Chicago Stockyards

Chicago Stockyards


This is the front of the Stockyard golf hole at Navy Pier. Can you see the conveyor belt in the back? Can you see the blades?	These represent the blades that cut the meat. The meat would go on a conveyor belt to get to the blades. Then, after the meat is cut, it is rolled out.	This represents the assembly line that they had at the stockyards. Cattle and pigs were shipped to Chicago to be butchered for food. All the parts of the animals were used. Nothing was wasted!

Research and photography by: Sarah A.

Address:	39th Street to 47th Street from Halsted to Ashland Avenue
A brief history of this landmark:	The largest livestock market and meat processing center in the world was from 39th Street to 47th Street and from Halsted to Ashland Avenue. There were a lot of people that were different cultures that worked at the Stockyards. Each culture had their own neighborhood. The biggest stockyard could slaughter 1,200 hogs an hour. A lot of people visited the Stockyards. A common salary in 1931 was 32 1/2 cents a hour. Women got 10 cents or more an hour. There were large and small stockyards around Chicago.
The importance of this landmark to Chicago is:	Chicago was home of the biggest meat packers and stockyards. Stockyards sent meat all over the country by fast train. Without stockyards they could not make tennis racket strings because they used to be made out of the guts from some animals. There was a lot of meat at the Stockyards and without them there wouldn't be any meat in Chicago.
I think people should visit this landmark because:	The stockyards are not there today but in the past, they could buy meat and they can see and learn how they cut meat.
Bibliography::	Slaughter House of the World. http://www.chicagohos.org/.5/24/05. Orear, Leslie F. The Chicago Stockyards in the Eve of the CIO. (1936). http://www.kentlaw.edu 5/24/05.