Historic Pullman House Tour

Once a year, Pullman residents open their homes. The self-guided tour lets you walk through restored and renovated houses built for George Pullman’s railcar company town in the 1880s, from workers’ row houses to executive homes on the boulevards. According to the organizer, Friends of Pullman National Historical Park, the 2026 tour runs Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with doors at 10:30 a.m., starting at the Pullman Exhibit Hall at 11141 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

Tickets are $21 in advance and $27 at the door, plus fees on Eventbrite, per the organizer’s listing. Children under 16 must come with a parent or guardian, there are no refunds, and parking is free. The tour is wheelchair accessible at the Exhibit Hall, though the houses themselves are old and have stairs.

The neighborhood became a national park unit in 2015 and the National Park Service visitor center in the restored Administration Clock Tower building is open the same weekend, so it is easy to make a day of it.

Plan your visit

Pullman is on the Far South Side, 14 miles from the Loop. Metra Electric stops at 111th Street (Pullman), a two-block walk from the Exhibit Hall, and trains run hourly on weekends. By CTA, take the Red Line to 95th and the No. 111 bus east. Drivers exit I-94 at 111th Street; street parking around Cottage Grove and the park visitor center is free and usually easy. Saturday midday is busiest at the most-photographed houses on Champlain and St. Lawrence; Sunday afternoon is calmer. Wear shoes you can slip off, since some homeowners ask, and bring a printed or downloaded map, since phone signal is fine but the tour route is easier on paper.