The Union Stock Yard Gate

A classic and must-see Chicago landmark, The Union Stock Yard Gate is located on Chicago's South Side, on a plaza in the center of Exchange Avenue at its junction with Peoria Street. This position marked the principal eastern entrance to the Union Stock Yards, which occupied several hundred acres to the west. It is a limestone construction with a central main arch flanked by two smaller arches.

The Union Stock Yard was established in 1865, as a place to centralize the city's growing meatpacking industry. Its early facilities were constructed out of wood, with some elements later rebuilt in stone. This gate was built in 1879, and was probably designed by Daniel Burnham and John W. Root, who were responsible for the design of other structures in the yards. The gate and an accompanying gatehouse (since demolished), were the only substantial buildings to survive a fire that leveled the yards in 1934.

Restored in the 1970s, the limestone gate now stands as one of the few reminders of Chicago's past dominance in the meatpacking industry. Over the arch of the gate, Root included a now famous bust of "Sherman," the favorite prize-winning bull of John B. Sherman. The gate was designated an official Chicago Landmark on February 24, 1972, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 1972. It was then designated a National Historic Landmark on May 29, 1981. Directly behind the gate is a memorial statue for Chicago firefighters. The statue is located there because of the Chicago Union Stock Yards Fire, and around the base are engraved the names of all Chicago firefighters ever killed in the line of duty.