On behalf of Tracy Murray, Mike Shymanski, and Fylinda Wiley, we are thrilled to invite you to join us for a community meeting in the Historic Pullman community as part of the Master of City Design (MCD) Urban Edge Studio who were commissioned to create an urban design framework plan for Pullman, building on the prior award-winning nine-month Calumet Off the Grid work.
MCD students will be sharing their final draft plan for discussion, and sharing a follow up survey for future planning efforts. The plan was done in partnership with the 9th Ward Office of Alderman Anthony Beale, led by Tracy Murray, Mike Shymanski, Historic Pullman Foundation, and Fylinda Wiley, Historic Pullman Empowerment Organization.
Our work aims to fully integrate Calumet Off the Grid into a cohesive and comprehensive plan, specifically focused on connecting North and South Pullman. A core goal is fostering broad climate resilience and sustainability for the District and the greater Far South communities. Key initiatives include prioritizing the development of affordable housing, supporting workforce development, and creating Equitable Transit-Oriented Development (ETOD) and transit alternatives to improve access and mobility.
Join us for the Community Conversation: Presentation & Survey: Tuesday, May 12 at 6:30pm at the Historic Pullman Foundation Exhibit Hall, 11141 South Cottage Grove Ave Chicago, IL 60628
The WP&D Board spent last Saturday exploring Pullman National Historical Park and diving into the history, planning, and legacy of one of Chicago’s most iconic company towns.
A huge thank you to our National Park Service ranger, Elijah Olomoniyi, for an engaging tour of the museum and a deep dive into the story of the Pullman Factory. We’re also grateful to Rebecca Conant from Friends of Pullman, for leading us through the south Pullman neighborhood and helping bring the lived experience of Pullman residents to life. And thank you to Daniela Salgado of Friends of Pullman for thoughtfully curating a day that resonated with our planning perspectives.
It was incredibly insightful to explore a neighborhood that was entirely planned, designed, and built in the 1880s—in just five years. As one of the country’s first model industrial communities, Pullman introduced innovations like running water, electricity, and integrated infrastructure at a time when those amenities were virtually unheard of in working-class housing.
One of the biggest takeaways? The core challenges of Pullman’s original design, housing affordability, access to goods and services, and questions of economic equity, are still central to planning and development conversations today.
We wrapped up the afternoon with lunch from D'Masti and a thoughtful conversation about board priorities for the year ahead. It was a meaningful day of learning and reflection with fellow planners passionate about Chicago’s past and future.
Old Fashioned Donuts is a Chicago institution with a loyal following! They are known for their giant old-fashioned donuts, apple fritters and other classics! Come check out our visit and let me know if this is a spot you’ll visit! 🍩☕️
📍11248 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
#donuts #viraldonuts #chicago #pullmanroseland #oldfashioneddonuts
Former Pullman Company employee Al Quiroz shared a story about what he drilled into the walls of Pullman trains to give them a bit of luck—one of the many personal touches behind the craftsmanship of the cars.
Today, he was interviewed by WLS-TV (ABC 7 Chicago) about his years at the Pullman Company and what it means to be one of the last former workers still living in the historic company town, now preserved as Pullman National Historical Park. The segment will air tonight.
Yesterday, our @chicagorealtors #D77 Community Meetups brought members together in Pullman at Lexington Betty Smokehouse for a chance to connect, invest, and explore.
That’s exactly why our Executive Committee chose to hold our monthly meeting in Pullman as well.
There’s something powerful about getting out from behind our desks and into the neighborhoods we serve. The D77 Community Meetups are about more than gathering, they’re about presence, partnership, and investing in communities across Chicago.
We held our meeting at the Pullman Club Coffee, a space rooted in the neighborhood’s rich history as part of a National Monument. And for me, just a block from my childhood and my late Aunt Patty’s home.
Being there felt like being with her again. Even more special...the barista remembered her and Uncle Craig. 💛
#chicagorealtors #historicpullman #d77communitymeetups
Educational + Entertaining = Black History Tours in Chicago. Check out the roundup I put together for @ChooseChicago .
/blog/architecture-history/black-history-tours/
🎟️ Chicago Mahogany Tours with @6figga_dilla
🎟️ Taste and Tour Chicago with the @theblackfoodies
🎟️ Gone Again Tours with the @goneagaintravel travel agency
🎟️ Tours of Pullman with @friendsofpullman
#NeveroutdoneChi #Chicago #Blackhistory #Chicagorestaurants #Blackowned
Don’t quit your day dreams: BTS at the Historic Hotel Florence and an excerpt from the rich display of ephemera organized by @shymanskim at @pullmanclubcoffee 🎀
BREAKING! Pullman just got a massive moment 🎉 Gov. @jbpritzker just announced a roughly $100 million redevelopment of Chicago’s historic Hotel Florence at the Pullman National Historic Park! @pullmannps@friendsofpullman
Y’all know how much I love this nearly 145-year-old hotel and now it’s going to be transformed into a boutique stay with new restaurants, and the annex will also be rehabilitated.
A new concert hall in the old Pullman Factory is also part of the plan...aiming for a “mind-blowing entertainment experience” and space for local artists.
Construction is expected to start in March 2027, with completion in late 2028.
I’ve been covering Pullman since 2019 and it’s so cool that Hotel Florence is finally getting its renaissance...who’s excited for Pullman’s next chapter?! 🙋🏿♂️🙋♀️🙋🏼
Did you know you could grab a coffee @pullmanclubcoffee when you are visiting @pullmannps ? I was up there a few weeks ago with my dad and we stopped in for a quick cup of coffee. He confirms the peppermint mocha is delightful. I had a nitro cold brew that was also fantastic.
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#chicagoeats #coffee #coffeeislife #coffeevibes #coffeeoftheday
To step off the train at the 111th Street Station in the 1880s was to enter a different world. As steam hissed and the locomotive settled into the platform, visitors emerged to find Pullman, not merely a factory town, but a carefully composed landscape of order, beauty, and ambition.
Directly ahead, the great Administration Building rose over the South Side prairie, its brick tower catching the light as smoke curled from the workshops behind it. But what struck most first-time visitors wasn’t the industry, it was the park-like setting. Broad lawns rolled outward in every direction, edged with flower beds, trimmed hedges, young trees, and curving walks that looked almost as if they had been borrowed from an estate garden. The hum of carpenters, varnishers, and upholsterers building luxury rail cars blended with the quiet civility of a Sunday promenade.
For many, the contrast was jarring in the best possible way: a place where heavy manufacturing and horticultural elegance existed side by side. The idea was intentional. Pullman wanted workers and guests alike to encounter a modern vision of American industry, efficient, prosperous, and refined.
This untitled stereopticon view of the Administration Building, likely taken in the 1880s by photographer T. S. Johnson, captures that first impression from the south side of 111th Street, looking north. Courtesy of the @historicpullman .
Take a tour of Pullman and see inside restored Pullman homes:
Not this notification:
FML. Here Come the Nick Fuentes Clones.
Plus: A Florida gubernatorial candidate’s luxury watch drama.
As I’m photo editing
@billycorben I know it’s not City of Miami related
But these ghouls are trying to steal land and poison the water in Port St. Lucie.
Another community to sacrifice for their delusional ritual. For Robo Jesus. Or whatever.
Another data center for their garbage Mechanical Turk, destroying livelihoods and long-term health.
Destroying the state. The land. The water. The wildlife. The people.
Smothering a whole population under methane for their gambling addiction.
Port St Lucie needs help. They need people.
— see @sergei_kelley
The ecosystem dying will affect the city.
No matter how far up his own ass Suarez is.
Honestly… the charlatanism starts here.
Yall get your start by clowning too much.
And it sure is enough.
— Lorax
@drseuss@miccosukeetribeofindians@historicpullman
And that’s what @thedemocrats miss @msnownews
If people could see what the other one needs…
Sad they pulled the plug on Public TV.
Don’t you think, Mr. Rogers?
@pbsorigins
Almost like the working class can’t be onto something.
Wouldn’t you say?
It would seem @gildedagehbo would like it this way.
A wild, wild party
@sesamestreet@avenueqmusical@_teddy.roosevelt_
☁️
Cloud Weapons
@yanis.varoufakis
Convenience is the Chloroform in this horror movie
Comfort, the Thief of your Liberation
Breaking the interstates of intimacy, interpersonal relations, and information…
No one has cared
To ask
The simple question:
Why?
(It is not incoherent.
The algorithms are contributing to outrage slop being pushed on your children ‘cause yall too busy on this damn phone to watch your kid.
Get. Your. Damn. Sons.
@laura_bates__@weimarrepublicgame )
