Chicago's South Side Nightmare - The Rise and Fall of Pullman's Utopia

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👉 The neighborhood we know today as Pullman was the first industrial planned community in the U.S., explicitly built for the Pullman Palace Car Company employees. George Pullman set out to create a utopia society in Chicago. He wanted the community to attract and retain the most talented workers available and hope to do so by providing such a high standard of living that workers would be happy, productive, and less likely to strike. Pullman is one of Chicago’s 77 defined community areas and is a neighborhood located on the city's South side, Twelve miles from the Chicago Loop. Situated adjacent to Lake Calumet, the Pullman district has many historic and architecturally significant buildings.. some of which have seen better times. So join me, as we discover the Rise and Fall of Chicago’s Pullman District. Named after George Pullman, the company that built it and owned it for most of its existence, the Pullman district was a planned industrial community for workers. It was the birthplace of the Pullman car, which transformed American travel.
The district contained the world's largest office building at one time.
But in 1893, when workers went on strike to protest wage cuts, Pullman officials turned out the lights at night while scabs brought in from outside broke the strike.
In this video
#chicago #history #pullman #trains
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[@ITSHISTORY]

To start comparing quotes and simplify insurance-buying, check out Policygenius: policygenius.com/itshistory. Thanks to Policygenius for sponsoring this video!

[@brianberthold3118]

i sent you 2 emails 1 with the sanborn pages for Pullman and 2nd a Track/building map of Pullman for Google EARTH not maps

[@rocklobstah8824]

Will you make that Jersey devel encounter video

[@brianberthold3118]

@@cats5351 and what points did he show that were not Pullman ??? Pullman goes from 95th on the north to 115th on the south cottage grove on the west to the expressway on the east

[@brianberthold3118]

@@cats5351 1 you shouldnt be a baby and delete your comment and 2nd you should really research what you think you know .. Pullman Neighborhood is NOT the just the Historic distinct the historic district is PART of the Pullman Neighborhood - Pullman can include North Pullman, Pullman , South Pullman, and West Pullman and part of the lake Calumet just a thought start studying Cartography i have been studies Chicago maps for 20 plus years for different rail projects and can tell you Pullman is not just that little Historical section its really at least 5 times the historical sections footprint

[@cats5351]

@@brianberthold3118 yawn

[@davidstaudohar6733]

I grew up in Chicago not far from West Pullman , The Pullman sleeping car shop was a stones throw away from My back door , We studied the History of. the Man and his family and company In Highschool ‼️

[@historicpullmanfoundation9122]

Hey, Executive Director of the Historic Pullman Foundation here. Thanks for the great video! Please come visit us and all of our partners in Pullman, we have tours, exhibits and at special events, historic pullman cars visit!

[@pathfinderstravelmagazine2903]

I've visited your wonderful museum. Thanks for the wonderful job you are doing. What history !

[@OmarAlohaDude]

Thank you kindly. Do you have more information on tours and visits?

[@fortress1133]

Grew up in central Illinois and I remember two quality wool blankets mom would put on our bed in the dead of winter with the Pullman logo. I asked what that was and she said "They're from the Pullman train." They would have been worth some significant money today. But I remember how heavy and warm they were.

[@TimPerfetto]

Yes these blankets are made of the best hair, My mom would let me take a bite sometimes until I formed a bezoar which was removed but I still have it and am waiting for the right day to eat it.

[@nochance1013]

WHAT THE F

[@SergeantExtreme]

@@TimPerfetto Oh, you are just a treat.

[@meng-hsuanlee8543]

Wow! What I would give to have them!

[@Steven_Williams]

The Pullman plant on east 103rd St. now belongs to the City of Chicago Dept.of Transportation and Streets and Sanitation. The cranes and such are still intact. I used to pull out of this yard many times before I retired from CDOT. The neighborhood around 47th St. and the Illinois Central Electric Line is called Oakenwald with Oakwood being a few blocks north of that by the way.

[@dbeaus]

As a native southsider I disagree on some points. Pullman was universally disliked for good reason. He did not build Pullman for the good of the workers. He built the area for a way to control a readily available workforce within a close distance to their work. He kinda modeled it after the coal mine towns. You are also leaving out a few things. Pullman had thugs hired to intimidate the strikers and the violence was inevitable. The company also had spies who would report on each other. Pullman owned just about everything, stores, bars, etc. and workers were often in debt to all of them. By the sixties, Pullman was a joke to southsiders. The fact that he would lower wages and not rents tells you something. There was a hotel built on 115th called the Florence. By the sixties it had been reduced to a shady place with 2 bars that would serve anyone over 16 and a haven for ladies who made their living horizontally. Pullman supplied many jobs and income for this area and others. But please don't portray him as an altruistic saint, he was neither.

[@michaelmichniak7287]

He sound's a bit like Mr Potter from the movie It's A Wonderful Life!!

[@brosefmcman8264]

He’s a saint to all! Everything you mentioned is what everyone but YOU love!

[@dbeaus]

@@brosefmcman8264 If this evil person was a saint, I'm glad I am not in your church. I grew up a couple miles north of Pullman and went to high school with a lot of the grandkids and children of people who worked at Pullman. Never once did I hear a kind word for Pullman from anyone. Never. What I love or do not love means nothing. What means something is the fact of what he did and how he treated his workers. Those things are a matter of record. You have a right to your opinion, but I'll stick with the historical facts. What do I love? I love honesty, fair treatment of workers, fair wages, safe working places. Pretty radical ideas right? Pullman thought so.

[@rskalisky]

@@volksfolks62 In all fairness, the same could be said for you. You've based your opinion on an eleven minute video?

[@rileymcerlean4126]

@@volksfolks62 Pullman was playing monopoly.

[@dponzi56]

When I was in high school in the early 70's, for a couple years, I worked in the Pullman building at 111th and Cottage Grove, doing general maintenance. I wound the tower clock few times. The were a couple restaurants on 111th we used to go to, one in the old Florence hotel. Some of my fondest memories. I went through there a few years ago, and it was still kind of nice. The office building and clock tower burned down in 1998 or 1999. Because it was a national historic landmark, they rebuilt it. Those buildings there today are only about 20 years old.

[@sownsews]

I am a Chicago native and grew up and lived in Roseland near the Pullman area and graduated from George Henry Corliss HS. located not far from Pullman.

[@TheBlueThird]

My grandfather was a Pullman porter for many years.

[@tomfields3682]

Which RR?

[@swannoir7949]

Mine, too.

[@larszchzsche9070]

i have studied Pullman and his investments extensively and he was no saint .like so many wealthy people he did do some good but far from a saint. in reference to the Pullman cars, he did not make any cars, he purchased used cars and remodeled them a few were special order that had larger windows Wich meant the siding and side frame were different was done at the factory not his shop..

[@yurygaltykhin6271]

When I was visiting Chicago, I specifically planned a trip to Pullman’s neighborhood and it was totally worth it. It’s an amazingly preserved historical area, with every corner filled with the scent of its remarkable past. Thank you Ryan for this video, it revived great memories of that trip for me, and maybe will guide some of your viewers to visit this hidden gem of Chicago.

[@rwhitely2288]

If you really want to experience Pullman park around 114th & Wentworth and start WALKING south. Not drive, walk. At night.

[@Theloquaciousone]

@@rwhitely2288 you are speaking of west Pullman. Not Pullman.

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

@@rwhitely2288 Nearby, but a completely different place. Stay on topic

[@JoJo-oc2zp]

Being a lifelong Californian, I am very appreciative of sites that share the rest of our country's history before it is lost in time. Thank you for your time in sharing this.

[@frankmenchaca9993]

As a one time resident of Pullman (I lived across the street from Market Hall), I really appreciated this video. Instead of using so many generic pictures of various neighborhoods, perhaps more photos of the actual streets and neighborhood (especially in the spring when the trees are leafy), would have been nice. Still, many thanks for you efforts.

[@gbryant261]

I visited the Pullman District several times while living in the Chicago area. So glad the residents there worked so hard to maintain this beautiful and historically significant area. I save these videos for my grandchildren (who still live in Chicago) so they can learn the history of this great city. Thanks for presenting history for all to enjoy.

[@questionauthority7377]

Great City ? i don’t think so

[@gbryant261]

@@questionauthority7377 Your opinion.

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

@@questionauthority7377 It was a great city for a very long time and will be again.

[@annapavfan4680]

Chicago is rich in history.

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

@@annapavfan4680 😂 So deep!

[@alyssaturek1701]

My mother in law grew up there in the 60s. We went during one of their open tours where home owners open up their homes and you can walk through them. The house she grew up in wasn't apart of the tour, but the home owner saw us standing outside admiring, and she was nice enough to let us into her home when my mother in law said she grew up there. She got to see everything amd had so mamy memories to share. A little 3 bedroom home shared with 7 kids. Most of the homes that were on tour were beautifully remodeled. My mother in laws home for the most part was the same. Really cool experience!

[@brendamorales5903]

My dad and my grandparents were from Pullman. Haven't been there for years. Tomorrow he will be gone 3 years and I want to go spread his ashes there at the park where he spent a lot of time. Nice video. I didn't realize the awesome history!

[@davidmcleod6032]

Bessemer, Alabama had a Pullman-Standard plant that was one the main employers.

[@markchizmadia2004]

Ryan, your historical documentary Channel is better than anything on television.

[@AlAllerton]

A little of what I already knew, and way more the parts I was missing. What a thorough documentation of the give and take struggles of America's immigrants, our working class, and the historically wealthy elites. Lots to learn here, while history repeats itself today.

[@jerimichelle]

I looked into buying a home there , there was a time` you could find homes ,including the row houses for a good price! They have a lot of unique charm.

[@Jakob_DK]

Thanks. I was wondering if it was still rental or had become privately owned. With the residents owning there are benefits in access to capital for making it nicer.

[@jeangladstone720]

There are both homes for sale and for rent.

[@tebec3624]

"Low wages, high rent" - perfectly describes the 21st c housing crisis! At least he had vision and quality standards. Today's employers don't care if they pay enough for you to afford your rent. So sad that companies cared more about housing standards in 1884 than they do today. Thank you for this very informative and well produced piece.

[@mahmoudibnemir8704]

Barack Obama: "Everybody's got to learn to code..." So, that's the politicians for you. Oh, and those tech employers who do hire people like you to code? Then they hire people from overseas and make you train them before they fire you and go off to their vacation homes on Martha's Vineyard that are right next door to, you guessed it, Barack Obama...

[@joeblow5214]

They really didn't back then either. The funniest thing about cities, wages, and the housing crisis is how everyone is selective in what to blame. Can't blame the almost 2 fold expansion in the available workforce created by government inaction and policy since the 1950s, can't blame the stupidity of congregating in one small area to work. Nope gotta blame landlord's, your neighbors, the city, your company etc. Ask yourself why it's so important to live in a metro area then ask yourself why then shouldn't you pay for the "convenience"

[@Blatsen]

You should do a video about Leclaire, IL, which was N.O. Nelson’s utopian company town for the N.O. Nelson Manufacturing Company which made plumbing fixtures. Please note that the “c” in Leclaire is lowercase. N.O. Nelson was a benevolent industrialist. Leclaire was founded in 1890 and was annexed into Edwardsville, IL in 1934 where it remains a distinct neighborhood today. Leclaire actually succeeded in providing a pleasant working and living environment and remains a nice neighborhood to this day. Leclaire featured beautiful architecture, modest single-family homes some of which were owner occupied and some of which were rented, a park with a pond and a bandstand, schoolhouse, baseball field, lush landscaping, and fresh grown produce from home gardens and a nearby farm. The N.O. Nelson Manufacturing Company had its headquarters office in nearby St. Louis, its main factory in Leclaire, and other facilities throughout the country. Nelson offered profit sharing to his employees, which he felt struck a middle ground between capitalism and socialism. The Edwardsville N.O. Nelson factory was sold to Wagner Electric in 1948 and was used by them until 1957. The facility remained vacant until it was purchased by the Southern Illinois University Foundation in 1964. In 1972, the Foundation sold the property to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). SIUE referred to the facility as the Wagner Complex and used it to temporarily house university functions while the permanent SIUE campus was being constructed. SIUE was founded in 1957 and was originally housed in temporary facilities such as the Wagner Complex, the former Shurtleff College in Alton, IL, a former high school in East St. Louis, IL, and the former Broadview Hotel in East St. Louis. The current SIUE campus opened in 1965. The SIUE Art Department was the last SIUE department to use the Wagner Complex and didn’t leave until the SIUE Art and Design Building East was opened on campus in 1993. SIUE allowed the Wagner complex to become decrepit as they never intended to use it on a permanent basis despite remaining there until 1993. The Wagner Complex was deeded to Lewis and Clark Community College (L&C), which is based in Godfrey, IL, in 1999. L&C planned to use the complex as their new N.O. Nelson Campus. Renovation of the N.O. Nelson Campus buildings began in 2002. The campus was beautifully renovated and continues to operate as the L&C N.O. Nelson Campus today. The N.O. Nelson Manufacturing Company went out of business in 1958 and was bought out by Primus Inc., which is now Winsupply. I have some photos showing the current state of Leclaire that I could share with you for any future video on the topic.

[@dbeaus]

Yes, there are benevolent one's, but unfortunately they are the exception. There was a large manufacturer in Pennsylvania, maybe 6-8 years ago. 1200 workers or so. I am sorry, I don't remember the name. 6 weeks before xmas, the entire plant went up in flames. The owner was one of those self made guys, he started with nothing. I saw the video of his speech to the employees. They were looking at a bleak Xmas without income. Well, he told them that not only would they be paid thru the holidays, but until the plant could begin to hire people back. I regret that I cannot remember the name, he deserves that much. I will see if I can find it, and I will post the details. If anyone reads this and knows the details, I would e appreciative.

[@DeanStephen]

Thank you for this excellent episode. Perhaps also consider an episode on Pullman’s major competitor, The Budd Company.

[@richardfoster9499]

I'm 2 hours south of Chicago, love your channel. I've rode the amtrak several times into the city

[@brucequinn]

I’m glad this video is so popular with hundreds of thousands of views. I lived in Chicago in the late 90s and really enjoyed several trips to explore historic Pullman.

[@stringlarson1247]

FWIW, there's a community in Windsor ON called Walkerville which was built around the Hiram Walker distillery.

[@susanbutler7963]

Loved your video. I'm from Chicago and went on a tour of Pullman back in the 70's as part of a socialogy class. It's a very interesting place.

[@joehalliday6081]

It is completely renovated now. An amazing transformation.

[@dbeaus]

Interesting? Go back and ask about the Florence Hotel in the later years. 115th. Now that would be interesting. Pullman built the Florence. It was grand in its day but deteriorated into a haven for prostitutes and drug addicts.

[@joehalliday6081]

@@dbeaus The United States has deteriorated into a haven for prostitutes and drug addicts. Now they call those people homeless. In San Francisco, if you are arrested for prostitution, they give you a $ 100 fine, essentially the same as a parking ticket. Pullman was a good man. He built the hotel for outsiders, salesmen, and visitors to the plant, and was the only place you could get alcohol in Pullman. He wanted his workers to be able to avoid the scourages that had befallen the 1850s City of Chicago, rampant alcoholism, and veneral diseases from the downtown houses of ill repute. He wanted to give his workers a clean break, a good clean life, isolated from the corrupting influences so prevalent in a bustling frontier town.

[@robertmosher7418]

My father worked for the Pullman Standard company in it's plant/development center in Michigan City, Indiana. This was after they had begun to focus on frieght cars as the travel by rail system had been replaced by flight and automobile. He said they had programs for any employee who had a good idea of how to improve their rail cars they would be financially rewarded. He said this was something the company had done since they began. My father designed an important improvement to the way rail cars are coupled together that is still in use today and he was given a $500 bonus back in 1958, so he was able to purchase two acres of land that is currently worth roughly 2million dollars as it is in Beverly Shores where any undeveloped land cannot be built on due to it becomimg national shoreline and it's a popular area for very wealthy people from all over the country to build these huge homes in a beautiful secluded area 35 minutes by car from downtown Chicago. He was paid royalties for years and years, until the company closed it's doors. He had left the company by that time to become a police officer.

[@BrandonJXN2]

If you are a gamer, the city of Colombia in Bioshock: Infinite (a great game btw) is heavily based on the architecture of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Finkton has a lot of influence from Pullman.

[@SergeantExtreme]

Also, the ascension and decline of Pullman was what inspired Illusions Softworks to call the city in their 2002 video game, Mafia, "Lost Heaven".

[@Nina-fp3jv]

That is so neat, I love the history of that and H.H holmes. A good book to read about it called "Devil in the White City"

[@cherokeeon31s]

One of my favorite games... 🥰

[@SergeantExtreme]

@@cherokeeon31s You're my favorite game Mandaliz.

[@cats5351]

Also GTA San Andreas took from Pullman.

[@cowser67]

Pullman neighborhood is being rejuvenated

[@ckzf1842]

Thanks, so fascinating about the history of Pullman ! Unbelievably , there are Pullman train carriages still in operation in the U.K. - all beautifully restored and operated for luxury train/gourmet food experiences in the U.K. !

[@allwinds3786]

At 7:50 there is a photo of my Grandfather's pharmacy! I recognize it from a picture in a family album taken at a similar angle with my grandfather standing in front as a young apprentice pharmacist in the early'20's.

[@luisvelasco316]

Pullman is an interesting area of Chicago. They have achieved some things as far as preservation, though a tour of the museum shows that things have declined since the heyday of the planned community. A walking tour with a pamphlet/map of major buildings and typical residences is a nice way to spend an hour or so, though I recommend you don't do it on a January afternoon as I've done the last two times I visited!

[@appliancedude63]

Things changed alright. They dumped drugs and guns on the new people moving in.

[@Imissyoulou]

@@appliancedude63 No, they didn't.

[@jontooke846]

Love your historical videos thanks so much. Can't wait for the next one.

[@Dr_Larken]

I was born and raised in south side Pullman, I grew up spent most of my day shootin some B-Ball when a few a holes were apparently up to no good for sometime now they’ve been making trouble in the Pullman neighborhood eventually I got into a fight where my mom got scared so eventually I had to move in with my uncle & aunt in a town called “ Undisclosed for privacy reasons”!

[@jonrussell1690]

Great video!! Loved it and learned a little bit about one of the neighborhoods of Chicago.

[@kevinmhadley]

This is the first time I’ve heard of this neighborhood. It is a fascinating story and I’m glad to know the neighborhood pulled together to save this historic place.

[@billwilson3609]

Just across the state line in Hammond Pullman built a RR car plant and nearby housing for the workers. During WW2 the plant built lend-lease M3 and M4 tanks for the British. The plant is long gone yet the homes are still there thanks to restoration efforts by the city.

[@danthemann6565]

Excellent video, thank you for your work.

[@jetsons101]

Passed through Chicago on our way to Mount Rushmore, wish we saw this before we left Chicago. Great watch.....

[@abqmalenurse]

I am very happy the neighborhood has survived and been so well preserved. The history of the company is so odd, in ways amazing and in other ways tragic. I will say it is not a good thing when the employer owns your housing and local retail. The video does not mention if workers were paid in money or company scrip. Company scrip was the common practice for company stores of the time. Scrip could not be converted to US currency.

[@kellyshomemadekitchen]

Sounds almost like indentured service or slavery

[@Right-Is-Right]

They were paid in US cash and more than the average worker, the union was more annoyed that people were laid off than the difference between wages and rents. It was more of an excuse, after all the workers were free to live elsewhere and travel a little of extra time to work like most people did at the time. The narrative was easier to sell to the rest of the unions and other people.

[@653j521]

@@kellyshomemadekitchen They weren't imprisoned there. They could always leave. You know nothing about American history.

[@kellyshomemadekitchen]

@@653j521do you not comprehend the meaning of “almost”? And as for me knowing “nothing” about American History, that’s really hilarious since that was my major. Have a great day trolling 😊

[@joehalliday6081]

I agree, kelly doesnt know much, history major or not.

[@vickinoeske1154]

I was born in the mid 1950's in Chicago and lived there til 1974. I don't remember ever learning of the City built by Pullman. Very interesting video. Thank you so much.

[@7viewerlogic670]

Great info!

[@researchbear4074]

Wow, just a beautiful presentation!!! Thasnk you for this!! America has so much hidden history, it's a shame to try to destroy it by destroying such communities! Thank you+!!!

[@UnicornWater777]

Thank you for this video I was wondering about this place

[@jomama5186]

Liked & subscribed. Great, informative, creative, entertaining, enchanting ❤️🙏

[@salty6pence672]

I have been in and out of the neighborhood for many years. You answered some questions I had. Thank You.

[@DougGrinbergs]

9:09 1894 strike 16:22 1973 Historic Pullman Foundation 17:27 Hotel Florence 17:56 purchased in 1991 by the state of Illinois

[@johnelliott7375]

Mr. Ryan, I wanted to tell you I am from the little town where the Bantam, Jeep, and the massive Pullman Standard plant was in the valley with it had two sister industries. Allegheny Axle, and there was a big steel plant right up the road, about a third or a little more of the plant is still there. The Steel plant even made the SS used in the building of the US's gateway to the west. I heard Pullman Standard and I usually watch but I dropped everything to do it now on a Saturday night, crazy right. My Grandfather was the Foreman of the Tool rooms for the 2 plants, did so for at least 30+ years.

[@rayhankin8790]

Love the videos been watching for a long time from Queensland Australia

[@ITSHISTORY]

I am amazed that you watch from the other side of earth. How is life down there?

[@rayhankin8790]

@@ITSHISTORY it's good mate Lot of rain at the moment

[@michaelbenedict6445]

This video is an insightful and fascinating overview of the Pullman company in Chicago. It's a great lesson in business, labor relations, urban development, and politics all rolled into one.

[@garydownes1594]

Awesome. Thanks.

[@ludlow555]

I was born and raised in and near Pullman. It was eerie riding bikes through the empty circular shopping area in the 80s.

[@549BR]

I understand that Pullman, Washington, was so named in the 1800's, hoping to attract a mainline East West railroad.

[@heru-deshet359]

Has the factory museum been restored after the 1988 fire? It still looks burned out on Google Earth.

[@richardhamrick5393]

In the late '80s I would pick up steel from the redone Pullman shop learned a little about Pullman and have driven through the housing lived the scenery and it's history most of the old steel mills had their company towns as well

[@gilessmedley619]

The title of this video is ‘Abandoned’, but it wasn’t 🤔

[@bradleysheldon1019]

Could you do some more detroit videos, I’m from Michigan and I found detroit videos very interesting

[@craigjensen6853]

YEAH I SECOND THE DETROIT VIDS

[@AlexLuyckxPhoto]

I had a chance to visit historic Pullman back in 2013, enjoyed the surviving historic buildings and hope to visit again in the future when I return to Chicago! Great video, I loved the background on the area and certainly will drive me back there!

[@downundertruckerusa4733]

Outstanding

[@revinhatol]

If one could make Pullman its home and take pride in all its work there through all the difficulties, it could be one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the Midwest.

[@Astyanaz]

Take some of the larger buildings and turn them into a college. Gradually buy the houses and turn them into living accommodations and more classrooms.

[@revinhatol]

@@Astyanaz Agreed!

[@bretthousman8317]

As goes for a lot of Chicago's south side I would say.

[@Moshavnik7272]

My cousin was a close friend of the Historic Pullman Foundation’s director and in the mid 70s was therefore allowed to live in the Hotel Florence, a former Pullman company hotel for visitors and dignitaries that had visited the complex back in the 1880s and on. The Hotel Florence was not open to the public when my cousin lived there and only a weekend brunch restaurant was open for the public at the time. I was fortunate to be able to stay with my cousin in his suite when I visited him several times, taking the Illinois Central train from Chicago. I marveled that the lavish interior which featured beautifully stamped metal ceilings and dark wood floors and fixtures. The hotel was being historically renovated to its original look. I haven’t been there since 1978 and wonder if restoration continued and was finished. The entire neighborhood was beautiful as well.

[@jeffkoldoff1155]

My Great Grandfather worked at Pullman for a time as a carpenter, he passed in 1968 when I was eight, his daughter my Grandmother used to tell me he had worked for President Lincoln's son, as Robert Todd Lincoln at one point was the CEO of the company. He's buried not too far from Pullman in the Calumet Park area

[@ArthurAllen2]

13:47 and the same photo earlier is of Pullman, Washington. It was named to attract interest from the Pullman company but never got any. Otherwise it has no connection to the Pullman company.

[@tobyhilden]

Thank you for pointing that out as a native Washingtonian and we need to keep our history 😀

[@TheWebcrafter]

6:01 - In the UK, in a similar fashion to Pullman, a town was developed for factory workers. Bournville is a village on the southwest side of Birmingham, England, founded by the Quaker Cadbury family for employees at its Cadbury's factory. Cadbury's is well known for chocolate products - including a dark chocolate bar branded Bournville. ('Cadbury's' is to the UK what Hershey's is to the U.S.) Bournville is known as one of the most desirable areas to live in the UK; research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2003 found that it was "one of the nicest places to live in Britain".

[@Dr_Larken]

Are usually skip through the intro especially when I know it’s coming up, but for some reason I actually sit through your intro and almost feels like I’m watching something “documentary“ on television or something not KZbin! Ironically enough I really don’t watch television anymore and honestly if it ain’t something educational I usually pass on it or get bored with it very quickly!

[@Dr_Larken]

Also I probably sent it before but the only problem with this channel is how it hasn’t hit 1 million subscribers yet! Another channel on KZbin that is behind underrated!

[@freetolook3727]

I just finished binge watching Shameless, a Netflix show about a dysfunctional family living in the south side of Chicago!

[@Alex632]

Would have been helpful if you included the conversion of what the stuff was worth in today's money.

[@mstsp9546]

Interesting story!

[@ericpiazzi3444]

Eugene Debs was one of the greatest!

[@dinocracchiolo1006]

It’s hard to believe there was a ever a time like this in America. We are Nation in a massive decline.

[@jerroldkazynski5480]

Get an idea; implement it; observe results; modify to suit. When users have differing ideals or work habits, results change. Many people find success; others not so much. The idea remains valid.

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

Company towns never died, in fact Amazon and Facebook are building those again under a different name. And no, not even the workers who lived in those places during their heyday liked it... especially if they're Pullman employees...

[@RJFPme]

I used to love taking the train from Fennville , MI to Chicago as a young boy.

[@divinej802]

very interesting

[@notfadeaway6617]

Amazing history

[@lindan9255]

The Robber Barron Era.

[@mikmik9034]

I don't know of ANY structure that is more than TEN years old, that has Not "SEEN BETTER TIMES". Once any structure is ten years old the shine is gone, and staff and public don't (rarely anyway) look at until it is dilapidated.

[@mikmik9034]

"Rents remained unchanged"... What about rents went down. Taxes? Cost of Maintenance material? Utilities? The only variable in an Industrial atmosphere is Labour.

[@katherinebergdahl2669]

I worked in Pullmanf five years ago. Very rough area in modern times, almost like driving through a ghost town. The old historic churches were beautiful though

[@huskerhank6231]

The passenger car you show at the end was previously owned and operated by the British Pullman Company. Except for using the same general concept the British Pullman had NO connection with USA companies you discussed. It was probably constructed at the PCC's shops in Brighton, NOT at Pullman Illinois. While in the USA Pullman cars were noted for their overnight services while the British cars were mostly fancy parlor/lounge cars. The UK is obviously much smaller and the trains were usually able to reach their destinations in a single day without the need for extensive overnight services. I am sure there were exceptions to the far reaches of Wales/Scotland but nothing like the much greater distances in the USA. Mind you I would love to pull into Pullman Illinois in the beauty you show but it wouldn"t be historically accurate.

[@georgegrund6383]

Pullman became synonymous with the first-class car.

[@BlackDogBlues4961]

Anyone else came here after the "Ask a Mortician" video about the SS Eastman?

[@BlackDogBlues4961]

@@TruelyMM Hello Deathling!

[@cubbyjo]

My dad worked at the Sherwin Williams lab across the road from the village.

[@conraddominguez-urban5215]

You did not mention the old Pullman Tech campus at 250 East 111th Street, that was obtained by the Augustinians in 1951 and opened back up as Mendel Catholic Preparatory School. The school was reorganized as a Coed Catholic School, St. Martin De Porres, in 1988, but was only able to continue until 1997, when the CPS bought the property back and opened Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy, a selective enrollment four-year magnet high school and middle school. My first teaching and coaching job in the early 80's was at Mendel. I loved the grounds and wished it could have been even better used for an environmental science course, as the huge property had a large pond out front.

[@triglide7072]

In the fifties I ice skated on that pond.

[@stringlarson1247]

I live near 'Pullman'. Sadly a shadow of it's former self and surrounded by urban blight/poverty/etc.

[@NickRatnieks]

Those last photos are of British Pullman cars. A British Pullman company had been set up- the first Pullman cars were imported from the USA but the later ones were made in England and ultimately the company was bought by the nationalised organisation that ran all Britain's state-owned transport in the 1950s and graually the services ended but these old 1930s, 40s and 50s cars are used in various luxury trains.

[@60gator]

Company housing still exists in the south, trust me you do not want your job tied to your home because any ideological differences you have with owners will not end in your favor.Personal experience talking here.

[@frederickthorne2496]

In 2001 Dreamworks filmed several scenes from Road to Perdition throughout the Pullman District.

[@dcorica79]

can you do a video on the pilgrim state psychiatric hospital on long island? the Edgewood one was also abandoned but was completely demolished and turned into a preserve.

[@michaelciccone2194]

I remember Pilgrim quite well. Back in the 1960s, on family trips to Deer Park to see relatives, the huge Pilgrim Hospital was a sign we were almost arriving at my Aunt and Uncle's house.

[@terrancerobinson4018]

When I was younger I used to hang in west Pullman park I crew up in calumet park

[@jackimareena7]

Omg I am going to find this today

[@TChalla616]

In 2001 they opened up a beautiful museum where the clock tower is, it really is something to be seen.

[@garydownes1594]

You're back.

[@tedlawrence4189]

When I was a kid, born in '49, my Dad took me to see the Pullman site. I think that they were still building cars in the '50s.

[@brianholbig5916]

I agree...Pullman was nothing like Westinghouse and the concept of a town owed factory can also be associated with Roebling NJ. Also refer to Wagner House in NY outside Cooperstown. Wagner ideas were taken by Pullman.

[@crazyman8472]

The South Side of Chicago is the baddest part of town… 😎

[@freetolook3727]

@5:50 Proud that they met the workers needs and designs. Something that today's American corporations can't brag about. This is the difference between the early twentieth century corporations and the twenty-first century corporations. Social responsibility vs. greed.

[@Right-Is-Right]

The workers chose to rent off the company, some of the commentators are going on as if it was a company mining town where the workers had no other choice. It was a great win/win . As a scenario, instead of just giving workers an extra dollar a week wages, the company could spend more than a dollar on the subsidies, from the dollar the workers would of paid tax making their benefit even less, while the company saved on payroll tax. Also as the money was an investment, the company was not having to pay taxes on the amount invested, so they came out even there.

[@freetolook3727]

$8 per month ($250 by 2021 standards) is cheap. Probably subsidized by the company.

[@celticman1909]

Henry Ford did the company town thing as well. He paid very well for the era, but he was a control freak in the lives of his workers. In South America, where he established a rubber plantation to supply his auto factories, he dictated diet, exercise and hygiene of the native employees to the point that they rebelled.

[@bonniegettingthrumyday2866]

Thank you beloved we won’t waste our time

[@luislaplume8261]

Pullman built its last passenger train cars for Amtrakin 1981 and built its last rapid transit subway trains the R46 for NYC from 1975 til 1978. After that was freight cars and for Amtrak.