It was recently reported that the restoration of Chicago’s historic Pullman neighborhood had been delayed because of politics and lack of funding. It has not drawn in the crowds or attention the National Park Service had hoped with its designation as a national monument. The NPS has also struggled with the restoration due to a required Environmental Protection Agency cleanup taking place where a visitor’s center will stand. But there is more than just politics and lack of funding holding Pullman back.
It is the residents themselves.
Unlike other national monuments or parks, people live in Pullman. Real people inhabit the houses and go about their daily lives. But because people are actively living in these houses, it means they must meet a certain housing code, despite being required to maintain the historical integrity of the houses. It is here that a conflict arises: How does one maintain a standard of living present in the modern era in a house that was built in the late 1800s? I do not think it is completely possible.
Here, I propose a solution: Focus on a few buildings and areas and let the others go. Take the hotel, the visitor’s center and a few residential buildings and maintain those buildings like they were in the 1880s. Strike a deal with the congregation at the Greenstone United Methodist Church to continue to give tours of the sanctuary while the congregation maintains the building. But let the rest go. While current residents must keep the integrity of their homes, modern developers must adhere to current building codes when building new property. There are already developers preying on open lots surrounding Pullman, ready to make profits.
This has already taken place at the Lincoln Home in Springfield. Currently, modern houses surround the four blocks that make up where the Lincolns lived. Only a snippet of the era is preserved — a snippet that is visited by thousands every year. The entire neighborhood wasn’t saved, but visitors aren’t confined to a neighborhood walk where few or no buildings are available for entry.
Not every battle worth fighting is winnable. Compromise must occur, and this is the best way for the NPS to go about it.
— Elianna Bender, Mundelein
