03/04/2026
The Pullman House Project has this interesting historical post card view of DOVER HARBOR's birthplace in Pullman, Illinois. The site is now part of Pullman National Historical Park.
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As Pullman entered the 20th Century, the factory complex adapted to meet the demands of a changing rail industry. In 1908, the south wing of the Pullman Administration Building was enlarged to accommodate the manufacturing of larger and more modern train cars. The expansion helped keep Pullman competitive in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
But the changes came at a cost.
The construction added two massive bays to the front of the Administration Building. These oversized additions overwhelmed the original composition of the façade and visually dwarfed the iconic Clock Tower, altering the careful balance that architect Solon Beman had designed decades earlier.
In a dramatic twist of history, that enlarged south wing was completely destroyed in the 1998 fire that gutted much of the Clock Tower. Fortunately, the North Wing had never been altered and survived, preserving an important portion of the building’s original architectural integrity.
Today, the site reflects layers of ambition, loss, and resilience, reminding us how Pullman has continually evolved through both progress and preservation.
