†
Dominique Rougeau
Shirley Rougeau
Len and Linda Rubinowitz ‡
Jean Rudd ‡
Debbie Rudman ‡
Rachel Rudman ‡
Reva Rudman ‡
Ellen Rudolph ‡
Anthony and Anne Ruzicka *†
Sage Foundation ‡
Esther S. Saks ‡
Jane M. Saks, Emma Ruby-Saks, and Esmé Ruby-Saks ‡
Paul and Bettylu Saltzman ‡
Laura Samson ‡
Miriam Savad
Gail Schechter ‡
Susanne Schnell
Bob Shapiro and Ginger Farley ‡
Cecile Shea *
Joe and Judith Shuldiner *
Lesley Slavitt ‡
Patricia Slovak ‡
Janet Carl Smith and Mel Smith ‡
Esta Soler ‡
Bernadine Spears
Julia Sportolari ‡
Square One Foundation
Julia and Stanley Stasch ‡
State of Illinois
Nikki Stein ‡
George and Linda Stevenson ‡
Isabel Stewart ‡
Stratford Capital Group
Janet Strauss
K Sujata ‡
Myrtis Sullivan, MD
Terra Foundation For American Art
Mark Thiele * †
Kendra Thomas
Donna Thompson
Richard Townsend ‡
Eileen M. Vidrine
Walder Foundation ‡
Credell Walls ‡
Francine Washington *
Laura Washington ‡
Bernice Weissbourd ‡
Bob Weissbourd ‡
Rick Weissbourd and Avery Rimer‡
Gordon Whatley ‡
Nike Whitcomb ‡
Chuck Wien
Judy Wise ‡
Gary and Leslie Wood ‡
Debbie Wright
Richard Wright and Valerie Carberry
Carol Wyant ‡
Caren Yanis ‡
Alison Zehr ‡
Housing Authorities
Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority
Central Texas Housing Consortium
Chicago Housing Authority
Corpus Christi Housing Authority
Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority
Fort Worth Housing Solutions
Fresno Housing Authority
Housing Authority of the City of Austin
Housing Authority of the City of
Los Angeles
Housing Authority of the City of
San Benito
Housing Authority of the City of Waco
Houston Housing Authority
Maiker Housing Partners
Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers
NAHRO - Texas
Pecos Housing Authority
Plano Housing Authority
San Diego Housing Commission
Texas Housing Association
As of December 16, 2021
* Board Member
† Power of Place Capital Campaign Committee Member
‡ Sunny Fischer Fund Donor - click here to see the full list of contributors.
Power of Place Capital Campaign Committee
Sunny Fischer, Co-Chair
NPHM Board Chair; Cultural Activist; Retired Philanthropic Executive; Former Resident, Eastchester Projects, New York
Denis Pierce, Co-Chair
Founder, Pierce and Associates;
President, Pierce Family Foundation
Khaliah Ali Wertheimer, Co-Chair
Fashion Designer, Social Justice Activist and Daughter of Muhammad Ali
Ben Applegate
NPHM Board Member; Managing Partner, Applegate & Thorne Thomsen; Board Member, Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition; and Board Chair, Continuum of Care on Homelessness
Michelle T. Boone
President, Poetry Foundation; Chief Program and Civic Engagement Officer, Navy Pier, Inc.; Former Commissioner of the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Penny Brown
Civic and Arts Leader; Philanthropist; Trustee, National Louis University; Board Member, Grant Park Music Festival; City Kids Camp; Former States Attorney and Litigation Partner, Much Shelist
Jean Butzen
NPHM Board Vice Chair, Fundraising and Development; President, Mission + Strategy Consulting
Kevin Conlon
Founder and President, Conlon Public Strategies
Judy Cothran MD
Founder/CEO Women's Health of Chicago; North Shore University Health System
Dirk Denison
Founding Principal, Dirk Denison Architects; Professor, IIT; Director, Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize
Gail Dugas
NPHM Board Secretary; Granddaughter of Robert Rochon Taylor; Public Housing Advocate
Falona Joy
Senior Advisor, Arabella Advisors
Laurel Appell Lipkin
Principal, LL Consulting;
Specialist in Affordable and Low-income Housing, Planning and Development
Jennifer Miller
Former Deputy Commissioner, Chicago Department of Housing; Board Member, Heartland Alliance
Preston Prince
NPHM Board Member; Executive Director, Santa Clara County Housing Authority
Tony Ruzicka
NPHM Board Treasurer; Nonprofit Consultant; Treasurer, Victory Gardens Theater; Vice President, Glencoe Historical Society; Treasurer, National Museum of Gospel Music; Former President, Village of Glencoe, IL
Tiffany Sherrill
Business Manager, Dirk Denison Architects; former resident, Cabrini–Green Homes, Chicago
Myrtis Sullivan, M.D.
Retired director of the pediatric emergency department at Cook County Hospital
Mark Thiele
NPHM Board Member; CEO, National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO)
Bradford J. White
Senior Program Director-Built Environment, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation
Committee in Formation
MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION
We invite you to be a catalyst for change.
Please make your Power of Place capital gift today by filling in this form or by contacting Colleen McGaughey, Director of Development, at cmcgaughey@nphm.org or 773-245-1658. With an online donation, you will receive an acknowledgement of your tax-deductible donation by email.
Please email us if you prefer to make your donation by phone, if you would like to donate stocks or securities, if you would like to discuss naming opportunities, if you wish to make a two-year pledge, or make a donation in honor of someone special with a tribute gift. To donate to the Sunny Fischer Fund, use the donation form.
Naming opportunities for specific spaces in the Museum range from $100,000 to $1,000,000. Note that gifts of $25,000 up to $99,999 will be recognized on the donor wall. Gifts less than $25,000 will be recognized as part of a rolling projection on a Museum wall.
Thank you in advance for your support and your commitment to the common good.
Lisa Yun Lee
Executive Director
National Public Housing Museum
Sunny Fischer
Board Chair
National Public Housing Museum