TO PORTLAND AND CHICAGO BY RAIL, 6/10/08
TO 6/17/08
by Fred Dunn
Day 7
Monday, June 16
I got up about 7:00
a.m.,
made a pot of the in-room coffee, and checked my e-mail via the free
hotel
wireless connection.I hadn't
checked my e-mail for several days, because in Portland the Hotel Mark
Spencer
wanted $7.95/day for wireless internet access.My
plans for the day were to make a quick visit to the
Museum of Science and Industry, and then travel to Pullman, a community
built
by George M. Pullman for his workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company.I left the hotel at about 9:30 a.m. and
went to the METRA Van Buren St. station, about two blocks from the
hotel.I caught the 10:22 a.m. train to 57th
St, from where I walked the two blocks to the Museum of Science and
Industry.
The museum is
housed in the
only remaining building of the "Great White City" built
for the World's
Columbian Exposition of 1893.The
building was the Palace of Fine Arts, and displayed art treasures from
around
the world.Because of its valuable
contents, the building was constructed with a brick substructure,
unlike the
other buildings of the exposition which had a wood substructure,
covered with
plaster.
I had visited the
Museum
about 40 years ago, and went through U-505, a German submarine captured
by the
U.S. Navy during WWII.The
submarine was outside when I visited 40 years ago, but it is now housed
inside,
protected from the elements.I was
also interested in seeing the Pioneer Zephyr, a new attraction added
since my
last visit.
(Click on any photo below to see a
double-sized copy; Click on BACK in your browser to return to this
page.)
Museum of Science and Industry
Pioneer Zephyr
U-505
U-505
After spending
about two
hours in the Museum, I headed back to the METRA station, where I caught
a train
to 111th street and the Historic Pullman District.
The following
information is
lifted from the Historic Pullman District website
http://members.aol.com/pullmanil/history.html George M.
Pullman, founder
of the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1867, created the town of Pullman,
the
first planned model industrial town. In early 1880, George Pullman
purchased
nearly 4,000 acres just west of Lake Calumet and surrounding the
Illinois
Central Railroad, to build his model town in 1880.
Most of the town of Pullman was built
between 1880-84, by architect
Solon Beman
and landscape architect Nathan Barrett. The center of town was the
railroad car
business. A clock tower dominated the large industrial complex. The
housing was
well constructed with many "modern" conveniences for 1880's standards
such as indoor plumbing, sewage, and a gas works. The parks and streets
were
pleasantly landscaped. The town would not be complete without public
facilities
such as stores and office buildings. The Arcade building and Market
hall filled
this need with spaces rented to private business (not company stores as
is
commonly assumed). A bank, library, theatre, post office, church, parks
and
recreational facilities were provide as part of the town. Police
protection was
provided by nearby Kensington.
In 1896, Pullman was presented an
award for the "Worlds Most
Perfect
Town". The town prospered
for
fourteen years until the depression of 1893-94 about the time of the
worlds
fair. To keep his business open, Pullman reduced wages and hours, which
resulted in the famous Pullman Strike of 1894. Pullman died in 1897. In
a1898
an Illinois Supreme Court ruling required the company to sell its
non-industrial property. The housing was all sold by 1907 and has been
privately owned ever since. The City of Chicago annexed the town of
Pullman
along with Hyde Park Township in 1889. When the non-industrial property
was
sold, the rest of the parks, streets and the school system was taken
over by
the City of Chicago allowing Pullman to become just another
neighborhood.
In 1960, the town was threatened with
total demolition by developers
for an
industrial park. With the support of the residents, the Pullman Civic
Organization
was formed and defeated this plan. Through the effort of numerous
Pullman
residents, Pullman became a State Landmark in 1969, a National Landmark
District in 1971, and a City of Chicago Landmark in 1972. Today
hundreds of
Pullman houses continue to undergo privately funded interior and
exterior
renovation and restoration.
Clock Tower
Hotel Florence
Greenstone Church
Market Hall
Market Hall
Houses
Pullman Stables
George M. Pullman School
Main Entrance
Girl's Entrance
Boy's Entrance
Houses
Burned out factory
Clock tower and
burned out factory
Factory and clock tower from the North
Having finished my
tour of
Pullman, I walked back to the METRA station, this time on 115th
St.I caught the 3:31 p.m. train,
and was back at Van Buren station at 3:54 p.m.I
walked to LaSalle St. station to check out my train to
O'Hare for tomorrow, and then headed back to my hotel.I ate dinner in a Thai restaurant in my
hotel, and then went back to my room.I spent the evening reading my e-mail and updating this trip
report.I used the hotel's
computer and printer to check in for my flight and print out a boarding
pass.
Day 8
Tuesday, June 17
I got up about 6:30 a.m., and went for a short walk toward Lake
Michigan before checking out of my hotel.
Chicago Skyline
Chicago Skyline
I went back to the hotel, packed up and
checked out at 8:30 a.m. I walked to the LaSalle St. station and
caught the Blue Line train to O’Hare Airport , leaving La Salle at 8:55
a.m., and arriving about an hour later at O’Hare. I went through
security, and then enjoyed a beer at the Berghoff restaurant near my
gate while I was waiting for my flight. My United flight left
Chicago on time at 12:28 p.m., and I arrived in LA at 2:40 p.m. I
picked up my bag, and went out to the island to wait for the Fly-Away
Bus to Union Station. The bus is supposed to run every half hour,
but I had to wait 45 minutes, and almost choked breathing all the bus
and car exhaust while waiting on the island. The bus finally
arrived, and I was at LAUPT by about 4:40 p.m. I caught a
Metrolink train to Fullerton leaving at 4:50, and my daughter picked me
up at the Fullerton station at 5:25. I was home by 5:35
p.m. I enjoyed the trip, except for the busing fiasco in
Minneapolis, but was glad to be home.
