The Social Services of the Day
The term 'social service' refers to the variety of programs made available by public or private agencies to individuals and families who need special assistance. Prior to 1935 and the Social Security Act of that year Americans called these services as public charity to be decided by an administrator. The only aid available to people who were poor, elderly, disabled, widowed, orphaned or otherwise in need came from local authorities who administered the “Poor Laws,” laws which came to the United States with English settlers in the 1620's. The first official guardian of the poor in Lake View Township was one of the original organizers of the township,
a man named John Bugner.

Angel Guardian Orphan Asylum
And on a Personal Note:
Social services played an important part in this bloggers' human development. This blogger was adopted in 1955, at an orphanage called St. Vincent Orphanage located in Chicago. This blogger was provided care until his third month when a young couple adopted him as Edward Nelson (bloggers original name). Without the existence of that organization this blogger would not have gained the love, support, and education that I needed to be a productive, mostly happy member of my Lake View community.
2001 W Devon Avenue
photo - Elizabeth Lynn-Forgotten Chicago on Facebook
An Account of the Asylum 1884
by A.T. Andreas
photo - Elizabeth Lynn-Forgotten Chicago on Facebook
An Account of the Asylum 1884
by A.T. Andreas
"A German Catholic Orphan Society was organized in 1865. Its' board of directors being the of the different parishes throughout the city of Chicago and two laymen from each congregation. The buildings were erected at [community of] Rose Hill at an expense $8,000. These were however destroyed by fire October 23 1879. Previously however on the eleventh September 1872 the Angel Guardian German Catholic Orphan Society of Chicago had been under general State law with its’ object being the support maintenance and education of such orphan and half orphan children as the society may choose to receive. The first trustees numbered nine. Immediately after the destruction of the asylum building by fire in 1879 the trustees began erection of the present structure which is so a land mark in this section of the town. The building stands upon high ground where the air is pure and commands a beautiful expanse of country. When completed the cost of the building was $35, 000. The T entire valuation of property is placed at $50,000. I hat the institution has fully met the purpose for which it was founded is quite evident from its status. Over one hundred and thirty orphans find a home there under the motherly care of the Poor Handmaids who not only teach their fatherless and motherless charges the rudiments of their education but nurse them in sickness and protect them in health. The grounds of the asylum included houses and farmland cover forty-nine acres of ground."
the complex in 1928 via Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
A 1910 census of the population of kids with this link
photos - Chuckman Collection
(Devon Avenue was the north border of township) and founded in 1865; seven years after the establishment of the township. This institution housed over 1200 hundred depended children after the Civil War and the Great Depression making this benevolent institution the largest in population and geography in Chicago at the time. It ceased to be an institution for orphan or dependent children as of 1974.
Life at Angel Guardian Orphanage
Read a storybook tale of the life of this institution with this link (click on link).
An Account from their Anniversary Book
The children in the hothouse (greenhouse) in 1914
- Chicago Public Library
A 1929 Picnic for the Orphans + other social services at the time
photo of St. Henry's - the orphanage's church
The buildings are to the right of photo with old St. Henry's beyond the streetcar (heading west) - 1940's maybe
photo - The Trolley Dodger
Its' History in a Nutshell 100th year in 1966
that institutional was related to ....
photo by Jean Ensch (photo 1983)
1928 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of the church property
Read and view more on this church in the post called
House of Worship & School: Catholic
the video of the complex with this link
1928 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of the church property
Read and view more on this church in the post called
House of Worship & School: Catholic
the video of the complex with this link
and also related to St. Boniface Cemetery
part of an association of German Catholic institutions like
St. Henry's (German) Catholic Church
The House of the Good Shepherd
The House of the Good Shepherd established in 1859 is an organization that original cared only for abused women. This organization had a presence in the community of Lake View beginning in 1905. The House of the Good Shepherd was initially a shelter for battered women and their children that sought to end the their cycle of domestic violence.
Daily News Archives - 1909
House of the Good Shepherd mission statement reads as
follows: "welcomes with love and compassion women and children affected by
domestic violence who seek their help. The shelter is a safe place which seeks
to empower women, affirming them in their family role. A woman and her children
are offered opportunities for emotional, social, educational and spiritual
growth. We are committed to helping families by strengthening their self-esteem
and giving hope and continued support for a better future". Currently, the
western end of the property is owned by the Wrigley Field organization and used
as a parking lot while the remainder is still owned by the Good Shepherd
organization.
In this 1922 University of Chicago map (zoomed) the entire property space was located near the historical district of Alta Vista to the east and Wunder and Jewish Graceland cemeteries to the north.
Located on the north Side, the House of the Good Shepherd officially opened in 1859, when four Irish Sisters of the Good Shepherd arrived in Chicago from St. Louis to care for “abandoned women.” Over time the sisters extended their care from those accused of prostitution or disorderly conduct to delinquent and dependent girls. After the turn of the century, most residents (over 400 at the end of the century) found their way to this Roman Catholic institution through the juvenile court. The original building was located until 1984 at 1126 Grace Street.

Timeline
An Anniversary in 1909

View of building from Wrigley Field (photo right) 1955
shown to indicate the size of the building to the right of photo
photo - Man on Five via Chicago Tribune Archives
A Park Possibility In 1966
Part of the Original Space now for Cubs 1990
2012 photos - Garry Albrecht
The property was subdivided
- Wrigley Field's parking lot is west of institution
The same concrete fence remains - 2013
Martha Washington Hospital
2324 W Irving Park Road
the original building
postcard - Chuckman Collection
image above - Illinois Medical Directory 1910

image - publication called 'History of Cook County, Illinois from the Earliest Period to the Present' - 1884
a view of it in 1887
a view of it in 1923

from a publication called 'A Mile Square of Chicago'
a second building constructed in 1926
image - Martha Group
2324 W Irving Park Road
the original building
postcard - Chuckman Collection
image above - Illinois Medical Directory 1910

image - publication called 'History of Cook County, Illinois from the Earliest Period to the Present' - 1884
a view of it in 1887
a view of it in 1923

from a publication called 'A Mile Square of Chicago'
a second building constructed in 1926
image - Martha Group
According to the Chicago Tribune this former Lake View Township hospital filed for bankruptcy in 1991. The hospital closed in 1989 and occupied part of 5 acres at Irving Park Road and Western Ave.
photo below - John Dunlevy via Flickr
the property is now the home of ...
Martha Washington Apartments for Seniors
The Jane Addams Center
3212 N Broadway
Martha Washington Apartments for Seniors
The Jane Addams Center
3212 N Broadway
Jane Addams
Her publication was called
The Function for her 'Social Settlement'
3212 N Broadway (Evanston Avenue) - Ebay

Before it was a social service location for Hull House

Testimony of this satellite location for Hull House
Good works in 1967
Her publication was called
The Function for her 'Social Settlement'
3212 N Broadway (Evanston Avenue) - Ebay

Before it was a social service location for Hull House
Sanborn Fire Map 1923

'The Herman Beardsley Butler House'. Mr. Beardsey was the treasurer and Vice President of the Joseph T. Ryerson
(iron and steel) Company. More than likely after Mr Bulter's death the building was used as the company's private club. This mansion or social club at all the amenities of a private social club of its day. The architects of the building were Shattuck & Hussey. Below is a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of the building - 1923 indicating the ownership at the time.
photo of the original plaque of the building that was donated to the Ravenswood-Lake View Historical Association in 2018
According to Lake View Historical contributor Gil Semmen the years prior to Hull House this building was used as a American Legion Hall. View more information on it above.
A New Owner ...
"It was 1962 when Hull House moved into the new building on Broadway just north of Belmont. I attended day camp there with my sister and cousins. We were the first to act in the theater (first floor...Peter Pan was the play), play in the gym (4th floor), swim in the pool (basement), and make masterpieces in the arts and craft area (3rd floor)."
- Joe Colangel

On April 30, 2012 another social service (above pics) closed due to government budget cuts and lack of private financial contributions. Counseling Center of Lake View ended a 40 year run serving those who needed immediate care. 'In 1969, as the de-institutionalization movement in
mental health gained steam in the United States. Residents of the Lake View
community joined together to form the Lake View Mental Health Council in 1972
along with Centro Latino, a coalition of grass-roots organizations located at
3225 N. Sheffield. In 1975, the Department of Mental Health provided funding
for Latino Counseling Services and Lake View Alcoholism Program, the first direct
service programs of what is now known as the Counseling Center of Lake View. The
Counseling Center of Lake View was a private non-for-profit organization
committed to the provision of quality, comprehensive, mental health, substance
abuse, and domestic violence services for the residents of the Lake View and
adjacent communities. The Center was especially concerned about the development
of services for population groups traditionally under-served by mental health
and substance abuse providers. As an agency, the Center had developed programs
for the Spanish-speaking, substance abusers, children and adolescents, homeless
youth, older adults, the post-hospitalized psychiatric patient, and the
long-term mentally ill. The range of services included: prevention, diagnostic
evaluation, assertive case management, counseling and therapy, psychiatry,
advocacy, & networking."'

neighborhood newspaper - Insight-Booster
The request for services 1969
(click on article to enlarge)
The 'Li-La-U' Neighborhood Center
a new center in 1968
(click on article to enlarge)
(click on article to enlarge)
(click to enlarge image)
still with us but at another location in Lake View
the location on Broadway
Initially called the People's Pantry of Lake View, this social service agency was founded in 1970 within the Jane Addam Center that was located on 3212 N. Broadway (now the Lake View Athletic Club). According to their website as of 2014 the agency has a full paid staff of ten with a volunteer force of 800. LVP serves 12,000 individuals each year administrating three programs to assist 41,000 clients within the Lake View area. The agency has been able to these clients after it formed a partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository in 1980. The agency's current location is
3831 N Broadway soon to move to 3945 N Sheridan Road in 2015 according to DNAinfo. Lake View Panty has a second location at 1414 W. Oakdale Avenue also in Lake View.
Rendering provided/Wheeler Kearns Architects
The pantry doubled the size of its previous home, at 3831 N. Broadway, to 7,500 square feet and provided space for its staff offices, meetings, conference room and cooking and nutrition classes. The pantry fed 8,200 people last year in Lake View, Uptown, Lincoln Park and North Center and offers self-help programs and counseling. Six months after opening 2017, the pantry expanded its client service territory farther north in January, reaching farther into Uptown. It has operated in Lake View for 45 years, renting space on Broadway, but was in need of a bigger, permanent home according to an online news source called DNAinfo.
50 Years in the Making 2020
National Runaway Safeline
photo - snipview
photo - windy city media group
photo - Gensler
photo - Gensler
Town Hall Apartments
established 2014
Since the late 1970's to early 1980's the gay community has had a presence in Lake View. The community of Boystown became a mecca or sorts for disfranchised LBGT folks who found security and fellowship in a small geographical area of the City of Chicago. Independent businesses dotted the Broadway Avenue and Halsted Street strips by the mid-1980's. LGBT youth within the Midwest discovered Boystown and like the Puerto Rican population of the 1960's needed support and guidance with the establishment of social services that met their unique needs. The AIDS crisis of the 1980's galvanized the need in Lake View with medical support and housing opportunities. Since the 1990's overnight shelters have been established within in the walls of supportive religious congregations.
The precursor to the Center on Halsted was this holistic organization that was established in a small cafe on Lincoln Avenue called 'Gay Horizon' in 1973. This agency sparked a culture of acceptance and support in Chicago for LGBTQ folks particular the youth.
Rosecrance Lake View is a counseling center and recovery residence at 3701 N Ashland Avenue. This center will afford young adults in the early stages of recovery the opportunity to heal and become grounded in recovery as they progress toward a successful future. Through evidence-based treatment, a structured and supportive living environment, personal accountability, career-coaching and guidance in goal setting, these young adults will receive the best opportunity for help, hope and recovery. No drugs or alcohol will be allowed in the residence or any part of the building.
Community Supported
'Over Night' Housing
By 2005 the Center on Halsted building was constructed to house and support some of the various agencies that supported the disfranchised LGBTQ community
within the Chicagoland area.
Crib/Night Ministry
once located at the Lake View Lutheran Church on Addison
photos - BYC website
As LGBTQ youth from the Midwest continued to discover Boystown during the turn of the 21st century and gay-friendly organizations began to establish overnight shelters for the youth in Lake View to not only safeguard their presence but that of the community as a whole. Like many of the young faces that in Boystown many of the city’s homeless youth come to what they see as the promised land. In 2011 the Night Ministry established The Crib with the partnership with the Lake View Lutheran Church. The Howard Brown's Broadway Youth Center once located at 3179 North Broadway and then later housed at the Wellington Avenue Church of Christ in Lake View is sponsored the Center on Halsted. The BYC moved to Uptown in 2017. The Wellington Avenue Church of Christ houses the Youth Lounge since 2010.
The Crib tried to move to Bucktown but there was opposition. According to Block Chicago, "Contending that the homeless shelter has a history of
being “bad neighbors” to Lake View families and pointing to a 2013 SWAT team
response, some Bucktown residents pleaded with The Night Ministry to stop The
Crib’s move to the neighborhood."
A List of Community Agencies as of 2006
image - 44th ward organization
Blog Post Notes:
View a 1928 list of all the so-called asylums in early Chicago along with a list community agencies as of 2006.
Important Note:
These posts are exclusively used for educational purposes. I do not wish to gain monetary profit from this blog nor should anyone else without permission for the original source - thanks!
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