Pullman

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior INDUSTRY A worker’s status and class influenced which Pullman home he rise in 1880. Through “scientific planning,” it integrated offices could rent. High earners lived closest to their workplace. The and industrial shops with housing, all in a parklike setting. company hoped the hygienic homes and elegant landscape East 104th Street and South Maryland Avenue: National A. Phillip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum and Pullman Wheel Works (private residences). would lead employees to strive toward a higher social class Above: Pioneer, the first Pullman sleeping rail car, built in 1864. CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM Left: Upholstery Room. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS L ABOR Pullman National Historical Park Illinois From the prairie south of Chicago, a perfect town began to Cottage Grove Avenue and the Metra (subway) are west of the park. East 103rd Street is along the northernmost part of the park. Both town and company bore the surname of the owner, and behavior. Some praised Pullman’s genius; others called his George Pullman (1831–97). He built luxury sleeping rail cars experiment un-American. By the 1890s, the company and its and leased them to railroads, along with staff who provided workers began to clash. Events at Pullman and rulings in the on-board services. Pullman’s business model gave the company state and federal courts set precedents that echoed through- a nationally competitive edge. out the nation. ABOVE: PULLMAN LETTERING—NEWBERRY LIBRARY Pullman Strike and Boycott A depression in 1893 caused a nationwide decline in orders for rail cars. The Pullman company cut workers’ wages by 25 percent but did not lower rents. George Pullman refused to negotiate with employees over either issue. Workers walked off the job in May 1894, and across the country, American Railway Union (ARU) workers responded in solidarity. They boycotted any train that pulled a Pullman car, halting commerce. By July the strike and boycott led to occupation by US Army troops of rail centers across the nation. When the Pullman shops reopened, the workers had gained little of substance. But they discovered that labor, when organized, had power. They also learned a harsh truth—that the government would side with industry and even use force to restore order. Jane Addams (1860–1935) A social reformer, Addams saw the strike as a class conflict and tried to mediate it. She brought the workers to the bargaining table, but George Pullman refused to meet with her. Clockwise from above left: Broadside aimed at railroad workers in St. Louis, 1894. Chicago Evening Journal headlines, May 11, 1894. Police raise clubs against workers who obstruct tracks at 43rd Street, Harpers Weekly, 1894. Cartoon, “The Condition of the Laboring Man at Pullman,” Chicago Labor, 1894. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Eugene Debs (1855–1956) The founder of the American Railway Union, Debs tried to build labor’s power by reaching out to railroad workers across the skill lines that separated them. The federal government prosecuted and jailed him. REGUL ATION After the strike ended, the tide began to turn in favor of labor. The US Congress passed the Erdman Act in 1898. It required railroad companies and unions to arbitrate labor disputes. CHICAGO LABOR NEWSPAPER Also in 1898, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled the original charter was for manufacturing only, and Pullman began to sell its non-industrial holdings. The ruling paved the way to home ownership for Pullman residents. The Great Migration Left: Travel poster advertising Pullman dining car on the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad. Right: Postcard of porter T.R. Joseph, ca. 1940. A Pullman porter job was a way into the middle class for African Americans—despite continuing racial discrimination. Based near major train hubs, porters earned a good income and had opportunities to travel. They absorbed news and information from across the country and carried it home. Their eyewitness reports helped fuel the Great Migration of African Americans to northern and midwestern industrial cities. Pullman porters helped inspire others to seek change in order to support their families and build new lives. Hundreds of thousands of people made the transition. POSTER—LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; T.R. JOSEPH—SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE EQUALIT Y Pullman National Historical Park is a historic district with many destinations within its boundary. Explore the park on your own or through programs, tours, exhibits, and media offered by the National Park Service and its partners. East 108th Street: Historic Pullman Fire Station. Thank you for respecting the many private homes and buildings in the historic Pullman neighborhood. CHICAGO TRIBUNE Federal and State Laws Change POSTER AND NEWSPAPER HEADLINES—NEWBERRY LIBRARY; STRIKE ILLUSTRATION—GRANGER COLLECTION Visiting Pullman Today East 111th Street runs through the middle of the park; it connects I-94 and a Metra stop. Along East 111th Street are a Metra stop, Pullman Park, Hotel Florence, Pullman House Project / Welcome Center, Front and Rear Erecting Shops, and roads to the National Park Service Pullman Visitor Center in the Administration Clock Tower Building and its parking lot. East 112th Street: Pullman Stables, Historic Pullman Foundation / Pullman Exhibit Hall, Arcade Park, Greenstone Church, and Market Hall. A family arrives in Chicago, 1922. East 113th Street: Historic Pullman Foundation. NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY / ERNEST HAMLIN BAKER Black Workers Unite and Win Above: During the 1940s, A. Philip Randolph linked the struggles for labor and civil rights. He rallied African Americans to demand jobs and an end to segregation in the war industries (poster, left). The American Railway Union opened its membership to Chicago railroad workers in 1893 but barred African Americans. In 1915 an all-African American railroad brotherhood, the international Railway Mens Benevolent Industrial Association, organized Pullman porters under federal World War I railroad labor regulations. In 1937 the porters won their first Pullman company contract after suing in federal court. They achieved a 240-hour work month, 4 to 6 hours off duty each night, and wages rather than tips. Their success inspired African Americans in other trades to demand equality and recognition in the workplace. The loss of wartime emergency protections doomed the association’s survival but convinced African American railroaders that federal recognition was crucial. In 1925 Pullman porters organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), aided by labor and civil rights activists A. Philip Randolph (1889–1979) (left) and former Pullman porter Milton P. Webster. Women’s Economic Council Auxiliary Porters’ wives, and the maids who worked alongside porters, organized to support the BSCP. In 1938 the women’s auxiliary held a national convention in Chicago (left). POSTERS—NEWBERRY LIBRARY Pullman CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM An End to the Monopolies In 1943, a federal district court dealt a sharp blow to the Pullman Company’s business plan, ruling that it could not insist on an “exclusive right” clause when leasing cars or service staff to railroads. The court directed Pullman to choose between operating or manufacturing train cars. The company chose the latter. Left: Pullman Administration Clock Tower Building, before 1910. CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM The ruling ended the monopolies that created great wealth for the company and its shareholders—but also resulted in the loss of all service jobs. In the 1950s, as people began to drive long distances, the company pivoted to manufacturing freight and passenger cars for short-distance travel. East 115th Street is south of the park; it connects I-94 with South Cottage Grove Avenue and a Metra stop. Interstate 94 is east of the park. Metra stops are also on East 107th Street and south of East 103rd Street, both west of South Cottage Grove Avenue. The National Park Service partners with private organizations and public agencies to share Pullman’s history. As people throughout the world continue to seek equality and opportunity, Pullman’s stories resonate. Pullman National Historical Park 11001 S. Cottage Grove Ave. Chicago, IL 60628 773-468-9310 PULL_visitorinfo@nps.gov www.nps.gov/pull We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all; call or check the websites. Pullman National Historical Park is one of over 400 parks in the National Park System. To learn npf_black.pdf 1 8/26/22 more about national parks, visit www.nps.gov. Emergencies call 911 For firearms regulations check the park website. Join the park community. www.nationalparks.org IGPO:2023—423-201/83026 Last updated 2023 Partner Information Bielenberg Foundation www.PullmanAtHome.org Historic Pullman Foundation www.pullmanIL.org National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum AprPullmanPorterMuseum.org 12:33 PM Pullman State Historic Site https://www2.illinois.gov/dnrhistoric/ Experience/Sites/Northeast/Pages/ Pullman-Site.aspx Strictly Business The Pullman Neighborhood “Let it once be proved that enterprises of this kind are sage and profitable and we shall see great manufacturing corporations developing similar enterprises, and thus a new era will be introduced in the history of labor.” The company’s dual role as employer and landlord changed after George Pullman’s death in 1897. By 1909 most houses in Pullman were privately owned, and buyers were not required to work at Pullman. Some purchased homes from former employees who lost their jobs when the company switched from wood to steel car construction. The city of Chicago absorbed the town. Through the 1940s, as car and air travel increased, the Pullman workforce grew smaller. The company built its last rail car in 1981, for Amtrak. It was only a short walk from the factory gate to the workers’ housing, which had varied amenities and rental rates. Rent did not include use of the Pullman Public Library. Patrons paid a fee to use it. Below: The South Gate at noon, undated. Right: Building a Pullman car, ca. 1930. George Pullman, 1867 George Pullman built his company and town according to the principle of “scientific planning” in a rational, orderly manner. The same tools and machines used in the first industrial shops to manufacture rail cars were used to build workers’ houses. The use of capital to build houses was a “strict investment” on which shareholders received a 6 percent profit. The beauty and amenities of the town would result in “elevated and refined” employees. As a result, residents would refrain from consuming alcohol, swearing, or striking. Below left: Unidentified family on their front steps in Pullman. Below right: Children playing in front of homes on Erickson (now Maryland) Avenue. Both photos undated. Today, people of different ages, races, and occupations live in the historic Pullman neighborhood, which public and private organizations help preserve and interpret. CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM Order, Precision, and Power A writer for Harpers Weekly appreciated the cohesive town plan, but criticized its overly restrictive management and the lack of residents’ participation in town affairs: “The idea of Pullman is un-American… It is benevolent, well-wishing feudalism, which desires the happiness of the people, but in such a way as shall please the authorities.” In the Administration Clock Tower Building, natural light from tall windows filled the central area where designers, engineers, and administrative staff worked. In two flanking wings, skilled artisans finished train cars. The layout was intended to save time and unnecessary movement. A visiting economist enthused, “the planning of these workshops is remarkable… Tiny little locomotives are running along the lines which are built in the spaces between the various workshops … Everything is done in order and with precision; one feels that George Pullman excelled at moving and raising buildings along the Chicago lakeshore in the 1850s. He saw opportunity in the rapidly growing city. each effort is calculated to yield its maximum effect, that no blow of a hammer, or turn of a wheel, is made without cause.” The Corliss Engine, which powered the car shops’ machinery, could be seen by people traveling on the Illinois Central Railroad as it passed Pullman. It was displayed in a building with plateglass windows. The exhaust water discharged to an artificial lake in front of the shops, where it cooled. Lake Vista also functioned as a landscaping feature. CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM PULLMAN STATE HISTORIC SITE CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM Private ownership of homes transformed the company town to a neighborhood. Promoting Pullman Idealizing illustrations about Pullman (above and below) appeared in ads and national and international newspapers and magazines. Reports from the 1890s often mentioned the Chicago World’s PULLMAN STATE HISTORIC SITE Left: Commemorative coin for the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition. AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY Columbian Exposition. George Pullman donated funds and served as a board member. The exposition celebrated all that was modern, new, and innovative—like Pullman. Below: Visitors marveled at the Arcade, with 30 stores under one roof. HISTORIC PULLMAN FOUNDATION Lake Calumet Water Tower Gas Works Administration Clock Tower Building Greenstone Church Market Hall Pullman Neighborhood Rolling Mill Round House Rear Car Shops Blacksmith Allen Paper Car s Machine Shop Corliss Engine Shop Stables nce Hotel Flore ops Front Car Sh Arcade Front Car Shops Railroad Depot pany Wheel Com Lake Vista A Railroad Nation Pullman staff who provided on-board service lived around the country. African Americans made up nearly 40 percent of the Pullman workforce in the early 1900s. All followed detailed car-service rules published by the company. Railroad network ca.1916. “While the Pullman porters helped push forward our rights to vote and to work, and to live as equals, their legacy goes beyond even that. These men and women gave their children and grandchildren opportunities they never had.” President Barack Obama, 2015 Pullman conductor, attendants, and porters. SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY Porter William Warren and family, Fort Worth, Texas, ca. 1930. LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY Porter’s hat and namecard. Car-service rule book. Mary Louise Penn’s employment application, 1928. HAT AND NAMECARD—SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE; RULE BOOK—NEWBERRY LIBRARY NEWBERRY LIBRARY Pullman mechanics at repair shops, Richmond, California, 1939. PULLMAN STATE HISTORIC SITE