Jane Addams, Nebel laureate, started the first American settlement house in Chicago. During the observation of the 2nd 20 year-period, she was quoted as saying, "Our hope of [social] achievement...lies in the complete mobilization of the human spirit, using all our unrealized and unevoked capacity."

This is a wonderful statement summarizing in a sentence my vision of the possibilities for our world and for humanity. With Hull House's founding she decided to focus on "the nurturing of the human spirit", offering clubs, parties and cultural events and college extension classes for working-class people. This mirrors much of my vision for developing the Uptown Theater. I'd add integrating all classes, becoming a classles society. Also we'll have a primary focus on a wide range of daily seminars rather than college-like classes.

You can read about how she started it and her inspiration in a new biography:
Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy by Louise W. Knight (Hardcover - Published and available now at Borders..)