Pullman National Monument gets a new name

Becomes Pullman National Historical Park

CHICAGO — The city’s first National Park Service unit gets a new name Thursday as Pullman National Monument becomes Pullman National Historical Park.

The name change is a result of legislation signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 29, and is designed to help visitors better understand what they can expect to experience at the park, according to park superintendent Teri Gage.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin are expected to take part in a renaming ceremony Thursday. WGN is planning to livestream the event in its entirety within this story beginning at approximately 9:45 a.m.

The park was first designated a national monument by President Barack Obama in 2015 and it tells the story of America’s first planned model industrial community. Its existence can be connected to several watershed moments in U.S. labor history including the Pullman Strike and Boycott of 1894 and the first African American labor union.