Places To Go

The Pullman company became known for creating luxurious train cars, but its workers would help form a lasting legacy through their stories.Start at the Pullman National Historical Park Visitor Center in the Administration-Clock Tower Building to learn more.

Built in 1880, the Administration Clock Tower Building formed the central mass of a monumental structure seven hundred feet long. As the manufacturing center of Pullman, the Administration and Factory Complex was an unusually ornate industrial building designed to sit in a park-like setting.

Visit the Historic Pullman Shared Visitor Information Center located at Cottage Grove and 112th Street. Volunteers and partners from the Historic Pullman Foundation are on-hand to answer questions and provide suggestions on how to enjoy your visit to the monument. There are informational displays, artifacts and an introductory film available.

The National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum (NAPPRM) was founded in 1995 by Dr. Lynn Hughes. The museum is named Asa Philip Randolph and Pullman Porters, the men who made up the membership of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) union.

Visitors will be welcomed into several Pullman residences decorated for the period and will also meet Pullman families in the places they called home.

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.

Greenstone Church was built in 1882 as part of the original plans for the Pullman company town. The church was designed by Solon Beman and features a unique facade of green stone quarried in Pennsylvani and seats 600.

Market Hall was built with the original Pullman town in the early 1880's. Its first design had two floors containing a lunch counter, sixteen stalls for the sale of fresh meats and vegetables, and a meeting hall. In 1892 it was destroyed by fire, but soon after a second version of the Market Hall was built in 1893. The new design was three stories high and colonnade apartment were built around the building. 

The homes built in the original 1880's Pullman Company Town were made in various sizes and designed to accommodate workers of all levels. The homes were rented out to residents by the company and boasted having unique amenities such as indoor plumbing (flush toilets), well ventilated and lighted rooms, and for executive homes steam heating. 

Designed by Nathan Barrett, Arcade Park was a formal garden for residents to use for leisure in the Pullaman Company Town. 

The Firehouse was built in 1894 in a Romanesque style. It is the last firehouse in Chicago with a hose-drying watch tower. The tower was used to survey the area for any signs of fire nearby.

This 16.56-acre Chicago Park district site was previously part of the U.S. Steel Complex known as South Works. The establishment of the steel works attracted and met the demands of industries such as the Pullman Palace Car Company. The site was recently converted into an attractive landscape with natural areas, walking paths, views of Lake Michigan and a community rock climbing wall, built on the historic ore wall.

The Dolton Ferry was once located near the present-day Indiana Avenue bridge. From the 1830s until the Civil War, those escaping enslavement fled into the Calumet region. From here, they moved on to Chicago, Detroit and Canada. This meant that freedom seekers were frequently using the ferry/bridge crossing. The Ton family, along with other early settlers, were a part of the Underground Railroad.

Located in the heart of downtown Chicago is the Fine Arts Building, also known as the Studebaker Building. It was built for the Studebaker company in 1884–5 by Solon S. Beman, the architect for the town of Pullman, in the Richardson Romanesque style.

The John J. Glessner House is part of the Chicago’s Prairie Avenue Historic District. This neighborhood also once boasted the mansion of George Pullman (torn down in 1922, following the death of his widow, Harriet.) Prairie Avenue was known as “the Fifth Avenue of the Midwest,” and was home to the Who’s Who of Gilded Age Chicago, including Pullman, “Merchant prince” Marshall Field and meatpacking magnate Philip Armour.

Located on Chicago’s north side, Graceland Cemetery is one of the city’s most well-known cemeteries, and contains the grave of George Pullman. Pullman died of a heart attack on October 19, 1897 at the age of 66. As with other prominent Chicagoans of his time, Pullman was laid to rest at Graceland Cemetery. The Pullman marker simple yet elegant, a single Corinthian column.

Tucked away in Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois a monument dedicated to the one of the most important events American labor history, the Haymarket Affair, and the four men who were hanged in connection with its events.

The Illinois Railway Museum is the closest location to Pullman National Historical Park where you can see and experience Pullman railcars. The mission of the Illinois Railway Museum is to “educate the public as to our nation’s railroad and railway history by collecting, preserving, and restoring rolling stock, artifacts, structures, and related transportation equipment for display to the public.”