Pullman Chicago: Past and Present.
Pullman Chicago is a unique South Side neighborhood that serves as a focal point for railroad, labor and Chicago history. Established in 1880 by Pullman Car Company founder George Pullman, it was among the first planned company towns in the U.S.
The past: Josh Brickman, CAC docent, has written Pullman’s railway carriages, including the famous Pullman sleeping car, were built in a massive manufacturing facility located in the heart of the neighborhood. But after World War II, the exodus of city dwellers to the suburbs—combined with the nationwide consolidation of railroad companies—led to a decline in Pullman’s population and importance. Thankfully, the buildings where Pullman employees worked and lived have been preserved and added to the National Register of Historic Places. Read Josh Brickman’s 5 things to know about Pullman.
The present: Pullman has become a national model for revitalization, with new jobs, retail, housing and a recreational center complementing existing historic homes and architecture.
Pullman Park is an example of Pullman’s revitalization. A 180-acre, mixed-use site at 111th Street and I-94 with over $370 million in new investments has attracted many new businesses and amenities, and created nearly 1,500 jobs.
- Amazon Fulfillment Center in Chicago in October 2020. The ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly constructed 150,000 square-foot facility brings 200 to 300 new jobs to Pullman and has made Pullman Park the city’s most vibrant industrial park and its fastest growing employment area.
- In 2020, six years after Method opened the consumer cleaning industry’s first LEED Platinum-certified plant in Pullman Park, its parent company, SC Johnson, leased an additional 400,000 square foot warehouse there.
- Four years after Gotham Greens developed the world’s largest commercial rooftop greenhouse atop of Method Products, it opened a second greenhouse in Pullman Park in 2019. The new greenhouse is a 100,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility that doubles its production and workforce
- Whole Foods opened to the new 140,000 square foot Whole Foods Midwest Distribution Center and welcomed 100 employees.
Involved in the Pullmanas well as other south side Chicago neighborhoods since 1986, has given URB Chicago unique insight into the community.