There are numerous attractions in Chicago, including museums, architecture, parks, and iconic food that can keep visitors busy for days. For those interested in history, Chicago has much to offer. From remnants of the Great Fire of 1871 to homes of renowned residents, Chicago is full of interesting historical buildings and landmarks. The following five attractions give visitors a taste of the exciting and resilient history of the Windy City.
1. Pullman National Historic Park
In 1995, President Barack Obama designated Pullman Town the Pullman National Historical Park, the first National Park site in Chicago. The history of the site itself is fascinating as the Pullman Historic District was one of the first planned industrial communities in the United States.
George Pullman is best known for creating the sleeping railroad car but his company also manufactured other types of rail cars, such as dining, parlor, and refrigerated cars. He founded the company town of Pullman to house the workers that manufactured these luxury rail cars.
Pullman often hired African American men as Pullman porters. These men became known for high-quality work on these luxury cars. A. Philip Randolph was a Pullman porter who became the head of the first labor union for African American workers. Randolph helped establish “The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters” in 1925. The National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum is located in Pullman.
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Another interesting aspect of Pullman Town was George Pullman’s role in industrialization and labor relations in the 1880s. Pullman hoped to attract the best workers by building a world-class town. The residences had gas, water, sunlight, fresh air access, and front and back yards for personal green space. Additionally, the town had parks, churches, and a market hall.
The Pullman Strike of 1894 significantly impacted the labor movement. Following an economic depression in 1893, rail car demand decreased. The company lowered workers’ wages but not their rents and the workers went on strike. The American Railway Union joined Pullman strikers, resulting in such significant railway delays that President Cleveland eventually sent in Federal troops to handle the matter.
Currently, Pullman National Historical Park visitors can explore the town’s many buildings, including the Administration-Clock Tower Building, the Arcade Park, the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, and several Pullman residences. Other Pullman homes are still private residences.
2. Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum is a National Historic Landmark on the University of Illinois Chicago campus. Jane Addams was the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize and she was involved in many things, such as the opening of America’s first settlement house, various social reforms, help for immigrants, and the holding of feminist ideals in the days before women’s suffrage.
Hull-House was founded in 1889 and soon after, it hosted 2,000 people each week. Many of the people came from nearby tenements and the settlement house provided space for immigrants and people in poor urban areas to come together to learn and share knowledge to get the tools and education necessary to survive. The settlement house offerings included food, health clinics, and childcare.
Visitors can personally experience the Hull-House Museum, and the Hull Home and the Resident’s Dining Hall are available for tours. It contains more than 5,500 artifacts related to the work of the settlement house and the lives of immigrants and people living in the neighborhood tenements.
3. Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station
Located in the heart of Chicago’s most prominent shopping street, Michigan Avenue, the Chicago Water Tower is one of the few existing buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The Chicago Fire burned for three days in October 1871 and destroyed over 17,000 structures.
The Water Tower is the second oldest water tower in the United States. While known for its age, it became a visual symbol of pre-fire Chicago and the city’s subsequent recovery from the fire. The building activity after the fire was dubbed the “Great Rebuilding.” Thousands of workers rebuilt the city within two years. The rapid pace of building influenced building codes and Chicago’s architectural style for decades.
The adjacent Chicago Avenue Pumping Station and nearby St James Cathedral are two interesting nearby surviving structures. There are still remnants of soot from the fire at the top of the St James Cathedral tower.
4. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House
Frank Lloyd Wright was an influential architect known for his Prairie style architecture which continues to impact modernist architecture today. The Robie House was completed in 1910 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, it is on the University of Chicago campus.
Some of the things that distinguish Wright’s Prairie style architecture include organic design, leaded glass, and furniture designed specifically for the space. The flat prairies of the Midwest inspired Wright. Rooms are long with low ceilings. Open floor plans are incorporated, and there is an emphasis on horizontal lines. A visit to the Robie House includes a tour of the home’s interior and exterior.
In nearby Oak Park, a suburb west of Chicago is Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and adjacent studio. Wright lived there for 20 years with his first wife and seven children. He used his home to explore his design concepts, refining his ideas. There are over 25 homes and structures in Oak Park designed by Wright. One notable building is Unity Temple, a Unitarian Universalist church.
5. The Museum of Science and Industry
The Museum of Science and Industry is a bustling museum on Chicago’s south side. The museum sees 1.5 million guests each year. The building is one of the few remaining structures from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. It was initially designated the Palace of Fine Arts. It stands today primarily because it was the only World’s Fair Building built with brick to protect the fine art in the building.
The building was constructed in the Beaux Arts style, influencing the US Civic building architecture for decades. The other buildings built for the 1893 World’s Fair were not built for longevity and are no longer standing.
The World’s Fair Columbian Exposition of 1893 was significant in several ways. The Fair Introduced the Ferris Wheel and American foods such as the Chicago-style hot dog, brownies, Cracker Jack, Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum, and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. It was also the first Fair to include an entertainment zone.
Other than the building, there is no exhibit in the museum related to the World’s Fair. However, the museum has two interesting historical exhibits: a German submarine from WWII and an interactive coal mine, which has been part of the museum since 1933.
