Pullman National Historical Park, a Chicago Treasure Among National Park Service Sites
By: Amanda Reseburg
Nestled on the far south side of Chicago on 111th Street is a historic district that stands as a testament to the resilience, strength, and innovation of the American people. Pullman National Historical Park is a Chicago treasure that not only honors American industry but is also significant because it is the first National Park Service unit in Chicago.
The 12-acre site, anchored by an awe-inspiring Clock Tower building and the historic Pullman Administration Building, which now serves as a visitor center, is a living history museum that seeks to preserve the legacy of the men and women who toiled to build this country from the ground up. With America’s 250th anniversary on the horizon in 2026, Pullman NHP also serves as a destination for people seeking to travel and learn more about American history through National Park Service sites.
A Modern Planned Industrial Community
In 1880, the Industrial Revolution was just starting to reach a fever pitch. Visionary industrialist George Pullman of the Pullman Company, a manufacturer of railroad cars, had a dream of not just building a factory for his Pullman cars; he wanted to create the ideal community. On land carved out of rolling prairies and marshland near Lake Calumet, Pullman created his eponymous town — Pullman.
“Pullman wanted to prove that industry and humanity could flourish side by side,” says Stanley Anton, marketing and communications manager from America’s National Parks™. “He believed a well-designed town would inspire loyalty and productivity among the Pullman workforce and the African American labor he had brought on as porters.”
Pullman was to be the ideal community for the workers who built his high-end railway sleeping cars, with beautiful homes, churches, schools, parks, and markets. The titan of industry enlisted award-winning architect Solon S. Beman and landscape architect Nathan F. Barrett to design this dream community. Their design featured over 1,000 elegant brick rowhouses, fashioned from clay sourced from the nearby lake. Each home included modern amenities that were rare for families at the time, such as gas and sanitation perks. There was also a focus on green spaces, light, and clean air so people could enjoy the outdoors when they weren’t at work.
As for the factory itself, it had the latest in manufacturing technology and mass production, assembly line processes, popularized by other industrialists such as Henry Ford.
American Labor and Yearning for Equality
Part of what America will celebrate upon its 250th anniversary next year is the spirit of freedom, individualism, and its long history of standing up for what’s right. The Pullman National Historical Park embodies this idea.
Pullman’s idea of utopia was shadowed by the spectre of inequality in many ways. As the town expanded, so did the tensions between the haves and the have-nots. Rents were high compared to the wages paid by the Pullman Company. In addition, Pullman himself lorded over the town and the Pullman residents in an almost paternal way, seeking to control his workers’ lives on the factory floor and after they went home for the evening.
When an economic downturn led to slashed wages but rents remained the same, the workers walked out. This misalignment led to a nationwide railway strike, culminating in one of America’s defining labor conflicts — the 1894 Pullman Strike.
“On one hand, Pullman was a marvel of industrial vision. However, his legacy holds this mark of labor discontent. The echoes of the strike still reverberate to this day,” Anton remarks.
Pullman Porters Organize
The South Side neighborhood of Chicago holds a rich and significant place in African American history. The Great Migration of Black people from the South brought thousands of people to the area, many of whom found employment with the Pullman Company as porters.
Although the sleeping car porters who worked under Pullman were some of the best-paid African-American workers in the United States, they still faced discrimination, long hours, and a lack of career advancement that white workers enjoyed. These issues led to the formation of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first major Black labor union.
“The struggle and resilience of the porters shaped America’s civil rights movement,” says Anton. “As we commemorate America’s 250th, their story is a reminder that the journey toward equality and justice is ongoing and unfinished.”
Designating Chicago’s First National Park Service Site
By the mid-20th Century, Pullman had lost some ground as an industrial powerhouse. Eventually, the dream town of Pullman, as it had been created for the workers of the railcar factory, was razed to make way for modern buildings. While Pullman still exists as a South Side neighborhood, it stands as more of a historic reminder of what was than Pullman’s enduring vision.
In 2015, President Barack Obama designated some of the historic buildings and areas as the Pullman National Historical Park. The crumbling factory buildings and clock tower were turned into a welcoming visitor’s center, a place where people could come and learn the story of Pullman and its impact on Civil Rights and the American story.
Traveling to the Pullman Historic Site for America’s 250th
Today, the Pullman National Historical Park welcomes people from all over the nation and the world to the site of the former factory and company town, with the historic Pullman Foundation and the National Park Service serving as its stewards. It’s just one of many sites across the nation that honor the sacrifice, the yearning for freedom, and the legacy of those who have come before us.
As America celebrates 250 years of independence, the National Park Service will be hosting events, reenactments, and special presentations at its various sites to tell the nation’s story, from the Revolutionary War, through the Industrial Revolution and the time of Pullman, to today, where we continue to write America’s narrative.
