{"id":332,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:32:06","latitude":38.8315479999999979554559104144573211669921875,"longitude":-104.791775999999998703060555271804332733154296875,"title":"Childs-Drexel Home for Union Printers (Union Printers Home)","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/40af1c1c821400ca14421a15489cc5f0.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":16,"creator":["Jodie Grief, Northern Arizona University"],"description":"The working conditions of the nineteenth century were famously bleak. This was especially true of the printing industry. Workers inhaled the carbon-based ink and often developed chronic lung disease. The most prevalent disease was Black Lung, now known as coal worker’s pneumoconiosis. The printers became frustrated with their work environments, poor health, and low wages, so they established the International Typographical Union (ITU) in 1852. One of their main goals was to help union members already suffering from medical conditions brought on by their profession.
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\r\n\tUnion members suggested creating the Union Printers Home at the first ITU convention meeting in New Orleans in 1852, but the leadership committee rejected the proposal. This institution would have been a medical facility specifically for printers, in which they would live together and receive care. In 1890, union members finally approved the plan after Philadelphia newspaper publisher George W. Childs and philanthropist Anthony J. Drexel made a donation to fund the idea. Because the only treatment for respiratory illness at the time was fresh air, the ITU chose Colorado Springs as the site of this ambitious project. The Childs-Drexel Home for Union Printers opened May 12, 1892. Because the union was composed of newspaper publishers, the event was well publicized. The New York Times described the home as the only one of its kind, and the Los Angeles Herald claimed the opening day was the greatest event the West had ever seen.
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\r\n\tThe building overlooks the Garden of the Gods, as well as a view of Pikes Peak. Four stories high, workers constructed it using white lava stone and red sandstone; it ultimately cost $80,000 to complete. The building is impressive, and the design was meant to instill a sense of pride in the printing profession. The printers could enjoy the expansive grounds and appreciate the beauty of their surroundings. The ITU initially admitted fifty union men and the staff set up twenty tuberculosis tents on the grounds. The Union Printers Home housed 25,000 printers while under the direction of the ITU.
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\r\n\tAfter the Communication Workers of America absorbed the International Typographical Union in 1986, the union sold the building. The Union Printers Home is now a retirement facility, well-liked thanks to its beautiful views and architecture. The location and weather are still ideal for residents. Its unique history as a health institution is echoed in its current use.
","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"In an effort to provide relief for union members suffering from work-related lung disease, the International Typographical Union constructed a special health institution in Colorado Springs, Colorado.","website":"","related_resources":["“Childs-Drexel Home.” Los Angeles Herald, May 13, 1892.","“HOME FOR UNION PRINTERS; THE CHILDS-DREXEL INSTITUTION TO OPEN THIS MONTH” New York Times, May 2, 1892.","Tracy, Miller B., Prescott, Sullivan, Tracy, George A, Prescott, William B., and Sullivan, Jeremiah J. History of the Typographical Union: Its Beginnings, Progress and Development, Its Beneficial and Educational Features Together with a Chapter on the Early Organization of Printers. Library of American Civilization. ( Indianapolis, IN) International Typographical Union, 1913."],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/40af1c1c821400ca14421a15489cc5f0.jpg":{"id":1382,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"Union Printers Home (2018).","description":"The Union Printers Home remains as a beautiful fixture in Colorado Springs. The structure is impressive juxtaposed to the nature surrounding it. Current residents enjoy the view of Pikes Peak and the Garden of the Gods. |

Union Printers Home. 2018. \"Cover Photo.\" Facebook, June 21, 2018.

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https://www.facebook.com/196553317126115/photos/p.1714357812012317/1714357812012317/?type=1&theater

","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/40af1c1c821400ca14421a15489cc5f0.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/394ea5d2b5ffb7a667ae76fcfb58e2cb.jpg":{"id":1383,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"First page of the charter to build the Union Printers Home, 1890.","description":"After almost forty years of existence, the International Typography Union built the home to care for union members suffering from respiratory illness. |

Charter, constitution, by-laws & resolutions providing for & governing the Childs-Drexel Home for union printers & allied crafts maintained at Colorado Springs, Colo. Indianapolis: International Typographical Union. 1897.

\r\nhttps://archive.org/details/charterconstitut1897inte/page/n2","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/394ea5d2b5ffb7a667ae76fcfb58e2cb.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/a5020495116174fa3078cd1cb1225680.jpg":{"id":1384,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"New York Times article announcing the opening of the Childs-Drexel Home for Union Printers in 1892.","description":"The opening was attended by George W. Childs, who spoke of the importance of the printing profession, and expressed his admiration for the Union members. |

“HOME FOR UNION PRINTERS; THE CHILDS-DREXEL INSTITUTION TO OPEN THIS MONTH.” New York Times, May 2, 1892. https://www.nytimes.com/1892/05/02/archives/home-for-union-printers-the-childsdrexel-institution-to-be-opened.html

","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/a5020495116174fa3078cd1cb1225680.jpg"}}}