Pullman

Barely 15 years after architect Solon Spencer Beman and landscape designer Nathan Barrett laid out a Utopian community for the workers of railcar magnate George Pullman’s empire, those workers went on strike, having borne the brunt of reduced demand for Pullman’s venerated product. By 1898, the Illinois Supreme Court had ordered the Pullman Palace Car Company to divest itself of its residential properties and the community was absorbed by the city of Chicago.

Pullman today encompasses that historic nexus of labor rights and urban planning as well as larger areas to the west of Lake Calumet and north to 95th Street, filled in by population growth and new developments throughout the mid-20th century.

Visitors to the neighborhood today can explore the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, the new Pullman National Park site encompassing the Administration Building and grounds, and tour Pullman’s many historic homes. Pullman became a National Monument under President Barack Obama in 2015, and a National Historical Park under President Joe Biden in 2022.