Pullman National Historical Park

Pullman National Historical Park preserves the industrial complex and planned company town established by George Pullman on Chicago’s South Side. The area documents late 19th century company-town planning and the history of railcar manufacturing.

The park includes the former Pullman factory complex, rows of company-built worker housing, the Hotel Florence, and administrative buildings that together illustrate the original company town layout. Interpreted exhibits and guided walks explain the town’s design, the company operations, and the social history of Pullman workers.

George Pullman developed the town in the 1880s to house employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company, arranging factories, shops, housing, and community services in a planned layout. The community was a focal point of the 1894 Pullman Strike, a nationwide railway labor dispute that had wide political and social impact.

Situated in the Pullman neighborhood on Chicago’s Far South Side in Illinois, the park encompasses the cluster of historic buildings and streets that made up the original company town and factory area.

• Founding: The Pullman neighborhood was founded by industrialist George Pullman in the 1880s as a planned company town for workers in the Pullman Palace Car Company.
• Historic event: Site of the 1894 national railway strike, an event with major consequences in U.S. labour history that involved Pullman workers and the federal government.

What to See #

• Hotel Florence: A late 19th century hotel built to entertain visitors and company officials, now preserved as part of the historic district and occasionally open for tours.
• Factory complex: The former Pullman Company manufacturing complex where railroad cars were built and maintained; core of the company's industrial operations and a focal point of park interpretation.
• Company row housing: Rows of company-built worker housing and streets laid out as part of the planned company town, illustrating the town's original residential design.
• Administration buildings: The Pullman administration and company offices that organized town services and company operations, included in preserved historic buildings within the park.