All aboard to move to Pullman
Pullman was the brainchild of railroad tycoon George M. Pullman who, in the late 1870s, purchased 4,000 acres of land some 16 miles south of the Loop. Here, he built a factory for his Pullman sleeping train cars as well as a mini-city where his employees could live, work and play. With the help of architect Solon Beman and landscaper Nathan Barrett, the community was self-contained with its own schools, parks, theater, library, stores, and row houses—900 of which still stand today.
Hailed as “the world’s most perfect town,” the Pullman area thrived until the need for sleeping cars fell in the late 1880s. To make up for the loss, Pullman lowered the wages of his workers and raised their rents—which resulted in a workers’ revolt as they staged a strike. By 1889, the federal government stepped in and the Supreme Court ordered Pullman to give up ownership of the residences.
Soon after, the community officially became part of the city. But its woes were far from over with bootlegging in the late 1920s and unemployment in the 1930s. In the following decades the area became such a slum, it faced destruction. That’s when the Pullman Civic Organization and the Historic Pullman Foundation were created, and the community was named a National Historic Landmark in 1971. More recently, Pullman has been used in major motion pictures such as “The Fugitive” and “Road to Perdition.”
Today, the community honors its past with walking tours and looks to its future with renovations on row houses, bungalows, and other homes affordably priced to embrace a new generation of residents.
Golan’s movers in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York may not go as far back as Pullman, but it has been safely transporting furniture and prized possessions since 1990. So, if you’re considering moving to Pullman, consider Golan’s moving company to get you there.