I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3929 

To establish 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 

JANUARY 27, 2014 

Ms. KELLY of Illinois (for herself, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. LIPINSKI, and Mr. 

DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish 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 the following: 

8 (1) The Pullman Historical District was des9 ignated as a National Historic Landmark (NHL) 


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1 District in 1970 by the Secretary of the Interior for 

2 its significance to American labor history, social his3 tory, architecture, urban planning, and the events 

4 that took place at Pullman were pivotal in creating 

5 the world’s first national Labor Day holiday. 

6 (2) The Historic Pullman District, built be7 tween the years of 1880 and 1884, was established 

8 by George M. Pullman, owner of the Pullman Palace 

9 Car Company. Pullman envisioned an industrial 

10 town that provided employees with a model commu11 nity and suitable living conditions for workers and 

12 their families. The town, which consisted of over 

13 1,000 buildings and homes, was awarded ‘‘The 

14 World’s Most Perfect Town’’ at the International 

15 Hygienic and Pharmaceutical Exposition in 1896. 

16 (3) The Pullman factory site is a true symbol 

17 of the historic American struggle to achieve fair 

18 labor practices for the working class, with the origi19 nal factory serving as the catalyst for the first in20 dustry-wide strike in the United States. In the midst 

21 of economic depression in 1894, Pullman factory 

22 workers initiated a strike to protest unsafe condi23 tions and reductions in pay that, when taken up as 

24 a cause by the American Railway Union (ARU), 

25 crippled the entire rail industry. The strike continVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:49 Jan 29, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3929.IH H3929

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1 ued even in the face of a Federal injunction and a 

2 showdown between laborers and Federal troops that 

3 turned violent and deadly. But the strike also set a 

4 national example for the ability of working Ameri5 cans to change the existing system in favor of more 

6 just practices for protecting workers rights and safe7 ty. 

8 (4) The Pullman community was the site of the 

9 famous 1894 Pullman labor strike. Following the 

10 deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the 

11 U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during that strike, 

12 the United States Congress unanimously voted to 

13 approve rush legislation that created a national 

14 Labor Day holiday. President Grover Cleveland 

15 signed it into law a mere six days after the end of 

16 the strike. 

17 (5) The Pullman Car Company also played an 

18 important role in African-American and early Civil 

19 Rights history through the legacy of the Pullman 

20 Porters. Many of the Pullman Porters were ex-slaves 

21 who were employed in a heavily discriminatory envi22 ronment immediately following the Civil War. These 

23 men, who served diligently between the 1870s and 

24 the 1960s, have been commended for their level of 

25 service and attention to detail, as well as their conVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:49 Jan 29, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3929.IH H3929

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1 tributions to the development of the Black middle 

2 class. The information, ideas, and commerce they 

3 carried across the country (while traveling on trains) 

4 helped to bring education and wealth to Black com5 munities everywhere. Their positive role in the his6 torical image of the first-class service that was made 

7 available on Pullman cars is unmistakable. 

8 (6) Pullman was the seminal home to the 

9 Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first Afri10 can-American labor union with a collective bar11 gaining agreement, founded by civil rights pioneer A. 

12 Philip Randolph in 1925. This union fought against 

13 discrimination and in support of just labor practices, 

14 and helped lay the groundwork for what became the 

15 great Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. 

16 (7) The Pullman community is a paramount il17 lustration of the work of architect Solon Spencer 

18 Beman and a well-preserved example of 19th cen19 tury community planning, architecture, and land20 scape design. The community is comprised of a 

21 number of historic structures, including the Admin22 istration (Clock-tower) Building, Hotel Florence, 

23 Greenstone Church, Market Square, and hundreds 

24 of units of row houses built for Pullman workers. 


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1 (8) The preservation of Pullman has been 

2 threatened by plans for demolition in 1960 and by 

3 a fire in 1998, which damaged the iconic clock-tower 

4 and the rear erecting shops. The restoration and 

5 preservation led by the diligent efforts of community 

6 organizations, foundations, non-profits, residents, 

7 and the local and State government were vital to the 

8 protection of the site. 

9 (9) Due to the Pullman’s historic and architec10 tural significance, the site is designated as— 

11 (A) a registered National Historic Land12 mark District; 

13 (B) an Illinois State Landmark; and 

14 (C) a City of Chicago Landmark District. 

15 (10) The preservation, enhancement, economic, 

16 and tourism potential and management of the Pull17 man National Historical Park’s important historical 

18 and architectural resources requires cooperation and 

19 partnerships from among local property owners, 

20 local, State, and Federal Government entities, the 

21 private and non-profit sectors, and more than 100 

22 civic organizations who have expressed support for 

23 community preservation through the creation of 

24 Pullman National Historical Park. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PULLMAN NATIONAL HISTOR2 ICAL PARK. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—There is here4 by established Pullman National Historical Park in the 

5 State of Illinois for the purposes of— 

6 (1) preserving and interpreting for the benefit 

7 of future generations the significant labor, industrial 

8 and social history; the significant civil rights history; 

9 and the significant architectural structures in Pull10 man National Historical Park; 

11 (2) preserving and interpreting for the benefit 

12 of future generations the role of Pullman in the cre13 ation of the world’s first national Labor Day holi14 day; 

15 (3) coordinating preservation, protection, and 

16 interpretation efforts by Federal, State, or local gov17 ernmental entities, and/or private and nonprofit or18 ganizations; and 

19 (4) coordinating appropriate management op20 tions needed to ensure the protection, preservation, 

21 and interpretation of the many significant aspects of 

22 the site. 

23 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of Pullman Na24 tional Historical Park should reflect and not exceed the 

25 boundaries of the Pullman Historic District in Chicago, 

26 which is between 103rd Street on the north, 115th Street 


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1 on the south, Cottage Grove Avenue on the west, and the 

2 Norfolk & Western Rail Line on the east. The area encom3 passes about 300 acres. The National Park Service would 

4 initially own only the Pullman Factory Complex, including 

5 the Administration/Clock Tower Building and rear erect6 ing shops and the approximately 13 acres of land on which 

7 the structures sit, which would be conveyed to the Na8 tional Park Service by the State of Illinois. All future land, 

9 buildings, and assets could be transferred to the Federal 

10 Government by donation, transfer, or exchange only. 

11 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

13 administer Pullman National Historical Park in accord14 ance with— 

15 (1) this Act; and 

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

17 National Park System, including— 

18 (A) the National Park Service Organic Act 

19 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and 

20 (B) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 

21 461 et seq.). 

22 Additionally, nothing in this law modifies any authority 

23 of the United States to carry out Federal laws on Federal 

24 land located within the Park. 


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1 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

2 may also enter into cooperative agreements with the State 

3 or other public and non-public parties, under which the 

4 Secretary may identify, interpret, and provide assistance 

5 for the preservation of non-Federal properties within the 

6 Park (and at sites in close proximity to the Park but out7 side boundaries), including providing for placement of di8 rectional and interpretive signage, exhibits, and tech9 nology-based interpretive devices. 

10 (c) LAND AND PROPERTY ACQUISITION.—All land, 

11 buildings, structures, or interests in land owned by the 

12 State or any other political, private, or non-profit entity 

13 may be acquired by the Federal Government by donation, 

14 transfer, exchange, or purchase from a willing seller. 

15 (d) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 3 fiscal 

16 years after the date on which funds are first made avail17 able to carry out this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 

18 with the State, shall complete a general management plan 

19 for the Park in accordance with— 

20 (1) section 12(b) of the National Park System 

21 General Authorities Act (16 U.S.C. 1a–7(b)); and 

22 (2) any other applicable laws. 

Æ 


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