The facade of the buildings in the more elite parts of the town is Indiana Pressed Red Face Brick. Housing for the workers there was substandard, and was torn down as soon as the town and factory was finished. The brickyards were located south of 115th Street. The clay became the source of the common brick manufactured by the Pullman Company to build housing.

The land slope is gradual, and has fertile topsoil over 90 feet of clay, then limestone. Pullman is ten feet above the level of Lake Michigan. All Pullman homes had indoor toilet facilities and running water - advantages unheard of in other working class areas of the city. Housing in Pullman was somewhat more expensive than in other parts of the city, but the quality of the housing was far superior to that available to workers elsewhere. Rents were calculated to achieve a 6% return on the cost of the housing however, the investment never achieved more than 4 1/2%. Larger homes for professionals and company officers began at $25.00. The rent for a five-room row house (with basement, bathroom, and water faucet on each of two floors) was $18.00 per month. The average rent for three room apartments was $8.00 to $8.50. The Original Town of Pullman was completed in 1884. By April the Pullman car shops were in operation, and by May, more than 350 people lived in Pullman. The first permanent residents, the Benson family, moved into the town on Januat 11109 St.

Pullman is distinct in that nearly all of this housing stands today more or less as it did originally. The residential portion of Pullman between 111th St. The actual site of the town including the Pullman shops did not occupy more than 300 acres. The property was acquired from 75 different owners. It was similar in theory to Essen, Germany, created by the Krupp Munitions Company, and to Saltaire, England, developed by Sir Titus Salt for the workers in his textile factory on the banks of the Aire River.Įarly in 1880 Pullman sent Colonel James to secretly purchase 4000 acres of land west of Lake Calumet for $800,000. The concept of a company town like Pullman was not new or even unique however, it can be argued that the execution of the concept was the most successful. Looking east from the top of the Arcade Building.

Pullman factory town