Pullman Car Manufacturing

The former Pullman Car Manufacturing property, also known as the Pullman National Monument or the Pullman District and Pullman Historic District, is located in Chicago, Illinois and has long been known for its historical relevance. The property was designated a State Landmark in 1969, a National Landmark in 1971, a City of Chicago Landmark in 1972, and National Historic Park in 2015. The property was once owned by businessman George Pullman and was a showplace for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair & the location of the famous Pullman strike in 1894 that shaped one of the first national industrial unions. 

With the help from the Illinois EPA, the United States National Park Service (NPS) and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) renovated the area as a Visitor’s Center following environmental cleanup. In October of 2013, the Illinois EPA Office of Site Evaluation (OSE) conducted a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment of the property followed by a Phase II soil and groundwater investigation to determine if the property was free of hazardous contaminants that could affect the public. 

Supplemental site investigations conducted by OSE included a total of 100 soil samples, three groundwater samples, as well as an electromagnetic survey to identify two separate locations that indicated potential abandoned/buried underground storage tanks.

In September of 2015, the Pullman property enrolled in the Illinois EPA Site Remediation Program (SRP), a cleanup program that assists in achieving the goal of receiving a No Further Remediation (NFR) Letter.  

An NFR letter indicates that environmental conditions do not present a significant risk to human health or the environment at a specific site.

Designated in 2015, Pullman National Monument is the first National Park Service unit in Chicago.