Hello from Chicago - A Visit to the Pullman Historic District

After being appropriately prepped as a result of our visit tothe Chicago Cultural Center we decided to head off yesterday tovisit the Pullman Historic District, a planned industrial andresidential community dating back to the 1880s, on Chicago'sSouth Side. In order to get there we took the red line all the way to theend and then connected onto the 111 bus. What was veryinteresting to note was that the population on Chicago's southside is predominantly black, as much of the black populationfrom the US South had migrated northwards after the 2nd WorldWar.



Actually Chicago was known as one of the most raciallysegregated cities, and today, with the demolition of many of thebleak urban housing projects, the city is attempting to createmore integration between its black and white population. The Pullman Historic District is the manifestation of a veryinteresting social experiment: It was built between 1880 and1884 as a planned model, Fire Damage Restoration, industrial town by George M. Pullman forthe Pullman Palace Car Company. George Pullman (1831 to 1897)arrived on the scene with a design for the Pullman sleepingcarriage which he originally developed to carry the dead body ofAbraham Lincoln to his funeral.



As a result the Pullman SleepingCar Company was established and a whole town was built aroundthe business and named after its originator.We went to the Visitor Center and saw an 18-minute movie thatdescribed George Pullman and his ambitious plans for hisdevelopment of a model community, a total environment, that heintended to be superior to that available to the working classelsewhere. By so doing, he hoped to avoid strikes, attract themost skilled workers and attain greater productivity as a resultof the better health and spirit of his employees.



To achieve his vision, George Pullman hired Solon S. Beaman,landscape architect Nathan F. Barrett and civil engineer,Benzette Williams. The town was constructed by Pullmanemployees, using local red clay from Lake Calumet and componentparts that were produced in the Pullman factory. This project isone of the first examples of industrial technology and massproduction in large-scale housing. The town was a completeplanned community and included schools, a library and hotel allrun by the company. Pullman's large Arcade building (now demolished and the presentlocation of the Visitor Center) featured a restaurant, a bank, alibrary, a post office, a theater, and numerous shops.



It was aforerunner of the modern shopping center. The town wascompletely self-contained. Pullman residents enjoyed the manmadeLake Vista and plenty of parks and promenades, featurestypically missing from Chicago's working-class neighbourhoods. The town of Pullman was a model of financial efficiency. Pullmandemanded that the company return an 8-percent profit and thetown return a 6-percent profit. A huge engine pumped sewage fromthe town to a nearby Pullman-owned farm, where it was used asfertilizer for produce that would be sold back in the town.



George Pullman maintained ultimate control over the town, evenrestricting workers' access to alcohol, as the Hotel Florenceonly sold alcohol to out-of-town visitors. Resentment towardsthis paternalistic despot started to build. Misfortune struckwith the decline of the Pullman car's success which forcedGeorge to slash wages. Workers responded with a strike, fuelledby Pullman's failure to reduce grocery costs and rent, butGeorge simply fired them. The situation deteriorated as railwayworkers refused to handle Pullman cars and President Clevelandhad to intervene, sending federal troops to the scene.



Theworkers were forced to sign documentation declaring that theywouldn't join a union.Although the strike collapsed, George Pullman's model forhandling the "labour problem" had failed. Pullman had pridedhimself on his paternalistic approach with his workers, and hecould not see how his heavy-handed methods had resulted in thisworker rebellion. Criticized and scorned, Pullman died a bitterman in 1897. In 1898, the Illinois Supreme Court ordered the Pullman Companyto sell the non-industrial land in the neighborhood to itsinhabitants, determining that the Pullman Palace Car Company didnot have the proper authority to provide nonmanufacturingservices such as renting property.



Finally, residents could buytheir homes. Robert T. Lincoln, the son of President Lincoln, became head ofthe company after Pullman's death and simplified its name to thePullman Company. The Pullman Company continued to produce itsfamous cars at 111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. But withthe explosion of automobile ownership, rail passenger trafficwent into rapid decline. In 1957, Pullman Incorporated closedits plant in the neighborhood. Only three years later, the city of Chicago included Pullman ona list of "blighted and deteriorating areas" that requiredclearance and redevelopment.



Residents responded by forming thePullman Civic Organization and began working to gain landmarkstatus. The Historic Pullman Foundation, which formed in 1973,helps ensure the area's preservation and restoration bysponsoring various events such as neighborhood walking tours,annual house tours, Sunday brunch at the Florence Hotel, andpresentations at the Pullman Visitor Center. In many ways the housing development was ahead of its time. Eachbuilding, most of them townhouses, had gas and water, completesanitary facilities and abundant quantities of sunlight andfresh air, which was a rarity at that time, when the workingclass was mostly housed in squalid tenements.



Originally thetown of Pullman housed about 12,000 people while today it stillhas a population of about 2,000, with an ethnically andeconomically mixed background. Other famous buildings on the Pullman grounds include the HotelFlorence, named after Pullman's favourite daughter. It opened in1881 as a hospitality showcase for visitors to George Pullman'sperfect town and originally had 50 rooms, a dining room, abilliard room, a parlor and the only bar in Pullman. TheHistoric Pullman Foundation managed to save the hotel fromdemolition and today the hotel is closed to the public while itis undergoing a capital improvement program to restore it foruse with the State Historic Site.



The Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building was built in1880 for the executive offices of the Pullman Palace CarCompany, at the time one of the most beautiful industrialcomplexes in the United States. In 1998 the Clock Tower andAdministration Building were seriously damaged by a fire set byan arsonist. Since then the building has been stabilized and therestored Clock Tower was put back on just a few days before ourvisit. Future use of the site is currently being debated by atask force institute by Chicago Mayor Daley and IllinoisGovernor Ryan.



Another interesting building located on the Pullman HistoricDistrict is the Queen Anne-style Market Hall which was built in1881. The Market provided a venue for fresh fruits, meats andother goods. The original market was destroyed by fire in 1892and a new market was built on the existing foundation. Themarket is surrounded by four colonnaded circular apartmentbuildings that were built with the new Market Hall in 1893.Unfortunately the Market Hall Building was destroyed by fire in1973 and today it awaits restoration.



The Greenstone Church, located centrally in the Pullman HistoricDistrict, has an exterior facade of serpentine stone quarried inPennsylvania. The sanctuary is unchanged with the exception ofthe chancel arrangements. All of the cherry wood is original.Today the church is still occupied by a Methodist congregation.The visit to the Pullman Historic District was very interesting.It taught us about a different time of ultimate laissez-fairecapitalism, industrial growth and immigration, labour unrest,urban planning, architecture and the ultimate failure of arather unique social experiment.