Station & Depot

You are at Home -> The Town of Pullman -> Other Town Buildings

The Hospital (11217 St. Lawrence Avenue)

This apartment building was converted to a hospital by an addition at the rear of the building and served the Pullman workers for many years.

Postcard of the hospital
Postcard of the Hospital, ca. 1915.

It has been returned to its original use as a private dwelling and undergone substantial renovations.

Letterhead of the Pullman Hospital Association, 1915
Letterhead of the Pullman Hospital Association, 1915.

The elevator shaft was converted into new bathrooms on each floor, and the morgue is still in the basement.

The Gasworks


Gas Works, 1882

Athletic Island & the Grandstand

Pullman's Athletic Island, the setting for regatas, races and other public athletic events. The brainchild of Nathan Barrett, the island was composed of fill from construction of the town and was an integral part of Pullman life until the death of George Pullman. When town maintenance decreased, the timbers rotted out soon after and the stands were demolished in 1898. It was replaced by a railroad roundhouse, Beman's last Pullman building.

Athletic Island

The Casino


The Casino, 1883

The Spanish-American Curled Hair Company

Entrepreneurial residents, according to the Daily News, March 14, 1884, formed a corporation called the Spanish-American Curled Hair Corporation. Its business was to import Spanish moss from Louisiana, clean it, process it, and sell it for mattress and furniture cushion padding. It was well capitalized, with initial assets of $100,000, including an investment of $10,000 from the Pullman Land Association (the holding company for the town of Pullman itself). The corporation actually built a factory in Pullman for $35,000. The company went out of business- and unfortunately lost all of its investors' money- because they could not compete against horsehair stuffing providers.


Ad for the Spanish-American Curled Hair Company, 1883.

Curled into Kinks. Hyde Park Herald, January 12, 1884, p. 15.

Curled into Kinks. Hyde Park Herald, March 15, 1887, p. 7.

THE PULLMAN HISTORY SITE

More Information About the Town of Pullman

Planning the town


4 blueprints of the Market Hall by Solon Beman

The Arcade Journal


Index to the Arcade Journal

The Hotel Florence


The Hotel Florence, ca. 1892

The Arcade


The Arcade, ca. 1910

Arcade Park


Arcade Park, ca. 1895

The Stables


The Pullman Fire Department in front of the Stables

Market Hall


1st Market Hall, 1881-1892

Area Churches


The "Greenstone" Church

Area Schools


Pullman School

The Freight Depot and the Railway Station


The Pullman Freight Depot

Other Pullman Buildings


The Pullman Gas Works

The Pullman House History Project

Arranged by:

 Name

 Address

 Occupation

 Birthplace

 People of Color

Maps of Pullman


1897 Sanborn Map

Other Pullman-Related Sites

  • Historic Pullman Garden Club - An all-volunteer group that are the current stewards of many of the public green spaces in Pullman. (http://www.hpgc.org/

  • Historic Pullman Foundation - The HPF is a non-profit organization whose mission is to "facilitate the preservation and restoration of original structures within the Town of Pullman and to promote public awareness of the significance of Pullman as one of the nation's first planned industrial communities, now a designated City of Chicago, State of Illinois and National landmark district." (http://www.pullmanil.org/)
  • The National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum is a 501(c)3 cultural institution. Its purpose is to honor, preserving present and interpreting the legacy of A. Philip Randolph, Pullman Porters, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and the contributions made by African-Americans to America's labor movement. ((http://www.nationalpullmanportermuseum.com/)
  • Pullman Civic Organization - The PCO is a strong and vibrant Community Organization that has been in existence since 1960. (http://www.pullmancivic.org/)
  • Pullman National Monument - The official page of the Pullman National Park. (https://www.nps.gov/pull/)
  • South Suburban Genealogical & Historical Society - SSG&HS holds the Pullman Collection, consisting of personnel records from Pullman Car Works circa 1900-1949. There are approximately 200,000 individuals represented in the collection. (https://ssghs.org/)
  • The Industrial Heritage Archives of Chicago's Calumet Region is an online museum of images that commemorates and celebrates the historic industries and workers of the region, made possible by a Library Services and Technology Act grant administered by the Illinois State Library. (http://www.pullman-museum.org/ihaccr/)
  • Illinois Digital Archives (IDA) is a repository for the digital collections libraries and cultural institutions in the State of Illinois and the hosting service for the online images on this site. (http://www.idaillinois.org/)