Chicago’s Union Stock Yard opened on Christmas Day 1865 and became a must-see tourist attraction, drawing more than half a million visitors each year, from school groups to visiting dignitaries. At its peak, 50,000 employees processed six hundred animals an hour.

Dominic A. Pacyga, author of Slaughterhouse, will share the story of the Union Stock Yard, chronicling the rise and fall of an industrial district, that, for better or worse, served as the public face of Chicago for decades. Pacyga grew up in the shadow of the stockyards, and spent his summers in their hog house and cattle yards. He will explore the rough and toxic life inside the plants, and how the yards shaped the surrounding neighborhoods and controlled the livelihoods of thousands of families.

April marks the 60th anniversary of the official movement that rescued Glessner House from a shaky future. On April 16, 1966, twenty preservationists signed a resolution creating the Chicago School of Architecture Foundation with its first goal being the acquisition of the house. After the house was purchased in December 1966 for $35,000, the real work began - how would it be maintained and restored, and what types of exhibitions, public programs, and educational offerings would breathe new life into the 80-year-old structure?

Over the decades the house served as an incubator for the emerging preservation movement in Chicago, brought together leading architects and urban planners to consider the past, present, and future of Chicago architecture, and became a world-class fully-restored house museum, celebrating H. H. Richardson and the Glessner family. One of the first two buildings in the city designated an official Chicago landmark in 1970, it earned National Historic Landmark status in 1976.

Separating from the Foundation in 1994, the house has operated as an independent non-profit since that time, continuing the restoration and interpretation of the house, embracing modern technology including geothermal to position it for the 21st century, and defining the site as a cultural center for its South Loop community and beyond.

This presentation, by William Tyre, Executive Director and Curator, will explore some of the highlights of our first 60 years, as we look ahead to the next 60 years - and beyond!

SOLD OUT! This tour will explore the world of Chicago’s Union Stock Yard, which opened on Christmas Day in 1865. Serving as the public face of Chicago for decades (think Carl Sandburg’s “Hog Butcher for the World”), it created and defined the working-class neighborhoods around it, and controlled the livelihoods of thousands of families.

The event begins with a private tour of the Packingtown Museum led by curator Dominic A. Pacyga. The museum officially opened in October 2021, and is located at 1400 West 46th Street in The Plant, built in 1925 for Buehler Brothers. The tour will explore themes ranging from labor and immigration to food production and community development.

We will then board a chartered bus for a two-hour tour led by Pacyga through five stockyard neighborhoods - Back of the Yards, Canaryville, Bridgeport, McKinley Park, and Bronzeville. The tour will explore the working-class housing, as well as the churches, schools, and parks that defined the communities. Stops will include the landmark Union Stock Yard gate and St. Gabriel’s Church, both designed by Burnham & Root.

Join us in the beautiful home of The Fortnightly of Chicago for our annual gala, Celebrating Frances Glessner.

Frances Macbeth Glessner (1848-1932) was an extraordinarily gifted woman. Her talents ranged from embroidery to silversmithing, and jewelry making to beekeeping. An accomplished pianist, she and her husband John were among the most devoted supporters of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during the first four decades of its existence, regularly welcoming the leading musicians of the world into their home.

The event, styled as a summer garden party, will include small bites and beverages, and the opportunity to tour the former home of Bryan and Helen Lathrop, an 1892 Georgian Revival masterpiece by McKim, Mead & White, which has served as the home of The Fortnightly since 1923. Frances Glessner was an active member of The Fortnightly for more than 50 years and presented the organization with a beautiful silver sweetmeat dish she handcrafted in 1905, which will be on display.

A brief program will include a welcome from the current president of The Fortnightly, remarks on Frances Glessner and her impact on Chicago, and the presentation of the annual John and Frances Glessner Award to Linda Miller, immediate past president of Friends of Historic Second Church.