Union Stockyards Gate: A Symbol of Chicago's Past

The Union Stockyards Gate, located at Exchange Avenue and Peoria Street, is a historic landmark that once served as the grand entrance to Chicago's Union Stock Yards. Established in 1865, the Union Stock Yards were the center of the American meatpacking industry for over a century, earning Chicago the nickname "hog butcher to the world". The yards spanned 475 acres and processed more meat than any other place in the world. The gate, designed by Burnham and Root around 1875 and constructed in 1879, is made of limestone and features a large central arch flanked by two smaller arches. Above the central arch is a sculpture of "Sherman," a prize-winning bull named after John B. Sherman, one of the founders of the Union Stock Yard and Transit Company. The gate is one of the few remaining structures from the original stockyards, which closed in 1971. Today, the Union Stockyards Gate stands as a symbol of Chicago's past and a reminder of the city's industrial heritage. It was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1972 and a National Historic Landmark in 1981. Just west of the gate is a memorial statue dedicated to the firefighters who died in the 1910 Chicago Union Stock Yards Fire, the deadliest building collapse in American history until 9/11.