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On the far south side of Chicago, this older neighborhood, once home to scores of area factory workers, now houses scores of families that enjoy its rich history and affordable real estate. For an area that got its start as a residence for industrial labor (and a place with its fair share of factories), West Pullman has an unexpectedly high incidence of parkland, playlots and other outdoor recreation sites. The neighborhood's residential blocks range from verdant, tree-lined yards that require the care of a good push mower and gardener to more urban areas with tightly-packed dwellings stretching as far as the eye can see. Among the different housing styles found along the West Pullman streets there is one property that gets quite a bit more attention than any other home. It is a beautiful example of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright's signature design, incorporating geometric forms, the surrounding landscape, in addition and elements of Japanese patterns.
Due to its large size and the difference in economic status among early residents, West Pullman is fairly diverse in terms of its housing. The residential streets range from verdant, tree-lined yards that require the care of a good push mower to more urban areas with tightly packed houses stretching into the distance as far as the eye can see. A handful of these homes have garages, but most residents have to park on the street. While it may not be ideal for that vintage Camaro your neighbor is restoring, it's perfectly suitable for the rest of us.
The most common type of West Pullman real estate is the Cape Cod design. The newer section of the neighborhood ('newer' being a relative term, as many of the homes were constructed in the 1950s) features scores of Cape Cods, as well as several bungalows, split-levels, and a handful of ranches. The older bits of West Pullman encompass homes that date back to the beginning of the 20th century. Most of these are inexpensive frame homes that require a bit of refurbishing. Which is great for all you DIY-ers out there.
During the 1880s, George M. Pullman ran a railroad car factory south of Chicago's city limits. In order to provide his laborers with housing, he constructed Pullman—a town governed by his company exclusively for the workers of his company. Since the managers and administrators of the Pullman business controlled both wages and rent, they effectively had complete power over their employees. This struck many as unfair (it struck them as more than unfair later when they held a strike in 1894). Despite Pullman's reputation as one of the world's best towns with many amenities and natural beauty, a number of workers began building their own houses in an area to the southwest of Pullman.
As other industrial facilities sprung up in the south Chicago region, the developments of these Pullman employees were soon joined by those of laborers from other manufacturing plants nearby. Soon the area flourished from the workers and employers of a number of factories, including International Harvester, Whitman and Barnes, and Carter White Lead Paint. The mixed-community of working-class and white-collar residents thrived and was eventually incorporated into the city of Chicago in the 1890s.
In the 1920s, sociologists from the University of Chicago merged a number of smaller communities into the area known today as West Pullman, as part of their initiative to create a series of neighborhood boundaries that Chicago uses to this day. Overall the large West Pullman neighborhood remains much of what it has always been—a residential community for people on all ends of the economic spectrum.
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