As visitors descended upon the Pullman neighborhood to delight in the vintage lavish homes that threw open their doors last weekend for the Historic Pullman House Tour, there were a few notable structures where the doors remained shut because of the federal government shutdown, now well into its third week.
One favorite site, the Administration Clock Tower Building in Pullman National Historical Park, remained closed while the Historical Park’s seven rangers who typically staff the site and offer tours and other programming are on furlough.
Organizers of the 52nd annual Historic Pullman House Tour on Oct. 10 and 11 said ticket sales for the event had decreased by about 30%. They speculated the drop was the result of the shutdown and park closure, and that potential visitors may have assumed the tour was canceled.
“Everyone sees there’s a closed sign across the street,” said Lynn McClure, vice president of the Historic Pullman Foundation. “We have no rangers.
McClure said the closures had a real effect on people, and the neighborhood, residents and visitors.
“Traditionally national parks have been the first place many people experience the shutdown as a personal impact,” she said. “It’s personal.”
The shutdown’s timing is unfortunate as well, she said.
“This is the fall, when schools start setting up programs and tours with educational components,” McClure said, as she helped out at the recent House Tour. “This is high travel season.”
McClure said the Historic Pullman Foundation was helping pick up the slack, and is filling in on some school tours after the Park Service told them which schools had already signed up.
As a “National Park friends group” with official partnership status, McClure said it’s another way to help support the Pullman National Historical Park and its mission.
“So when something like the government shutdown happens, we have to spring into action and we’re doing what we can,” McClure said.
More throngs of visitors are expected in Pullman on Saturday when several Pullman buildings are featured in Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Open House Chicago 2025, including the Historic Pullman Foundation headquarters at 614 E. 113th St., Greater Tabernacle Cathedral at 11300 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Pullman Artspace Lofts at 11137 S. Langley Ave. and Pullman Tech Workshop at 11314 S. Front Ave.
But as with last weekend’s home tour, the visitor center inside the Clock Tower, operated by the National Park Service, will be closed for Open House Chicago, according to Alfonso Quiroz of the Historic Pullman Foundation.
“However, the rest of the Pullman National Historical Park will be open, including the grounds around the Clock Tower (operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources), as well as the Exhibit Hall and the Florence Lowden Miller Center, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Collections will be on display there throughout the day,” he said.
Despite the decreased attendance last weekend, the Historic Pullman House Tour was still a hit among Pullman fans. It started at the Historic Pullman Exhibit Hall and included eight homes, a home under restoration, the Block House Gallery with its homes, gallery, classrooms, community areas and storage spaces, the historic Greenstone Church and the George M. Pullman School.
There was also live jazz, a classic car show and food.
People could also stop by the Pullman House Project Welcome Center inside the former home of Henry Sessions, the first general superintendent of the Pullman Palace Car Company, which was later used as a social club for Pullman executives and the Pullman Club Coffee Shop.
Cindy McMahon, co-chair of the House Tour, said even before the shutdown, the rangers’ hours had been reduced in May. McMahon said the Exhibit Hall had extended its hours to be open to the public Thursday through Sunday to help make up for the cutbacks.
“We did have a lot of people call to see if the House Tour was still going to take place,” said McMahon, whose home was showcased on the tour. “People can still come and visit the partner sites and still get a Pullman experience and hopefully they’ll return when the park is open.”
Along with the Historic Pullman Foundation and other neighborhood organizations such as the Pullman House Project, she said boosters are stepping up.
“We’re here to give everyone who comes to Pullman a good visitor experience,” said McMahon.
Nancy Johnson, who has lived in Pullman for a dozen years and was volunteering on the tour, said she loved the history, architecture and friendly neighbors.
“There’s a lot of misinformation, people think Pullman is closed altogether,” said Johnson. “People show up baffled.”
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
