Hull House

Hull House is a term that is variously applied to the house built in 1856 by Charles Hull at 800 South Halsted Street in Chicago (which survives today on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago), the residence established at that address by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in 1889, the "social settlement" or settlement house by that name established by Addams, Starr and others, the many diverse and pioneering educational and social reform programs carried out by Addams and the other residents over four decades, or as the most celebrated and influential representative of the late 19th century settlement house movement in the U.S.

Although the Hull House social settlement was initially modeled on Toynbee Hall the university settlement established on Commercial Street, Whitechapel in the East End of London by Canon Barnett and named for Arnold Toynbee, the Hull House program eventually far exceeded the Toynbee Hall effort in ambition, extent and international influence.

The House That Charles Hull Built

The house is a large Italianate brick structure built as a single family dwelling with large front, rear and side yards in 1856 by Chicago real estate man Charles Hull. (Characterizations of the comodious 9-room structure as a "mansion" may be somewhat exaggerated.) Owing partly to its brick construction, the house was one of the few buildings in the vicinity to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and subsequently served various commercial uses, including as a warehouse and funeral home, before it was rented to Addams in 1889 by Mr. Hull's niece, Helen Culver for $60 a month. Ms. Culver had inherited the house and 40 acres of land from her uncle. The house was vacant at the time she rented it. Addams and Starr took occupancy of the house on September 18, 1889 and moved in along with a third woman who served as housekeeper.

Hull House served as the principal residence and center of operations for Addams during the remaining 40 years of her life, until her death from cancer in 1935. It also became the centerpiece of a cluster of more than a dozen other buildings constructed between 1895-1912 on the surrounding land, which was subdivided into 19 adjacent lots in three large parcels, separated by two alleys. All of the buildings in the complex, with the exception of the original house and the dining hall, were demolished in the 1950s to make way for the UIC campus.