Hidden Pullman archives bring Chicago history to life ahead of America's 250th anniversary

CHICAGO - As the nation prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, FOX Chicago is taking a closer look at the places that helped shape America.

At Pullman National Historical Park, lost archives and hidden artifacts are helping to bring the community's story to life.

The backstory:

In the city’s historic Pullman neighborhood, every street has a story.

"If the walls could talk, they'd tell you a lot stories," said Al Quiroz, a retired Pullman worker. 

For decades, some of those stories were hidden — tucked away in boxes, drawers, and places few people thought to look.  

"When I first bought this house, I went to the basement and to the rafters and I found blueprints, I found letters," Quiroz said. 

For Quiroz, preserving Pullman's story is personal. It isn’t just history — it’s home, having grown up on Langley Avenue.

"This is the whole property of Pullman. All these buildings are where they used to build the cars," Quiroz explained while showing FOX Chicago's Kasey Chronis a more than century-old blueprint. 

When Quiroz was 23 years old, he began his career with Pullman. 

"And this right here, this is when I first got hired. They gave me a list of tools that I had to get. I kept this ever since," he said. "From that point on, I fell in love with working on the cars."

For more than two decades, up until the very end, Quiroz worked alongside his brother, Ray Quiroz. 

Over the years, he has held onto pieces of Pullman's past. Now, Quiroz is believed to be the last surviving worker still living in the historic company town.

Quiroz has preserved the familiar sound of the Pullman bell, his father-in-law's toolbox and the blueprints he discovered as the Pullman plant was closing — all to help ensure those pieces of history aren't lost.

"I went through the dumpster to pull all this stuff out, and I asked my supervisor, ‘Can I have this stuff?'" Quiroz explained. "And he said, 'Yeah, take it because they're all going to be scrapped, thrown away.'"

Dig deeper:

Designated a national historical park in 2015, the legacy of American industry, labor, and one of the nation's first planned industrial communities is woven into Pullman's story. 

"For an entire century, they built the cars that moved America here in Pullman," said Mike Shymanski, founding member of the Historic Pullman Foundation. 

Shymanski, a retired architect, urban planner, and Pullman historian, has called the neighborhood home since 1967 — spending decades preserving the community's history.

Now, much of his personal collection is on loan at Pullman National Historical Park for visitors to see.

"The thing that people should celebrate and recognize is the incredible innovation that was facilitated, and the desire to improve things and provide more opportunities for people and for the nation to produce products that were competitive — not only domestically but internationally," Shymanski said. 

But Pullman's greatest legacy wasn’t only what was built inside the factory — it was the community that grew around it.

"It was a very sophisticated evolution, and it was an experimental town," Shymanski said. The beautiful thing about Pullman is that they provided housing for people of all different talents and family composition. The other thing is you didn't have to work for the company to live here, nor did you have to live here to work with the company."

Whether or not you punched in for Pullman, the people who lived in the neighborhood took great pride in their town — something records reveal was on full display for the Fourth of July. 

"We know on July 4, 1892, there was a huge two-day celebration," said Peggy Parfenoff, executive director, Friends of Pullman National Historical Park. 

The elaborate Independence Day celebration was held one year before the Columbian Exposition, partly to attract attention and raise money for the World's Fair. 

"And the program started at 4 a.m. with firing the salute of 25 guns," Parfenoff said. 

The archives, including an original program book that outlines the parade route, are now in Parfenoff's care. 

"They had a four-mile parade that went around Pullman and Roseland, and then in the evening, they had bands and fireworks," she explained. 

The second day brought a full slate of friendly competition.

"They had the wheelbarrow race, the sack race, the ladies race, and then this is my favorite — the greased pig race and the winner gets the pig," Parfenoff said. "It was quite the celebration in 1892."

One year later, the effort to put Pullman on the map appeared to have worked.

"Pullman was the number one attraction outside of the World's Fair that people came to see," she said. 

To this day, four buildings flank Market Square, the heart of the company town.  

"It was kind of early Airbnb style housing and so it was an attraction," Parfenoff said. 

What's next:

Today, the story of Pullman is still being written.

Visitors can walk the same streets, explore some of the same buildings, and experience a national historical park that continues to evolve.  

Guests can experience daily ranger-led tours, a cup of joe at Pullman Club Coffee — and soon, turning the page for the Hotel Florence. 

Its history is preserved in time for another quarter-millennium.

"At a point, this was a forgotten area, but it's coming back. And people should come down and visit Pullman," Quiroz said. "After 250 years, it's going to be here a lot longer. Like an old tree that was dying, and I put a little water on the base, and the tree grew back."

On July 8, Pullman National Historical Park will join historic sites across America in a simultaneous reading of the Declaration of Independence as part of the nation's 250th birthday celebration.