I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5420 

To establish the Pullman National Historical Park in the State of Illinois 

as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 12, 2019 

Ms. KELLY of Illinois (for herself and Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Pullman National Historical Park in the 

State of Illinois as a unit of the National Park System, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pullman National His5 torical Park Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) in 1970, the Secretary of the Interior des2 ignated the Pullman Historic District as a National 

3 Historic Landmark District because of— 

4 (A) the significance of the District to the 

5 labor history, social history, architecture, and 

6 urban planning of the United States; and 

7 (B) the pivotal role of events in the Dis8 trict in creating the first national Labor Day 

9 holiday in the world; 

10 (2) between 1880 and 1884, George M. Pull11 man, owner of the Pullman Palace Car Company, 

12 built the Pullman community, which was envisioned 

13 by Pullman as an industrial town that would provide 

14 employees with— 

15 (A) a model community; and 

16 (B) suitable living conditions; 

17 (3) the town developed by George M. Pullman, 

18 which consisted of over 1,000 buildings and homes, 

19 was awarded ‘‘The World’s Most Perfect Town’’ at 

20 the International Hygienic and Pharmaceutical Ex21 position in 1896; 

22 (4) the Pullman factory site is a true symbol of 

23 the historic struggle in the United States to achieve 

24 fair labor practices for the working class, with the 


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1 original factory serving as the catalyst for the first 

2 industry-wide strike in the United States; 

3 (5) in the midst of economic depression in 

4 1894, to protest unsafe conditions and reductions in 

5 pay, Pullman factory workers initiated a strike 

6 that— 

7 (A) when taken up as a cause by the 

8 American Railway Union, crippled the entire 

9 rail industry; 

10 (B) continued even in the face of a Federal 

11 injunction and a showdown between laborers 

12 and Federal troops that turned violent and 

13 deadly; and 

14 (C) set a national example for the ability 

15 of working people in the United States to 

16 change the existing system in favor of more just 

17 practices for protecting workers’ rights and 

18 safety; 

19 (6) following the deaths of a number of workers 

20 at the hands of the United States military and 

21 United States Marshals during the 1894 strike, Con22 gress unanimously voted to approve rush legislation 

23 that created a national Labor Day holiday, which 

24 was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland 

25 6 days after the end of the strike; 


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1 (7) the Pullman Palace Car Company also 

2 played an important role in African-American and 

3 early civil rights history through the legacy of the 

4 Pullman porters, many of whom were ex-slaves and 

5 employed in a heavily discriminatory environment 

6 immediately following the Civil War; 

7 (8) the Pullman porters, who served diligently 

8 between the 1870s and the 1960s, have been com9 mended for— 

10 (A) their level of service and attention to 

11 detail; and 

12 (B) their contributions to the development 

13 of the African-American middle class; 

14 (9) the information, ideas, and commerce the 

15 Pullman porters carried across the country while 

16 traveling on trains helped to bring education and 

17 wealth to African-American communities throughout 

18 the United States; 

19 (10) the positive role of the Pullman porters in 

20 the historical image of the first-class service that 

21 was made available on Pullman cars is unmistak22 able; 

23 (11) the Pullman community was the seminal 

24 home to the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, 

25 which— 


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1 (A) was founded by civil rights pioneer A. 

2 Philip Randolph in 1925; 

3 (B) was the first African-American labor 

4 union with a collective bargaining agreement; 

5 (C) fought— 

6 (i) against discrimination; and 

7 (ii) in support of just labor practices; 

8 and 

9 (D) helped lay the groundwork for what 

10 became the great Civil Rights Movement of the 

11 20th Century; 

12 (12) the Pullman community is— 

13 (A) a paramount illustration of the work of 

14 architect Solon Spencer Beman; 

15 (B) a well-preserved example of 19th cen16 tury community planning, architecture, and 

17 landscape design; and 

18 (C) comprised of a number of historic 

19 structures, including the Administration Clock 

20 Tower Building, Hotel Florence, Greenstone 

21 Church, Market Square, and hundreds of units 

22 of rowhouses built for Pullman workers; 

23 (13) the preservation of the Pullman site has 

24 been threatened by— 

25 (A) plans for demolition in 1960; and 


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1 (B) a fire in 1998, which damaged the 

2 iconic clock tower and the rear erecting shops; 

3 (14) the diligent efforts of community organiza4 tions, foundations, nonprofit organizations, resi5 dents, the State, and units of local government in 

6 the restoration and preservation of the District after 

7 the 1998 fire were vital to the protection of the Pull8 man site; 

9 (15) due to the historic and architectural sig10 nificance of the District, the District is designated 

11 as— 

12 (A) a registered National Historic Land13 mark District; 

14 (B) an Illinois State Landmark; and 

15 (C) a City of Chicago Landmark District; 

16 and 

17 (16) the preservation, enhancement, economic, 

18 and tourism potential and management of the im19 portant historic and architectural resources of the 

20 Park requires cooperation and partnerships from 

21 among local property owners, the Federal Govern22 ment, the State, units of local government, the pri23 vate and nonprofit sectors, and the more than 100 

24 civic organizations that have expressed support for 


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1 community preservation through the establishment 

2 of the Pullman National Historical Park. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Pull6 man National Historical Park established by section 

7 4(a). 

8 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

11 of Illinois. 

12 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF PULLMAN NATIONAL HISTOR13 ICAL PARK. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—There is es15 tablished in the State a unit of the National Park System, 

16 to be known as the ‘‘Pullman National Historical Park’’— 

17 (1) to preserve and interpret for the benefit of 

18 future generations— 

19 (A) the significant labor, industrial, civil 

20 rights, and social history of the Park; 

21 (B) the significant architectural structures 

22 in the Park; and 

23 (C) the role of the Pullman community in 

24 the creation of the first national Labor Day 

25 holiday in the world; 


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1 (2) to coordinate preservation, protection, and 

2 interpretation efforts of the Park by the Federal 

3 Government, the State, units of local government, 

4 and private and nonprofit organizations; and 

5 (3) to coordinate appropriate management op6 tions necessary to ensure the protection, preserva7 tion, and interpretation of the many significant as8 pects of the Park. 

9 (b) PARK BOUNDARY.—The boundary of the Park— 

10 (1) shall be established by the Secretary; but 

11 (2) shall not exceed the boundary of the ap12 proximately 300-acre Pullman Historic District in 

13 Chicago, which is between— 

14 (A) 103rd Street on the north; 

15 (B) 115th Street on the south; 

16 (C) Cottage Grove Avenue on the west; 

17 and 

18 (D) the Norfolk & Western Rail Line on 

19 the east. 

20 (c) INCLUSION OF HISTORIC SITES.—On conveyance 

21 by the State to the Secretary, the Park shall include— 

22 (1) the Pullman Factory Complex, including the 

23 Clock Tower Building and rear erecting shops; and 


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1 (2) the approximately 13 acres of land on which 

2 the structures described in paragraph (1) are lo3 cated. 

4 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer 

6 land within the boundary of the Park in accordance 

7 with— 

8 (1) this Act; and 

9 (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the 

10 National Park System, including— 

11 (A) section 100101(a), chapter 1003, and 

12 sections 100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 

13 102101 of title 54, United States Code; and 

14 (B) chapter 3201 of title 54, United States 

15 Code. 

16 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

17 may enter into cooperative agreements with the State or 

18 other public and nonpublic entities, under which the Sec19 retary may identify, interpret, and provide assistance for 

20 the preservation of non-Federal land within the bound21 aries of the Park and at sites in close proximity to the 

22 Park but located outside the boundaries of the Park, in23 cluding providing for placement of directional and inter24 pretive signage, exhibits, and technology-based interpre25 tive devices. 


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1 (c) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The Secretary may ac2 quire for inclusion in the Park any land (including inter3 ests in land), buildings, or structures owned by the State 

4 or any other political, private, or nonprofit entity by dona5 tion, transfer, exchange, or purchase from a willing seller. 

6 (d) TECHNICAL AND PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE.— 

7 The Secretary may provide public interpretation and tech8 nical assistance for the preservation of historic structures 

9 of, the maintenance of the cultural landscape of, and local 

10 preservation planning for, related historic and cultural re11 sources within the boundaries of the Park. 

12 (e) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 3 fiscal 

13 years after the date on which funds are first made avail14 able to carry out this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 

15 with the State, shall complete a general management plan 

16 for the Park in accordance with— 

17 (1) section 100502 of title 54, United States 

18 Code; and 

19 (2) any other applicable laws. 

20 (f) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act modifies any au21 thority of the Federal Government to carry out Federal 

22 laws on Federal land located in the Park. 


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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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