The Eleanor Club Supports Women in West Town
West Side
At the turn of the twentieth century, young women left their hometowns and moved to Chicago to take advantage of new job opportunities. When they arrived, many found a scarcity of safe and affordable housing for single women.
Ina Law Robertson, a graduate student at the University of Chicago, decided to establish a residence to provide housing and community to these women transitioning to urban life. The first Eleanor Hotel (later known as Eleanor Club) opened in Hyde Park in 1898, a second Club followed in 1905. In the following decades, additional Eleanor residences opened throughout the city including two locations on the West Side, one in West Loop and one in West Town. A downtown club provided members a place to have lunch and socialize during the workday, and a summer camp offered an escape outside of the city as well as income to support the nonprofit residences.
Along with housing, residents participated in social and educational programming and worked together to create a safe and caring community. The association's publication, The Eleanor Record, connected the residents in clubs all over the city by sharing news and upcoming activities.
The organization that was later named the Eleanor Foundation provided residences and programming to women in Chicago for over a century, with the last location closing in 2001.
