Collection Overview
The collection of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum comprises more than 5,500 artifacts documenting the history of the Hull-House Settlement and Chicago’s Near West Side neighborhood. The collection illuminates the experiences of Hull-House residents alongside those of the immigrant and working-class communities who lived nearby.
The collection includes personal belongings of co-founders Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr, materials related to Hull-House’s educational, social, and reform initiatives, and objects representing the daily life of the neighborhood, including artifacts from Maxwell Street Market, one of the country’s oldest open-air markets.
Hull-House’s enduring commitment to the arts is reflected throughout the collection. Highlights include ceramics produced at the Hull-House Kilns (1927–1937), intricately woven textiles created in the Labor Museum from 1900, and works by artists including Leon Garland, Jesús Torres, Sadie Ellis Dreikurs, and Alice Kellogg Tyler, whose paintings once adorned the walls of Hull-House. Browse this curated selection of artworks from the collection to learn more about the creative, cultural, and civic life of Hull-House and its neighborhood.
The University of Illinois Special Collections and University Archive also holds collections relating to the history of Hull-House and Chicago’s Near West Side neighborhood. Explore their resource guide and browse their digital collections to learn more.
