The Soldiers' Home is an historic

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

building in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Located at 739 E. 35th Street, the Home was built in a series of phases from 1864 to 1923, designed by

William W. Boyington William Warren Boyington (July 22, 1818 – October 16, 1898) was an architect who designed several notable structures in and around Chicago, Illinois. He was also mayor of Highland Park, Illinois. History Originally from Massachusetts, W.W. Bo ...

and other architects. It was designated a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, archite ...

on April 16, 1996. The Soldiers' Home is the last surviving building in Chicago with exact association to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. During the war the home served as a hospital for injured soldiers. After the war it became a home for disabled and aged

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

Veterans.

Mary Livermore Mary Livermore (born Mary Ashton Rice; December 19, 1820May 23, 1905) was an American journalist, abolitionist, and advocate of women's rights. Her printed volumes included: ''Thirty Years Too Late,'' first published in 1847 as a prize temperance ...

and

Jane Hoge Jane Currie Blaikie "A. K." Hoge (July 31, 1811 – August 26, 1890) was a welfare worker, fund raiser, and nurse during the American Civil War. She was a founder of a homeless shelter in Chicago before the war. After the war, she raised funds ...

, who had met during the war nursing soldiers at nearby Camp Douglas, conceived the idea of the hospital home, and a fundraising fair to support its building. The initial construction was in substantial part funded by sale of President Abraham Lincoln's handwritten copy of the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...

. Lincoln donated it to the fundraising fair at Livermore's request, saying, "I had some desire to retain the paper, but if it shall contribute to the relief or comfort of the soldiers, that will be better" (this copy was later destroyed in the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

in 1871, while the Soldiers' Home survived). In the 21st century, the Soldiers' Home building is used for offices of the

Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

, and named, the Cardinal Meyer Center.

References

Houses completed in 1923 Houses in Chicago Chicago Landmarks {{Chicago-struct-stub