Pullman, Chicago
Encyclopedia
Pullman, one of Chicago's
77 community areas
, is a neighborhood located on the city's South Side
. Twelve miles from the Chicago Loop
, Pullman is situated adjacent Lake Calumet
.
The area known as Pullman encompasses a much wider area than the two historic areas (the older historic area is often referred to as just "Pullman
", a Chicago Landmark
district and the northern annex historic area is usually referred to as "North Pullman"). This article deals with all areas, although the area built by the Pullman company is bounded by 106th Street on the North, 115th Street on the South, Cottage Grove on the west, and the railroad tracks on the east.
Today the neighborhood of Pullman is quickly gentrify
ing with many residents involved in the restoration of the district through their own homes and throughout the district as a whole. Walking tours of Pullman are available.
Pullman is home to many historic and architecturally significant buildings, among these are the Hotel Florence
, the Arcade Building which was destroyed in the 1920s, the Clock Tower and Factory, the complex surrounding Market Square and Greenstone Church. Pullman is also home to one of Chicago's many beautiful 'Polish Cathedrals'
, the former church of St. Salomea, which is now used by Salem Baptist
Church of Chicago. Pullman was one of seven sites that were nominated for the Illinois Seven Wonders sites in a contest sponsored by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Pullman is served by two Metra Electric Line
stations: Kensington (115th Street)
and Pullman (111th Street)
. Most Metra
suburban express trains passing through the area stop at the 115th Street station, and only local trains stop at the 111th Street station.
for his eponymous railroad car company, the Pullman Palace Car Company. Pullman's architect
Solon Spencer Beman
was said to be so proud of his creation that he asked George Pullman if the neighborhood could be named for himself. Pullman responded to the effect, "Sure, we'll take the first half of my name, and the second half of yours."
In a day when most workers lived in shabby tenement
s near their factories, Pullman seemed a dream, winning awards as "the world's most perfect town." Everything, from stores to townhouses, were owned by the Company. The design was pleasing, and all of the workers' needs were met within the neighborhood. The houses were comfortable by standards of the day, and contained such amenities as indoor plumbing, gas, and sewers.
Pullman's misfortune came during the depression which followed the Panic of 1893
. When demand for Pullman cars slackened, the Pullman company laid off hundreds of workers, and switched many more to pay-per-piece work. This work, while paying more per hour, reduced total worker income. Despite these cutbacks, the Company did not reduce rents for those that lived in the town of Pullman. The Pullman Strike
began in 1894, and lasted for 2 months.
George Pullman himself died in 1897. The Illinois Supreme Court required the company to sell off the town which was annexed into the city of Chicago. Within ten years, all non-manufacturing property - the houses, the public buildings - was sold off to the individual occupants.
Along with the whole South Side, the town of Pullman had been annexed to the City of Chicago in 1889. After the strike
Pullman gradually became a regular Chicago neighborhood, only with distinguishing Victorian architecture
. The fortunes of the neighborhood rose and fell with the Pullman Company.
Pullman Car Works manufactured its last car in early 1981. In 1991 the state of Illinois purchased a section of the plant intending to create a museum of the history of the company and the Pullman community. This plan was called into question as the result of a fire in December 1998.
The neighborhood's decline that began in the 1950s continued, but that economic decline at least spared the district's architecture. In 1960 the original Town of Pullman, approximately between 111th and 115th Streets, was threatened with total demolition for an industrial park. The residents there formed the Pullman Civic Organization and saved their community. By 1972 the Pullman Historic District
had obtained National, State, and City landmark status to protect the original 900 rowhouses and public buildings built by George Pullman.
1999 Census date of homebuyers: 65% Caucasian, 29% African-American, 6% Other (Hispanic, Asian, etc.)
2001 Census date of homebuyers: 75% Caucasian, 19% African-American, 6% Other (Hispanic, Asian, etc.)
The demographic data in the table to the upper right reflect the entire "community area" that is now known as Pullman, not just the historic areas, which are generally more diverse. For example in 2000 Census Tract 5003.00 was 53.5% White and 26.7% African-American, and 36.1% of Hispanic Origin of any race.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
77 community areas
Community areas of Chicago
Community areas in Chicago refers to the work of the Social Science Research Committee at University of Chicago which has unofficially divided the City of Chicago into 77 community areas. These areas are well-defined and static...
, is a neighborhood located on the city's South Side
South Side (Chicago)
The South Side is a major part of the City of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the city's incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township which voted along with several other townships to be annexed in the June 29,...
. Twelve miles from the Chicago Loop
Chicago Loop
The Loop or Chicago Loop is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located in the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is the historic commercial center of downtown Chicago...
, Pullman is situated adjacent Lake Calumet
Lake Calumet
Lake Calumet is the largest body of water within the city of Chicago. Formerly a shallow, postglacial lake draining into Lake Michigan, it has been changed beyond recognition by industrial redevelopment and decay...
.
The area known as Pullman encompasses a much wider area than the two historic areas (the older historic area is often referred to as just "Pullman
Pullman District
The Pullman District, as it has been designated on the list of Chicago Landmarks, or Pullman Historic District, as it has been designated on the National Register of Historic Places, was the first model, planned industrial community in the United States...
", a Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark
Chicago Landmark is a designation of the Mayor of Chicago and the Chicago City Council for historic buildings and other sites in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural,...
district and the northern annex historic area is usually referred to as "North Pullman"). This article deals with all areas, although the area built by the Pullman company is bounded by 106th Street on the North, 115th Street on the South, Cottage Grove on the west, and the railroad tracks on the east.
Today the neighborhood of Pullman is quickly gentrify
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
ing with many residents involved in the restoration of the district through their own homes and throughout the district as a whole. Walking tours of Pullman are available.
Pullman is home to many historic and architecturally significant buildings, among these are the Hotel Florence
Hotel Florence
The Hotel Florence is a former hotel located in the Pullman Historic District on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois. It was built in 1881 to a design by architect Solon Spencer Beman...
, the Arcade Building which was destroyed in the 1920s, the Clock Tower and Factory, the complex surrounding Market Square and Greenstone Church. Pullman is also home to one of Chicago's many beautiful 'Polish Cathedrals'
Polish Cathedral style
The Polish Cathedral architectural style is a North American genre of Catholic church architecture found throughout the Great Lakes and Middle Atlantic regions as well as in parts of New England...
, the former church of St. Salomea, which is now used by Salem Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church of Chicago. Pullman was one of seven sites that were nominated for the Illinois Seven Wonders sites in a contest sponsored by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Pullman is served by two Metra Electric Line
Metra Electric Line
The Metra Electric District is an electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern suburbs...
stations: Kensington (115th Street)
Kensington/115th Street (Metra)
The Kensington Station is a commuter rail station on the South Side section of the City of Chicago that serves the Metra Electric Line north to Millennium Station and south to University Park and Blue Island; and the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana...
and Pullman (111th Street)
Pullman/111th Street (Metra)
Pullman/111th Street Station is a commuter rail station on Metra Electric's main branch in the Pullman neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. It is located over 111th Street at the corner of Cottage Grove Avenue, and is away from the northern terminus at Randolph Street Station...
. Most Metra
Metra
Metra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 240 stations on 11 different rail lines. Throughout the 21st century, Metra has been the second busiest commuter rail system in the United States by...
suburban express trains passing through the area stop at the 115th Street station, and only local trains stop at the 111th Street station.
History
Historic Pullman was built in the 1880s by George PullmanGeorge Pullman
George Mortimer Pullman was an American inventor and industrialist. He is known as the inventor of the Pullman sleeping car, and for violently suppressing striking workers in the company town he created, Pullman .-Background:Born in Brocton, New York, his family moved to Albion,...
for his eponymous railroad car company, the Pullman Palace Car Company. Pullman's architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Solon Spencer Beman
Solon Spencer Beman
Solon Spencer Beman was an American architect who was based in Chicago, best known as the architect of the planned Pullman community and adjacent Pullman Company factory complex. Several of his other largest commissions, including the Pullman Office Building, Pabst Building, and Grand Central...
was said to be so proud of his creation that he asked George Pullman if the neighborhood could be named for himself. Pullman responded to the effect, "Sure, we'll take the first half of my name, and the second half of yours."
In a day when most workers lived in shabby tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
s near their factories, Pullman seemed a dream, winning awards as "the world's most perfect town." Everything, from stores to townhouses, were owned by the Company. The design was pleasing, and all of the workers' needs were met within the neighborhood. The houses were comfortable by standards of the day, and contained such amenities as indoor plumbing, gas, and sewers.
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
. When demand for Pullman cars slackened, the Pullman company laid off hundreds of workers, and switched many more to pay-per-piece work. This work, while paying more per hour, reduced total worker income. Despite these cutbacks, the Company did not reduce rents for those that lived in the town of Pullman. The Pullman Strike
Pullman Strike
The Pullman Strike was a nationwide conflict between labor unions and railroads that occurred in the United States in 1894. The conflict began in the town of Pullman, Illinois on May 11 when approximately 3,000 employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company began a wildcat strike in response to recent...
began in 1894, and lasted for 2 months.
George Pullman himself died in 1897. The Illinois Supreme Court required the company to sell off the town which was annexed into the city of Chicago. Within ten years, all non-manufacturing property - the houses, the public buildings - was sold off to the individual occupants.
Along with the whole South Side, the town of Pullman had been annexed to the City of Chicago in 1889. After the strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
Pullman gradually became a regular Chicago neighborhood, only with distinguishing Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
. The fortunes of the neighborhood rose and fell with the Pullman Company.
Pullman Car Works manufactured its last car in early 1981. In 1991 the state of Illinois purchased a section of the plant intending to create a museum of the history of the company and the Pullman community. This plan was called into question as the result of a fire in December 1998.
The neighborhood's decline that began in the 1950s continued, but that economic decline at least spared the district's architecture. In 1960 the original Town of Pullman, approximately between 111th and 115th Streets, was threatened with total demolition for an industrial park. The residents there formed the Pullman Civic Organization and saved their community. By 1972 the Pullman Historic District
Pullman District
The Pullman District, as it has been designated on the list of Chicago Landmarks, or Pullman Historic District, as it has been designated on the National Register of Historic Places, was the first model, planned industrial community in the United States...
had obtained National, State, and City landmark status to protect the original 900 rowhouses and public buildings built by George Pullman.
Census data
1995 Census date of homebuyers: 61% Caucasian, 27% African-American, 12% Other (Hispanic, Asian, etc.)1999 Census date of homebuyers: 65% Caucasian, 29% African-American, 6% Other (Hispanic, Asian, etc.)
2001 Census date of homebuyers: 75% Caucasian, 19% African-American, 6% Other (Hispanic, Asian, etc.)
The demographic data in the table to the upper right reflect the entire "community area" that is now known as Pullman, not just the historic areas, which are generally more diverse. For example in 2000 Census Tract 5003.00 was 53.5% White and 26.7% African-American, and 36.1% of Hispanic Origin of any race.
External links
- Official City of Chicago Pullman Community Map
- Pullman State Historic Site (contains lots of historic photographs)
- Pullman Neighborhood Website
- Pullman community events
- Image of museum
- DigIt Pullman
- Sun-Times Article on "DigIt" and Pullman
- Encyclopaedia Chicago: Pullman
- Sun-Times.com Blog Article about Pullman
- Illinois Seven Wonders - Voting has ended
- Report Non-Emergency Issues in Pullman
