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Pullman Company Main Car shop, Pullman, Illinois, Elevation

Date:

c.1879–1880

Artist:

Solon Spencer Beman
American, 1853–1914

About this artwork

After relocating his operations south of downtown Chicago in the late 1880s, industrialist George Pullman began plans to build one of the largest company towns in the United States. Hoping to improve the lives of his workers and make a profit, he hired architect Solon Spencer Beman to design an entire community, complete with brick houses, a commercial arcade, a hotel, a library, a church, and parks. While the town was realized using the highest standards in planning, architecture, and construction methods, this great experiment ultimately failed. In 1894, when the Pullman Company cut wages without reducing rents in company-owned housing, workers initiated a massive strike that required the intervention of federal troops. Pullman was eventually forced to sell the town.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Architecture and Design

Artist

Solon Spencer Beman (Architect)

Title

Pullman Company Main Car shop, Pullman, Illinois, Elevation

Place

Pullman (Building address)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1874–1880

Medium

Graphite, ink and ink wash on linen, mounted on archival paper

Dimensions

Approx: 66 × 226 cm (26 × 89 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Pullman, Inc.

Reference Number

1988.422

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/72687/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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