Pullman House Project

In late March 1880, architect Irving K. Pond joined Solon S. Beman’s office and was immediately assigned to help design the first building constructed in the new town of Pullman: the Allen Paper Car Wheel Company. Located just north of the Pullman Passenger Car Works, the massive industrial complex stretched 360 feet and was divided into two large sections connected by a prominent two-story central block. The front portion contained the company offices, while the rear housed drying rooms, lathes, and manufacturing spaces used in the production of paper railroad car wheels. Additional attached buildings included a foundry for casting iron wheel hubs and centers, along with a pattern shop, blacksmith shop, boiler house, and storage rooms. Pond’s early work on the building’s roof trusses and construction details marked the beginning of his important role in shaping Pullman’s industrial landscape.

On May 10, 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant ceremonially started the massive Corliss Engine at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, with Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, among the distinguished guests watching the enormous flywheel begin to turn. After observing the machine, Dom Pedro reportedly remarked, “This beats our South American revolutions.” Built by George H. Corliss in Providence, Rhode Island, the giant steam engine powered much of the machinery at the exposition and became one of the marvels of the industrial age. A few years later, the engine found a second life in Pullman, where it was installed at the Pullman Car Works to help power the factory that produced the world-famous Pullman railroad cars.

These rare views looking southeast from the 111th Street elevated tracks capture Pullman in transition before the demolition of the Arcade Building in 1925. In one photograph, the roofline of the Hotel Florence rises in the distance, while the other reveals the top of the famous Arcade, once the commercial and social heart of George Pullman’s industrial town. Railroad tracks, modest service buildings, and dirt roads remind us how closely transportation, industry, and everyday life were woven together in the early years of Pullman National Historical Park.