Revitalization of historic Pullman aims to boost tourism for country's first company town

In a brick house in Pullman, visitors can step back in time by more than 120 years. The kitchen has an icebox from circa 1900 that once stored ice from Lake Calumet. The parlor features gas lamps, intricate gilt wallpaper and a melodeon organ.

The home has been restored to represent a bygone era when Thomas Dunbar, a superintendent at the Pullman Palace Car Co., lived there with his family from 1898 to 1906. Dunbar worked across the street at the iconic rail car factory founded by industrial magnate George Pullman in 1867.

Dunbar’s former home on the Far South Side is part of the public tours offered by the nonprofit Pullman House Project since 2023. It has expanded and now has four restored homes open to visitors, including its welcome center at 605 E. 111th St., which houses the neighborhood’s only coffee shop, Pullman Club Coffee.

The Pullman House Project is one of many organizations working to preserve and showcase the neighborhood’s rich history and unique architecture. Pullman was the country’s first planned company town and founded in the 1880s to house Pullman factory workers. The workers launched a national strike in 1894 that was a major milestone in the labor movement.

Pullman’s Black porters also have a significant place in American history. For example, they helped create a Black middle class post-slavery. Former first lady Michelle Obama’s great-grandfather was a Pullman Porter.

Today, Pullman is home to 6,856 people of whom nearly 77% are Black, according to the 2018-2022 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Preservationists are trying to bring more visitors to Pullman’s historical district, which became Chicago’s first National Historical Park in 2022 after former President Barack Obama designated it a National Monument in 2015.

“Restoring Pullman homes is important because these spaces offer a personal glimpse into the lives of the immigrants, migrants and refugees who helped build this community and shaped American history,” said Mike Shymanski, a board member of the Pullman House Project’s parent foundation.

It aims to be like the Tenement Museum in New York, which offers tours of period apartments of former tenement residents, most of them immigrants, Shymanski said. The retired architect has lived in Pullman since 1967.

The Pullman House Project has also ramped up service at its cafe in the welcome center, which opened in late 2023. The coffee shop is in a grand Queen Anne 15-room house that once belonged to H.H. Sessions, general manager of the Pullman company. It's open daily except for Mondays.

The meticulously restored home features stained glass windows from 1900, oak floors and cherry fireplace mantles. Visitors can sip a coffee while perusing historic photos or watching videos about former Pullman factory workers in an elegant living room.

This year, nearly 1,100 visitors came to the Pullman House Project’s welcome center during last month’s Open House Chicago, an annual event organized by the Chicago Architecture Center that allows free access to nearly 200 notable sites around the city. Shymanski said about 75% of the visitors said it was their first trip to the neighborhood.

Chicago’s first National Park site

National Historical Parks include far more than nature preserves. The Pullman National Historical Park includes 200 acres of former factory space, the famous brick clock tower and residential homes. The building, run by the National Park Service, has a small visitor center with exhibitions and daily outdoor tours where the factory used to stand.

Visitors to the park have increased from 13,104 in 2016, its first full year of operation, to 29,218 in 2023, according to the National Park Service.

The National Park partners with other local community groups and nonprofits like the Pullman House Project, said Susan Bennett, assistant superintendent of the Pullman National Historical Park. They complement the federal government’s official offerings with community-led exhibitions, grassroots walking tours and visits to restored homes.

This year, the Pullman House Project has expanded its house tours that start at $20. Since April, about 500 visitors have joined tours offered six days a week.

The nonprofit added tours this spring of the former home of Americo Lisciotto, a Pullman resident who led a campaign to save the neighborhood from demolition in 1960.

The row house gives a glimpse into the lives of an Italian American family. Its living room features a 1949 console TV alongside a record player. Vintage light-up wall art depicts Venice’s Grand Canal in colorful hues. The 1960s decor has resonated with visitors who especially enjoy sitting on the sofa’s plastic-covered cushions, Shymanski said. The kitchen will be renovated and opened for display next year.

Another restored home nearby once housed unskilled laborers and features a toilet in the hallway.

Making Pullman a destination

During the 20th century, a neighborhood once synonymous with bustling industry experienced urban decay as local factories shut down. By 2000, homes lay vacant and 28% of its population lived below the poverty line.

But since 2014, Pullman has seen an influx of corporate investment spurred by local leaders and initiatives. The neighborhood has seen major openings, including a Walmart store; the first Whole Foods distribution center in Illinois; the first Gotham Greens greenhouse outside of New York; and a Method soap plant that was the first factory to open on the South Side in 30 years.

Nearly 23% of households in Pullman earned less than $25,000, compared to 20% for Chicago, according to the 2018-2022 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. The median income in Pullman was $54,755, compared to $71,673 for Chicago.

Growing tourism is also important for the neighborhood’s development, especially since there are a bevy of historical sites. In addition to the National Park building and the Pullman House Project, there is also the Historic Pullman Foundation’s exhibit hall and the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, which is undergoing a $30 million expansion.

Yet only a few restaurants have launched in recent years. Lexington Betty Smokehouse, Potbelly’s and Culver’s opened about half a mile from the main National Park building. Chick-fil-A is slated to open this year.

Otherwise there are few places where tourists can linger in the neighborhood. The presence of the Pullman House Project’s cafe is another step to make it more of a destination.

While tourists have increased since 2016, the historical district is still relatively quiet. Pullman is 15 miles from downtown Chicago, which can seem like a trek.

Another challenge is “overcoming the lingering negative perception that the South Side of Chicago is dangerous,” Shymanski said. “While Pullman is actually a very safe neighborhood and easily accessible by public transportation and car, this misconception still deters some potential visitors. Changing this perception is essential to boosting tourism.”

And raising awareness about Pullman is still a challenge. Shymanski said some cafe customers had no idea about Pullman’s history or its National Park. They happened to be driving on the nearby interstate highway, Googled coffee and found the Pullman Coffee Club, he said.

Hunter Adams, a Chatham resident, visited Pullman’s National Park site in April for the first time to view the eclipse. He stumbled across the Pullman House Project’s cafe across the street and didn’t know it existed before. “It was an enjoyable space,” Adams said.

Yet Pullman’s historical sites are “off the beaten path for tourism from Chicago,” he said. The area could become a destination, but tourism organizations “have to do a better job at marketing the site and its historical significance.” Nevertheless, “I’ve told friends it’s a wonderful space,” Adams said.