For better or worse, the iconic architectural symbol of Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood is its shuttered and abandoned rail car factory. Manufacturing built Pullman, and brought tens of thousands of people to this corner of the city’s Far South Side.
Of course, that was a long time ago. But factories are making a comeback in this hardscrabble part of the city. If you’ve ever bought Method soap at Target, you’re buying a hometown product. And soon the CTA rail cars you ride to work will be made in Pullman, thanks to a deal between the transit authority and a Chinese company.
WGN-TV’s honey-voiced midday anchor Steve Sanders shows us another new product now being manufactured in Pullman: vegetables.