Chicago, Arlington House, Sunday, 23 October 2005, 06:25

After adequately prepared for our visit to the Chicago Cultural Center, we decided to visit yesterday to the historic Pullman, a planned industrial and residential area in 1880, the South Side of Chicago.

To reach there, we have connected the red line all the way through and then by bus 111th What was very interesting to note is that the population is mostly black on the south side of Chicago, much like he had the black population of the southern states migrated northward after the 2nd World War II. was detected in fact, Chicago is one of the racial divide, and today with the demolition of many housing projects, urban dark, the city is trying to create closer integration between the people in black and white. Br
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The Pullman Historic District is the manifestation of a very interesting experience Name: It was built 1880-1884 as a planned model industrial town by George M. Pullman for the Pullman Palace Car Company. George Pullman (1831-1897) came on the scene with a design for the Pullman sleeping car, which he originally developed to transport the dead body of Abraham Lincoln to his funeral. Accordingly, the Pullman Sleeping Car Company and created an entire town was built around the company and the name of its initiator.

We went to the basement and saw a 18-minute film, George Pullman and his ambitious plans for its development describes a model community, a global environment, that it should be for the working class as it is available elsewhere. He hoped to avoid strikes, attract more skilled workers and higher productivity through improved health and spirit of its employees to achieve.

To achieve its vision, George Pullman introduced Solon S. Beaman, landscape architect Nathan F. Barrett and civil engineer, Benzette Williams. The city was built by the Pullman employees, using local red clay of the Lake Calumet and components that were produced at the plant in Pullman. This project is one of the first examples of industrial technology and mass production in large units. The city was planned and a whole community, including schools, library and hotel all managed by the company.

Pullman Grand Arcade building (now gone, and the current location of the visitor center) as a restaurant, bank, library, post office, a theater and shopping. It was a forerunner of the modern shopping center. The city was completely autonomous. Pullman residents enjoyed the artificial lake and Vista has numerous parks and promenades, usually not in working-class neighborhoods of Chicago.

The town of Pullman was a model of financial capacity. Pullman, the company has again called for a gain of 8 percent and the city a profit of 6 percent. be a huge engine pumped sewage from the city to a nearby farm of Pullman, where it was used as fertilizer for the products sold back to the city heard.

George Pullman received the ultimate control of the town, even restricting workers’ access to alcohol, such as the Hotel Florence only sold alcohol out of town visitors. Resentment towards this paternalistic despot started to build. The accident has with the decline of the success of the Pullman car, which struck George forced to slash wages. The workers responded to a strike, to reduce by the failure of Pullman, the cost of food and rent fired up, but George simply fired. The situation deteriorated as railway workers refused to handle Pullman cars and President Cleveland had to intervene, sending federal troops to the scene. The workers were forced to documents specifying that they would not join a union to sign.

Although the strike collapsed, the model failed George Pullman for the treatment of “labor problem” was. Pullman was proud of his paternalistic approach with his workers and he does not see as his strong arm methods to have led this revolt of the workers. criticized and ridiculed Pullman died a bitter man in 1897.

In 1898 the Illinois Supreme Court ordered the Pullman Company to develop non-industrial land in the neighborhood to sell to their residents, determined that the Pullman Palace Car Company is not authorized to provide manufacturing services has not, as the subject. Finally, residents can buy their houses.

Robert T. Lincoln, son of President Lincoln, was head of the company after the death of Pullman and simplify its name to the Pullman Company. The Pullman Company continued its famous cars at 111th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue produce. But with the explosion of automobile ownership, rail passenger traffic went into rapid decline. In 1957 Pullman Incorporated closed its plant in the neighborhood.

Just three years later “abandoned areas and deteriorating,” the city of Chicago Pullman on a list of included and that the required permission for the redevelopment. Residents responded by the Pullman Civic Organization and began to attack the monument. The historic Pullman Foundation, established in 1973 helps to ensure the conservation area and the restoration of sponsoring various events such as visits to neighborhood on foot, with annual visits home, Sunday brunch at the Hotel Florence and presentations at the Pullman Visitor Center.

In many ways, the housing development was ahead of his time. Each building, most of them houses, a gas and water supply, sanitation and complete large quantities of air and sunlight costs which was a rarity at the time when the class has been working mostly housed in squalid apartments. Originally from the town of Pullman housed about 12,000 people, while it still has a population of about 2,000, with an ethnic background, and Joint Economic.

Other famous buildings on the base include the Pullman Hotel Florence, the name of Pullman’s favorite daughter. It opened in 1881 as a showcase home for visitors to the city by George Pullman and originally had 50 rooms, a dining room, billiard room, a lounge and the only bar in Pullman. The historic Pullman Foundation has saved the hotel from demolition and today the hotel is closed to the public, while under a capital improvement program to restore use with the State Historic Site.

The Pullman Clock Tower and Administration Building was built in 1880 for the executive floor of the Pullman Palace Car Company at the time one of the most beautiful industrial plants in the United States. In 1998 the clock tower and administration building were severely damaged by a fire set by an arsonist. Since then, the building was stabilized and restored bell tower was given a few days before our visit. The future use of the site is currently provided by an independent group working with Chicago Mayor Daley and Illinois Governor Ryan discussed.

Another interesting building in the historic Pullman is the Queen Anne-style market hall, built in 1881. The market was an opportunity for fresh fruit, meat and other products. The original market was destroyed by fire in 1892 and became a new market built on the existing foundations. The market is surrounded by four round colonnaded buildings that were built with the new market hall in 1893. Unfortunately, the market building by fire in 1973 destroyed and today it is restoring.

The Greenstone Church, centrally located in the Pullman Historic District, has a serpentine outer won in Pennsylvania. The sanctuary is unchanged, except as a choir. All cherry wood is original. Today the church is still occupied by a Methodist congregation.

The visit to the Pullman Historic District was very interesting. We learned about a different time of the final laissez-faire capitalism, industrial growth and immigration, social conflict, urban planning, architecture and the ultimate failure of a rather unique advantages.


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