Little Italy in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Jane Addams Homes Garden

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 6, 2025

1. Jane Addams Homes Garden Marker

Inscription. This garden is a re-creation of an award-winning garden designed and grown by a former resident of the Jane Addams Homes.

A few years after the Jane Addams Homes opened in 1938, the talented landscape architect and urban planner Mary Long Rogers proposed an ambitious new plan to better serve the residents. Her vision included playgrounds for adults and children; lawn areas for tennis, badminton, and volleyball; parking areas, including one designated for roller skating: shuffleboard courts; flower beds; and plentiful gardens. Some of Rogers' plans became realities, including the Jane Addams Homes Garden Club, where residents of each building would plant and maintain their own garden. Events included an annual competition, plant exchanges, lectures, trips, and other events. The Club existed for several decades, and gardens like the one depicted here, were awarded top prizes by the Chicago Housing Authority.

Esta es la recreación de un premiado jardín diseñado y cultivado por una de las residen-tes de Jane Addams Homes.

Pocos años después de inaugurarse los Jane Addams Homes en 1938, la talentosa arquitecta paisajista y urbanista Mary Long Rogers propuso un nuevo y ambicioso plan para brindar un mejor servicio a los residentes. Su visión incluía zonas de recreo para adultos y niños; áreas verdes

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para jugar al tenis, bádminton y voleibol; zonas de esta-cionamiento, con un área destinada al patinaje sobre ruedas; canchas de tejo; arriates de flores, y muchos jardines. Algunos de sus planes se hicieron realidad, como el Club de Jardinería de los Jane Addams Homes, mediante el cual los residentes de cada edificio plantaban y mantenían su propio jardín, además de organizar un concurso anual, intercambios de plantas, conferencias, viajes y actividades diversas. El Club funcionó por varias décadas, y jardines como el de la fotografía fueron premiados por la Chicago Housing Authority.

Erected 2025 by National Public Housing Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Charity & Public Work • Horticulture & Forestry • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1938.

Location. 41° 52.187′ N, 87° 39.598′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Little Italy. It is on Ada Street north of Taylor Streeet, on the left when traveling south. The marker and accompanying garden are at the site of the National Public Housing Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 919 South Ada Street, Chicago IL 60607, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Benedict Kabakow (a few steps from this marker); Deverra Beverly

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 6, 2025

2. Jane Addams Homes Garden Marker

(within shouting distance of this marker); The Demolition of the Jane Addams Homes (within shouting distance of this marker); Jane Addams Homes (within shouting distance of this marker); Still Here: Zhegagoynak, A Monument and Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Deverra Beverly's Quilt (within shouting distance of this marker); Joseph Lovings (within shouting distance of this marker); War Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chicago.

Regarding Jane Addams Homes Garden. The Jane Addams Homes, built in 1938, were Chicago's first public housing development, named after the social reformer who opened the Hull House settlement house not far from here in the Greektown neighborhood. Comprising more than 1,000 units in 32 buildings, the Jane Addams Homes were the first of four Near West Side projects that combined to be known as the ABLA Homes (an acronym for the four projects, Abbott, Brooks, Loomis and Addams). After the Near West Side gentrified in the 1990s, the ABLA homes were demolished; at the Jane Addams Homes, only one building was saved,

National Public Housing Museum image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, December 6, 2025

3. National Public Housing Museum

and it re-opened in 2025 as the National Public Housing Museum.

Also see . . .
1. Jane Addams Homes. A history of the Jane Addams Homes from the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) Archipedia.

Excerpt: "Built in 1938, the Jane Addams Homes consisted of 1,027 units spread across thirty-two buildings that faced one another, creating semi-enclosed courts of playgrounds and landscaped areas. The Addams Homes were only the beginning of the Chicago Housing Authority’s (CHA) larger development known as the ABLA Homes, an acronym for four separate public housing projects: Addams, Brooks, Loomis, and Abbott."

(Submitted on December 7, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

2. Mary Long Rogers: Midcentury Landscape Architect and Urban Planner. The story of Rogers' life from Julia Bachrach Consulting. (Submitted on December 7, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 16, 2026. It was originally submitted on December 6, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 116 times since then and 83 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 6, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.