The Hull House: Bringing people together

After observing all of the images related to the Hull House, I was in awe of the impact the house had on the entire community. It was not only a huge benefit for those living there, but activities and events were also open to the public. When looking at the wage maps, the nationality maps, and the unkept streets of the neighborhoods, the community was in need of something stable and that's exactly what the Hull House provided. Outside of the Hull House it was about survival, "there were eighteen nations being represented in a small section of Chicago, they are more or less intermingled, but a decided tendency to drift into little colonies is apparent." The Hull House allowed children to use their imaginations instead of playing in a disease-infested alleyway. It allowed cultures to come together and actively show their pride in their culture through fiestas, art, music, dancing, food, and craft sales. It was stated that in the Hull House, "Quiet can hardly be expected to be found in a settlement that has really struck its roots deep down into its neighborhood."

I was impressed by the education offered by the Hull House and especially excited to see cultures coming together to learn English! I was also excited to see the arts flourish. I couldn't believe it when I read that the architecture made sure "space was arranged for future installation of a pipe organ."

This assignment questioned if there was public space where people from different groups could mingle. It was interesting to find out that the mingling of different groups was not done by choice but instead was because "it was thought the neighborhood would soon be filled with factories and railroad terminals, and any improvement on property would only be money thrown away. But it is seen that as factories are built, people crowd more and more closely into the houses about them, and rear tenements fill up the few open spaces left." Here is an example of a culture trying to practice their religion in the cramped space they call home:

"The religious rites of their Italian neighbors have a more social, simple, and intimate tone. In the summer, in a little open court where a condemned building has been torn down, they contrive, with a canopy of green boughs and long draped garlands of pink and white tissue-paper roses, the Shrine of the Virgin for the Feast of the Assumption. Sicilian and Neapolitan women, with bright-flowered, yellow and magenta shawls and their best beads, bring out chairs and sit gossiping along the sidewalk before the shrine in the evening. Bands march the street playing "Santa Lucia" and "Francesca"; and the babies creep and tumble almost into the altar of the friendly, approachable little Virgin in her tawdry, hallowed recess behind her converging lines of white tapers."

I first observed the images of empty rooms in the Hull House and came to the conclusion that the rooms are symbolic in that they look as "homey" as possible, but there are no religious or ethnic symbols visible. I soon found out that my presumption was not true at all. Since the Hull House was constantly being revamped, "the terms of the leasehold of the new premises prescribe that in any building to be erected thereon, there shall be provided an audience room suitable for religious worship, and that religious services, under the auspices of an organized church, shall be held therein once on each Sabbath and once on one other day of each week." I still found it interesting that even the picture of the "audience room" did not have any religious symbols in it.

I also learned that Hull House residents had freedom in expressing their religious beliefs and nationalism through art. (One subtle addition I noticed consistently as a decoration were small flags hanging from a chandelier or posted stately in a corner.) It was neat to observe pictures of people of all ages being creative and free from life's discriminations. For example, there was a sculpture of a Mexican church, representing most Mexican's continued practice of Catholicism. There was also a Mexican mural, spinning technique (relating to one's European heritage), reproductions of Christian art (visually representing culture through attire), and prominently, a "Madonna and Child." In fact, all of the interior spaces at the Hull-House can be considered informal galleries. It was also interesting to learn how to interpret the art. One consistent theme I observed in the art was the life of an urban worker. If the picture showed a person carrying a bundle of fabric, one could assume that person is a sweatshop worker.

Jane Addams really "reached out to neighborhood residents who had not previously utilized the settlement's offerings by creating the Labor Museum. The museum aimed to present industry in a historic light for the benefit of alienated factory laborers and older disenfranchised craftspeople. The demonstrators of these "primitive methods" were ideally local elderly immigrants who had used these methods in their youth. By showcasing their special skills and knowledge, Addams hoped to restore the elders' social position in the eyes of their assimilated children." It's as though Addams would not be content until everyone has been touched by this sense of community.

"Although Hull-House was a secular institution, and these [Christmas] celebrations did not constitute worship, they gave a Christian tone to the settlement. Christmas at Hull-House is always an interesting occasion. The Yearbook noted [the Hull House Christmas as] "the bringing together, for the first time, [of] four racial and cultural groups into a co-operative presentation by tableaux, the story of the Nativity ... The four pictures represent the Italian conception of the birth of Christ, the Blessing of Christ in the Church according to the Greek tradition, "Pasada," The Entrance into Bethlehem, according to the Mexican conception and the Adoration of the Magi from the Negro point of view." These quotes paint a very clear picture to me of what the Hull House was all about.