Northwestern University Settlement House

“Louise C. Wade, author of the definitive 1964 biography of Graham Taylor, summarized the career of this exemplary man: His application of the social gospel, his interpretation of economic problems for two generations of seminary students, his ability to impart his own settlement experience to young social workers, his desire to help the immigrant adjust to unfamiliar patterns of urban life, and his relentless battle for honest municipal government were substantial achievements in a lifetime of social pioneering.”

“He states, "While settlement house architecture was not invariably a cultural statement, many of the early designs do point to the architects' and reformers' gentle activism and their desire to teach American cultural ideals." However interpreted, the settlement house was a distinctive new building type set amidst the brick tenements and frame cottages of the working-class neighborhood and seen, occasionally, in juxtaposition to the Eastern European baroque splendor of the parish church.”

“The new buildings were all designed by Allen and Irving Pond, architects and brothers who were among the first Chicago friends of the Hull-House founders. Pond and Pond and the Architecture of the Settlement House The Pond brothers, Irving Kane (1857-1939) and Allen Bartlit (1858-1929), were both born in Ann Arbor, Michigan with an ancestry dating back to the Puritans of Massachusetts.”

“In keeping with their personal philosophy, Pond and Pond themselves were part of the Arts and Crafts movement in America. Both were founding members of the Chicago Art and Crafts Society organized by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr at Hull-House on October 22, 1897.”

“In architectural style, both buildings reflect to some extent the restrained Tudor-Gothic character of Elijah Hoole's Toynbee Hall in London, the pioneering social settlement that had inspired Jane Addams' founding of Hull-House.”

“One of the first Boy Scout camps was set up through Northwestern. The first portable children's day hospital was carried out under tents on the front lawn and roof of the settlement house, a precursor to hospitals exclusively for children.”

“The Northwestern University Settlement House, which provided an anchor for the immigrant Polish community on Chicago's Near Northwest Side, was founded by noted educator and sociology professor Charles Zueblin in 1891.”

“The Chicago Commons Settlement House, founded by the Reverend Graham Taylor, and the Northwestern University Settlement House, founded by Charles Zueblin, are representative examples of this building type.”

“Elihu B. Pond, Allen and Irving's father, had served as warden of the Jackson State Prison from 1883 to 1885 and on the Ann Arbor Board of Education for many years.”

“Both Chicago Commons and Northwestern exhibit all the salient characteristics of the Queen Anne style. Particularly fine on the Noble street facade of the Northwestern University Settlement House is the decorative effect of the brickwork arranged in a diaper pattern, a diamond-shaped motif repeated on a rectangular or diagonal grid.”