History

Dr. George E. Shipman, a practicing physician, and his wife opened the Foundlings Home in 1871 while informing the public, “Those having babies which they wish to dispose, whether they are children of sin or poverty, have but to leave them in the basket at the home and they will be cared for. No questions will be asked or answered.” In 1874, generous gifts allowed the construction of a four-story building at 115 South Wood Street in Chicago near the Brown School.

Under the leadership of President of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Karl A. Meyer, who was head of Cook County Hospital at the time, the Home moved to a new location at 1720 West Polk Street.

In 1971, at exactly 100 years old (and Chicago’s oldest charity), the Home closed as a result of pregnancy prevention, the number of babies born out of wedlock, and the greater acceptance of single motherhood.

In 1972 the Home was sold to Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center for use as a mental health treatment center.

Chicago Foundlings Home currently provides support to charitable organizations that provide care, education and other services in community-based settings to expectant mothers, mothers, infants and children.

Additional information about the Chicago Foundlings Home can be found in A Mile Square of Chicago by Marjorie Warvelle Bear.