National Park Service interested in telling the Pullman story

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson, and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk announced Monday the National Park Service has released a study which concludes the Pullman community in Chicago’s South Side has unique historical significance and is worthy of serious consideration as a new National Park, according to a news release.

Kelly, Durbin and Kirk, who released the study, have been working to secure national park status for the architecturally unique neighborhood, which played important roles in America’s railroad, industrial and labor history.

“Pullman represents a special chapter in the American experience. It is the birthplace of the black labor movement,” Kelly said. “Also, it uniquely weaves together many stories that shaped our country — the railroads, industrial age, union movement, and Chicago’s emergence as a transportation and commercial hub. I’m happy that the National Park Service thinks Pullman has historical significance and conveys a story worth preserving.”…Please click here to read the full story in the Times, or related stories in the Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business.