A New National Park In Chicago

Chicago’s historic Pullman neighborhood, on the city’s southeast side, is soon to be a national park. The neighborhood was built in the 1880s by railroad tycoon George Pullman; it was the first model industrial town in the country. While most people think of wide open natural spaces when they think of national parks, parks like Pullman can bring attention to important historical developments, like the birth of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first black union, which formed in the neighborhood. The Park Services estimates that the number of visitors to Pullman will increase from 30,000 to more than 300,000 annually.