Friends of Pullman National Historical Park

10/18/2026

The repeating arches of this unfinished streetcar frame mark a change in how Pullman built its cars. As steel replaced wood, builders could create stronger structures that were more resistant to fire and better suited to the demands of rail travel. The transition also called for new tools, techniques and skills in the shops. Pullman photographer John P. Van Vorst captured this view looking down the length of a car before its walls and roof were finished.

Image recreated from a photograph published in Don Horn’s “The Pullman Photographers,” Railroad Heritage, No. 7 (2003). Credits: Pullman Research Group, Pullman State Historic Site and Pullman-Museum.org.

10/17/2026

For Open House Chicago 2026, visitors will have a rare opportunity to step inside the surviving walls of the historic Rear Erecting Shops at Pullman National Historical Park. Chicago Architecture Center

Once part of the enormous Pullman Car Works, where railroad cars were built for customers around the world, the Rear Erecting Shops are among the last surviving remnants of the company's vast manufacturing complex.

During this special opening, visitors can explore the historic structure, learn about ongoing preservation efforts, and discover how industrial archaeology is uncovering new information about Pullman's manufacturing history. Guides will share the building's history and explain the work underway to preserve it for future generations.

The site will be open Saturday and Sunday, October 17–18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Enter at 610 E. 111th Street. Visitors must wear hard-soled, closed-toe shoes. Hard hats will be provided.

This is a rare chance to explore a part of Pullman's industrial history normally closed to the public. Thank you to the Pullman State Historic Site.

Photo: Eric Allix Rogers

10/15/2026

A funeral car carried a deceased person by rail, often with family and mourners traveling alongside. On December 2, 1890, Pullman photographer Wylie Dennison photographed Chicago and North Western Funeral Car No. 106 outside the Pullman Car Works. Its name is painted across the side, a reminder that railroads provided transportation for many occasions beyond everyday travel.

This is a clearer recreation of the photograph published in Don Horn’s “The Pullman Photographers” in Railroad Heritage(2003). Credits: Pullman Research Group, Pullman State Historic Site and Pullman-Museum.org.

10/15/2026

On October 17-18, we’re participating in Open House Chicago with the Architecture Center! We’re one of more than 200 sites in 30+ neighborhoods welcoming visitors for this FREE annual architecture festival.
See this year’s site list at OpenHouseChicago.org

10/13/2026

In 1976, three remarkable voices came together to share their memories of Pullman.

Florence Lowden Miller, granddaughter of George M. Pullman, reflected on her grandfather’s life, the creation of the town and the pride he took in watching it rise along the shores of Lake Calumet.

Nellie Davidson Evans brought everyday Pullman to life. She remembered workers returning home for dinner at noon, families gathering on their porches, shopping in the Arcade, performing in its theater, visiting the World’s Columbian Exposition and witnessing the turmoil of the 1894 Pullman Strike.

Dick Wibalda recalled arriving from Holland on July 4, 1887, when he was four years old. He spoke about his family’s first home in Block R, attending the company-built Pullman School and growing up in what was then one of America’s most modern industrial towns.

Together, their stories preserve a deeply personal portrait of Pullman through the voices of people who knew its history firsthand.

In this special edition of Pullman Voices, three people with deep c...

10/12/2026

In 1944, Pullman’s clocktower was part of the rhythm of daily life. Generations of people who lived in the town had passed beneath it on their way to work, school and home. Here, Patricia Watts, Angeline Pittacora, Ann Scorza and Lorayne Cripe walk past the Administration Building, caught in an ordinary moment beside a landmark that had watched the town change around it.

The photograph appeared in the November 18, 1944, Chicago Daily News. This version has been lightly enhanced from the original. From the Pullman State Historic Site and Pullman-Museum.org.

10/10/2026

In 1907, Pullman photographer J. P. Van Vorst photographed passenger car trucks loaded onto a flatcar for shipment. These heavy assemblies of wheels, axles and suspension would support the cars once they were placed beneath them. The Pullman Gas House rises in the background, placing the scene near 111th Street and Langley Avenue in what is now Pullman National Historical Park.

This is a clearer recreation of the photograph published in Don Horn’s “The Pullman Photographers” in Railroad Heritage(2003). Credits: Pullman Research Group, Pullman State Historic Site and Pullman-Museum.org.

10/10/2026

Step inside this historic Pullman worker’s cottage and see how the homeowner has transformed a 19th-century home for modern living while preserving its original charm.

Ticket link in comments.

10/09/2026

Ten heavyweight Pullman cars travel eastbound on the Union Pacific near Hermosa, Wyoming, on October 10, 1951. One of the most famous businesses in American history, the Pullman Company served travelers from 1867 to 1968. Yet Pullman was not itself a railroad. It ran no trains and owned no tracks beyond those at its shops. Instead, the company built, owned or leased an enormous fleet of passenger cars, mostly sleepers, which railroads operated under contract. In many ways, Pullman was a giant hotel company on rails.

Photograph by Richard H. Kindig, published in the Summer 2008 special Pullman issue of Classic Trains magazine.