Planning Pullman
South Side
Imagined and viewed by some as a “perfect town”, Pullman was the setting for many pivotal moments in local and national history. Today, many of the buildings in the planned community are still homes to Chicagoans who create their own community while preserving the legacy of this historic district.
In 1880, George Pullman purchased 4000 acres south of Chicago to be the site of a new plant for the Pullman Palace Car Company. Alongside the plant, Pullman would build America’s first planned industrial town for his workers. Pullman hoped that his town, enjoying the fresh air and green spaces usually found in upper class suburbs, would be a pleasant home for his employees and lead to satisfied and productive workers.
Architect Solon Spencer Beman was hired to design the town’s more than 1000 structures including shops, entertainment, utility buildings, and homes in a variety of sizes and styles. Most of the original rowhouses, two flats, and apartments are still standing and occupied today.
Today, the administration building's clocktower and the grand Hotel Florence stand out as Pullman landmarks. When first built, however, the water tower was the tallest building and a representation of the town's beautiful design and modern innovation. The 70 square foot base and 195-foot-tall building, with its impressive load-bearing capacity, was an engineering feat at a time when Chicago architects were building the world’s first skyscrapers. The water tower allowed fresh water to be delivered to every Pullman kitchen and bathroom, an uncommon comfort for working class homes of the time.
The water tower was accidentally destroyed in 1957 during a nearby construction project.
In this carefully designed town, about 14 miles south of Chicago’s Loop, Pullman employees created a life and community relying on the housing and businesses provided by by their employer. In 1893, the company responded to nationwide economic depression by lowering workers' wages but not lowering rent for company housing. Pullman workers walked off the job on May 11, 1894, beginning what would become one of the largest labor strikes in American history. The strike ended about two months later when Federal troops clashed violently with union strikers. The town continued to influence labor history with the organization of the first all-African-American union in the country, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, in 1925.
In the early twentieth century, the former town of Pullman became one of Chicago’s neighborhoods. Drawings and photographs documenting its design and construction are in a collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. Even more of the community's history is documented in collections at the Pullman National Monument.
