Hooker, George Ellsworth.City Planning, Transportation and Housing. Collection, 1882-1932

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When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Hooker, George Ellsworth.City Planning, Transportation and Housing. Collection, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

George Ellsworth Hooker was born in Peacham, Vermont in 1861. He attended Amherst College in Massachusetts and graduated in 1883. He then received an LL.B. from Columbia and a B.D. from Yale. Hooker practiced law in New York, served as a Congregationalist minister in Washington State, and then traveled widely in the US and Europe investigating urban conditions. His frequent travel allowed him to combine that interest with his hobby of studying urban problems. After settling in Chicago, he wrote editorials for the Chicago Tribune and was an incorporator (1903), secretary (1903-1908), and civic secretary (after 1908) of the City Club of Chicago, an organization of Chicago business and civic leaders interested in urban development and reform. As Civic Secretary, Hooker had access to all of the civic committees, and thus contributed to nearly all civic projects in Chicago during that time.

In 1902, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution commissioning Hooker to gather ‘such literature of general interest on Municipal Administration in Europe as he may find it practicable to obtain’ and to investigate and report on ‘such methods and principles employed in such administration, particularly in dealing with housing, local transportation, open spaces and rapid city expansion, as shall seem to him especially pertinent to the prospective growth of Chicago.’ Hooker presented his report, entitled ‘Report to the City Council of Chicago on Local Transportation Development in Great Cities,’ in February of 1904. Hooker served on a number of commissions on urban problems and civic improvements in Chicago, and he published several works based on these investigations, including Report on Street Railway Franchises of Chicago (1898) and Through Routes for Chicago Steam Railroads (1914).

In a publication called ‘The Book of Chicagoans,’ Hooker listed his favorite recreations as bicycling, tramping, and sailing. He also belonged to the Social Workers’ Country Club. A Bull Moose Progressive, Hooker belonged to three fraternities, including Phi Beta Kappa. He never married. A pall bearer at Jane Addams’ funeral, Hooker lived at Hull House for nearly forty years. George Hooker died on March 21, 1939. He was eulogized as a prominent expert on city problems both in Chicago and around the world.

The materials deal with city planning, housing and urban problems in American and foreign cities. The materials date from 1882 to 1932. The collection includes various types of bound material, among them pamphlets, brochures, booklets, articles extracted from magazines and journals, street maps, typescript reports and documents, typed letters on letterhead, handwritten letters, and mounted and unmounted photographs. Some of the materials are specific to certain cities or countries, and others deal with urbanization in more general terms. Many of the documents are written in German, and several are written in French or Italian.

The collection is divided into four series. Series I: City Planning, contains materials about strategies for urban development and plans for specific city expansions and enhancements. Series II: Transportation, contains materials about various cities’ transportation systems and implementation plans. Materials in Series III: Housing, describe the challenges and possibilities for housing in an urban environment. Series IV: Oversize (Oversized folders are cross listed within their appropriate series, and are contained within boxes 50-52)

The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:

• NamesHooker, George Ellsworth, b. 1861
• Subject
  • Cities and Towns
  • City Planning -- United States
  • Land Use
  • Regional Planning
  • Transportation
  • Urban Beautification
  • Urban Transportation Policy
  • Urbanization