For more than a year, my family lived in the Pullman neighborhood. I want to add a star to my own personal Chicago flag for the adventure.
We had rented in Hyde Park for several years, but bought a single-family home elsewhere on the South Side that needed bank-approved renovations. To downsize during this interlude, we moved into a furnished Pullman row house in February 2022.
What a delight!
Prior to moving in, I knew the historic significance of Pullman not only as a South Sider but as a granddaughter of a Pullman porter and as a reporter. I covered the story when President Barack Obama designated it as a national monument in 2015. I also covered various developments in the community over the years, from touring the giant Gotham Greens greenhouse to reporting on the controversy of an Amazon warehouse wanting to expand there.
As a newly minted Pullman denizen, I found a unique and warm community among the red row houses and clipped green lawns. Our row house was a former tenement. I also found a pocket of Black-white-Latino diversity (socioeconomic, too) in the “wild hundreds” that’s elusive in much of Chicago.
Our family settled in quickly, happy to have a backyard and alley. We swatted mosquitoes in the summer as I grilled, watched senior citizens ride bikes, ate tacos from a truck a block away and frequented Block House Gallery. How cool to live on the same street as an art gallery and a public park. We walked to Lexington Betty Smokehouse for Friday night takeout smoked chicken wings (among the best in the city) and Richard’s Super Premium Ice Cream — two Black-owned businesses.
I quickly fell in love with my neighborhood.
Hyde Park served our family well and is full of amenities that most South Side neighborhoods lack. But what I realized living in Pullman is that the neighborhood is more forward-facing and less destination-driven. It’s the type of place where strangers would invite you for a cup of coffee on their porch. Pullman neighbors sit on their front porches and the constant presence of people outside not only creates community but also safety. My daughter played with kids she met at the park on the block.
Several times a week I walked the neighborhood early in the morning. These meditative walks cleared my head and I never tired of marveling at the living history of the area. A friend visiting from Brooklyn adoringly quipped that we lived in Everytown, U.S.A. when she joined me on a walk. An Uber driver who picked me up said the area looked like his hometown in Poland.
The historic part of Pullman, where I lived, exuded a palpable pride. Residents are vocal about community needs and put in the work to make the place livable and desirable. I met wonderful people investing in restoration, community building, arts and festivals.
But I encountered a downside. Historic Pullman divides itself from the rest of Pullman and other close neighborhoods. Not all residents. But some. I witnessed it in social media groups and how people talked about the neighborhood — as if historic Pullman is a cocoon simply tolerating its neighbors. This attitude doesn’t help revitalization efforts. We’re all tied to each other on the Far South Side.
Pullman borders Roseland and crossing the viaduct on 111th Street is a clear marker. Roseland has Michigan Avenue, a business strip soon to get a makeover through significant city investment. Current businesses need patronage from historic Pullman, because the salmon croquettes at Ware Ranch Steak House diner are delicious. I highly recommend Mobile Global Plus on 111th, because you can get an iPad fixed cheaply along with household supplies.
A few months ago my family moved out of Pullman. I will go back for smoked chicken wings and take the lessons of how to be a forward-facing neighbor.
Natalie Moore is a reporter for WBEZ and writes a monthly column for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Send letters to letters@suntimes.com
