The Workers' Main Gate

The Workers' Main Gate. . , This reconstructed guardhouse and gate mark the original main entrance for Pullman shop workers., Completed in 1881, the Pullman Palace Car Works was encircled only by low walls and shrubs. Sometime between 1885 and 1887, perhaps in response to an April 1886 strike during which employees demanded an eight hour workday, the Company constructed a guard house and gate and hired a policeman to staff them. The Company increased security further over the winter of 1893-1894 by enclosing the Works with iron fences and high, masonry walls., On May 11, 1894, American Railway Union members walked out on strike through this gate, sparking the largest national labor protest in 19th-century America. In 2021, the original foundations of the curved walls and guard house were discovered, documented, and carefully protected in place. The current limestone guardhouse and iron gate are faithful reconstructions of those installed circa 1886.,

"We do not expect the company to concede to our demands. We do not know what the outcome will be and in fact we do not care much. We do know we are working for lower wages than will maintain ourselves and families and the necessities of life. And on that proposition, we absolutely refuse to work any longer." , Thomas Heathcote, Pullman inside car finisher, Chairman of the Central Strike Committee, 1894

, [Captions:] , Top Left On a summer day circa 1890, Pulman shop workers walked through the Main Gate on their way to lunch., Left In late January 2021, historical archaeology revealed important clues about the Main Gate, including its precise location, curved walls, and floorplan. This map shows the 1880s foundation in red and the initial location of the 2021 reconstruction. Based on the discovery, the reconstruction was repositioned and placed atop a special structure that avoids touching the original stonework., Bottom An historian stands at the gatehouse entryway on January 23, 2021. The narrow diagonal line of bricks in front of him was the threshold for the guardhouse door.