Pullman Palace Car Works (Pullman National Historical Park)
Pullman Palace Car Company (historic), Chicago, Illinois
The Pullman Palace Car Works was built from 1880 with a planned company town on Chicago's South Side to make railroad sleeping, parlor and dining cars. The 1894 Pullman Strike and boycott began there. The factory and town are now Pullman National Historical Park, first designated a national monument in 2015.
- Company
- Pullman Palace Car Company (historic)
- Status
- Closed
- Opened
- 1880
- Employees
- Not stated
- Industry
- Other manufacturing
- Revised
- November 12, 2026
What is made here
Railroad sleeping, hotel, parlor and dining cars, built in a company town on Chicago's South Side.
Facts
| Company and products | George Pullman founded the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1867; it made sleeping, hotel, parlor and dining cars and leased them to railroads with the staff to serve passengers (federal: nps.gov) |
|---|---|
| Construction | Groundbreaking for the factory and town took place in spring 1880, and the town's population topped 8,000 by fall 1883 (federal: nps.gov) |
| 1894 strike | Employees struck on May 11, 1894, and the American Railway Union then boycotted Pullman cars (reference: en.wikipedia.org) |
| Park | Designated Pullman National Monument on February 19, 2015 and later redesignated a national historical park (federal: nps.gov) |
Figures are as stated by the source named next to each one. Company figures are the company's own claims.
Can you visit?
Pullman National Historical Park (nps.gov) Check the operator's site before you go.
Sources
- NPS: A Brief Overview of the Pullman Story (federal, checked November 12, 2026)
- NPS: Pullman history and culture (federal, checked November 12, 2026)
- Wikipedia: Pullman National Historical Park (reference, checked November 12, 2026)
Something changed? Send a correction with a link and we'll recheck it.