A Parisienne in Chicago
Pullman
Pullman, located on the far south side of Chicago bordering Calumet Lake, was a model industrial town that opened in May of 1880. This planned community offered housing and public services to employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company. Madame Grandin and her husband took a day trip to Chicago to visit Calumet Lake and tour the Pullman factory.
“Thanks to the liberal ideas of its owner, Pullman is a model city. Let me quickly say that Mr. Pullman does not administer his lands with a feudal firmness. He only dreams of making the inhabitants who work in his factories as happy as possible.
All of the inhabitants of Pullman work in the factories. Despite the large number of employees who live there, many more commute from Chicago. The Pullman factory is one of the largest in the world. The main factory building, where the company offices are located, resembles a monument and even has a small lake in front of it. Here in the offices, legions of women type or write all day long.
A simple letter suffices to get permission to visit the immense factory. Everything that will be used to construct the train cars enters the factory as a raw material. One can stroll through the factory and ask the workers questions. They respond politely, all the while continuing their work.
