1.This Act may be cited as the
Pullman Historic Site National Park
Service Study Act
.
2.Congress finds as follows:
(1)The Historic
Pullman District, built between the years of 1880 and 1884, was established by
George M. Pullman, owner of the Pullman Palace Car Company. Pullman envisioned
an industrial town that provided employees with a model community and suitable
living conditions for workers and their families. The town, which consisted of
over 1,000 buildings and homes, was awarded The World's Most Perfect
Town
at the International Hygienic and Pharmaceutical Exposition in
1896.
(2)The Pullman
factory site is a true symbol of the historic American struggle to achieve fair
labor practices for the working class, with the original factory serving as the
catalyst for the first industry-wide strike in the United States. In the midst
of economic depression in 1894, factory workers there initiated a strike to
protest unsafe labor and reductions in pay that when taken up as a cause by the
American Railway Union (ARU) crippled the entire rail industry. The Pullman
conceived strike continued even in the face of a federal injunction and Federal
troops were sent to Chicago by President Grover Cleveland to end the strike.
Efforts made by the Pullman workers set a national example for the ability of
working Americans to change the existing system in favor of more just
practices.
(3)The Pullman Car
Company plays an important role in both American, African American and early
Civil Rights History through the legacy of the Pullman Porters, all black and
many ex-slaves receiving paid work in a heavily discriminatory environment
immediately following the Civil War. These men, who served diligently between
the 1870s and the 1960s, have been commended for their level of service and
attention to detail, as well as their contributions to the development of the
black middle class. The information, ideas, and commerce they carried across
the country helped to bring education and wealth to the black community, and
their role in the historical image of the Pullman car is unmistakable. The
struggles of A. Philip Randolph and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,
the first black union established in 1925, against discrimination and in
support of just labor practices, helped lay the groundwork for the beginnings
of the Civil Rights Movement.
(4)The preservation
of Pullman has been threatened by plans for demolition in 1960 and by a fire in
1998, which damaged the iconic clock-tower and surrounding manufacturing
buildings. The restoration and preservation led by the diligent efforts of
community organizations, foundations, non-profits, residents and the local and
state government, were vital to the protection of the site.
(5)Due to the
Pullman's historic and architectural significance, the site is designated
as—
(A)a registered
National Historic Landmark District;
(B)an Illinois State
Landmark; and
(C)a City of Chicago
Landmark district.
3.
(a)The
Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a special resource study of the
historic Pullman site in Chicago, Illinois.
(b)In
conducting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
(1)evaluate the
national significance of the site;
(2)determine the
suitability and feasibility of designating the site as a unit of the National
Park System;
(3)consider other
alternatives for preservation, protection, and interpretation of the site by
Federal, State, or local governmental entities, or private and nonprofit
organizations;
(4)consult with
interested Federal, State, or local governmental entities, private and
nonprofit organizations, or any other interested individuals;
(5)consider the
appropriate management options needed to ensure the protection, preservation,
and interpretation of the site; and
(6)identify cost
estimates for any Federal acquisition, development, interpretation, operation,
and maintenance associated with the alternatives.
(c)The study required under subsection (a) shall be conducted in
accordance with section 8 of National Park Service General Authorities Act (16
U.S.C. 1a–5).
(d)Not
later than 3 years after the date on which funds are first made available for
the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the Senate a report containing the results of the
study and any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.