Pullman Named National Park and Monument

From the "World's Most Perfect Town" to the brink of collapse in the mid-twentieth century, Pullman National Monument is back on the track to prosperity by becoming the nation's newest national park and monument.

Earlier this spring, President Barack Obama signed legislation giving the Pullman National Monument the new designation. "The great people at the Pullman National Monument, and the many people whose passion and dedication to achieve this status for Pullman, deserve it," said Jim Garrett, president / CEO of the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Pullman National Monument tour includes visits to the Pullman Visitor Center, Greenstone Church, Hotel Florence, administration building, and factory grounds. At the center of the Pullman community are structures that showcase nineteenth- and twentieth-century industrial society.

Group tours begin at the Visitor Center, where visitors will have the opportunity to watch an introductory multimedia presentation that gives an historical overview of the town of Pullman and the preservation activity in the community today, and view the ongoing exhibit of historic photos and artifacts. The walking tour will take visitors through the maroon row houses on the way to Hotel Florence, and then stop at the Pullman Factory Complex.

For more information on the Pullman National Monument, go to PullmanIL.org or Pullman-Museum.org. To book your group tour, contact Tobie Fitzpatrick at Tobie@VisitChicagoSouthland.com or call 888.895.8233.

Photo courtesy of Payton Chung/Wikimedia Commons.