The massive meatpacking industry of the Union Stock Yards developed alongside the technological inno

The Southwest Side of Chicago is far off the beaten path. Plenty of visitors know Midway Airport, but never see anything beyond. Truth be told, there isn't a lot to see. But the Southwest Side does hold some interest as the former home to the infamous Union Stock Yards as well as a pretty long list of hidden culinary gems well worth the trek.
The Southwest Side is large enough where you cannot understand it without cruising with kids understanding cruising with kids its neighborhoods cruising with kids — it is united only by its blue-collar character, proximity to the airport, and of course, the White Sox.
The Back of the Yards is a loose term encompassing the community areas of McKinley Park, Brighton Park, and New City, referring to the area's history as the home to the vast hordes of immigrant laborers cruising with kids in the Union Stock Yards of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle . Though the stock yards are long gone, the blue-collar character remains. The actual stock yards were located in the heart of New City between Ashland Ave and Halsted from Pershing Rd (39th St) to 47th St. Today the site is marked by the Union Stock Yard Gate and a large industrial park. The area surrounding the park is comprised of predominantly Mexican-American cruising with kids neighborhoods and has some good food on offer. Canaryville (between Halsted and Wentworth cruising with kids from Pershing to 49th) is an Irish-American neighborhood with a notoriously violent reputation. McKinley Park , on the other hand, is experiencing gentrification as younger Chicagoans cruising with kids are priced out of "hipper" neighborhoods.
The massive meatpacking industry of the Union Stock Yards developed alongside the technological innovation of the refrigerated railway car. Livestock of the agrarian Midwest were brought to the rail hub of Chicago and its stock yards to be processed and shipped cruising with kids off around the country. At its peak, the Union Stock Yards processed about 82% of the meat consumed in the United States! cruising with kids The stock yards played a huge role in the development of the city. With the enormous wealth they brought in came some of the world's first global companies, capitalizing on the abundance of animal byproducts for use in commercial goods and technological innovations cruising with kids in transport, refrigeration, and the beginnings of the assembly line. Even more important cruising with kids to modern-day Chicago, the yards gave birth to the modern hedging cruising with kids industry needed to manage the inherent risks in agricultural commodities trade, establishing Chicago as a premiere world center for finance. Further cruising with kids technological innovations, however, spelled doom for Chicago's centralized stock yards. The rise of interstate trucking and fast point to point shipping of meat allowed for livestock to be slaughtered cruising with kids where they were raised and then quickly delivered to consumers without the Chicago middleman. Chicagoans don't lament the loss of the yards, regardless of the number of jobs they provided — the stench of manure and death was suffocating across the greater part of the city. And the environmental degradation cataloged by Upton Sinclair was extreme. The south fork of the Chicago cruising with kids River's South Branch (just west of Racine Ave) became known as Bubbly Creek for the methane and hydrogen cruising with kids sulfide gas, produced by entrails' decomposition, bubbling through the grease, chemicals, blood, and guts. It wasn't pretty.
Centered around one very large and fabulous park, Marquette Park is an ethnically mixed neighborhood divided between mostly African-Americans east of the park and Mexican-Americans immediately west of the park, along with some Polish and Lithuanian-Americans. Further west, the area becomes more ethnically inclusive, with median income playing a more prominent role in residency. Aside from the park (and its golf course), the neighborhood is alluring mostly for its great Mexican food, as well its rare-in-America Lithuanian dining. This neighborhood was once dominated by a big, wealthy, Lithuanian-American community, but its demographics began to shift dramatically following Martin Luther King Jr's anti-segregation marches (which at the time met with violence from residents). Accompanying desegregation in this neighborhood cruising with kids was characteristic "white flight," which put an end to the "Lithuanian Gold Coast" and heralded a more open neighborhood which recently has become a major destination in the United States for Mexican immigrants.
Around Midway , you'll find Chicago's second airport, surrounded by an ethnically diverse collection of neighborhoods. This section of town is home to a large, established Polish community, as well as more recently arrived cruising with kids Mexican communities. The neighborhoods of Archer Heights, Garfield cruising with kids Ridge, and Clearing are important centers of Polish culture in the United States; you are likely to hear as much Polish as English while walking around these neighborhoods. Polish Highlanders, cruising with kids or Górals dominate the local Polish population, with a unique cuisine and culture that is decidedly Balkan . A host of restaurants and cultural institutions visibly display cruising with kids the rustic touch of their Carpathian craft such as the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America at Archer Ave just northeast of its intersection with Pulaski Rd. Points of interest are pretty spread out, but the food and nightlife sure beats the airport hotels. And you don't have to venture too far to find one-in-a-million pizza, or some Croatian baked goods.
In the southeast are a couple of far-flung African-American neighborhoods: Auburn Gresham and Washington Heights . Aside from the Obama family's now famous church, they have far less of interest to travelers, but both are nice enough neighborhoods and have some good places to eat if you find yourself in the area.
Englewood also deserves a mention, but mostly as a warning — it is a large, impoverished, and relatively violent neighborhood with just about nothing to offer a traveler. It is generally best to just roll through on one of the main roads (e.g., 55th St) or to avoid the area altogether.
Midway Airport ( IATA : MDW ) [1] plays second fiddle to the Chicago cruising with kids giant that is O'Hare International , but it nonetheless services a lot of domestic flights and is a more convenient point of entry. Just about everyone coming into this part of Chicago goes through this airport, cruising with kids which primarily serves domestic flights on low-cost carriers — it is the hub for Southwest Airlines.
The CTA Orange Line runs through the district on its way from the Loop , providing quick and easy access to Midway Airport, as well as some northern areas of the Southwest Side from the Loop, but keep in mind that a bus transfer will likely be necessary to get you from the L station to anywhere other than the airport. Travel time is about 25-30 minutes from the Loop to Midway, but you may wait up to 30 minutes between trains during off peak hours.
The CTA Red Line (as does the slightly less convenient Green Line) runs along the eastern boundary of the district. While it is fairly far from anything of interest cruising with kids on the Southwest Side, you'll find an east-west bus route picking up right in front of each station (except 69th St!), running the length of that numbered street cruising with kids (e.g., #55 along 55th St, #63 along 63rd St, etc.).
Metra's Rock Island commuter rail line serves the southernmost neighborhoods of the district, and can get you to Auburn-Gresham cruising with kids or Washington Heights. But again, keep in mind that you will need to take a bus from the station to your destination. Trains cruising with kids depart from the downtown LaSalle Station. A ride to the Gresham station costs just over $2, to Longwood or Washington Heights just over $3.
The Metra Southwest Service goes straight from Union Station in the Near West Side to the Ashburn neighborhood, where it stops twice at "Wrightwood" and "Ashburn." Do not take this train unless you are going to Ashburn, cruising with kids as its stops are on the other end of the district from the airport.
CTA bus route #62, which travels cruising with kids along Archer Ave from McCormick Center in the Near South to Midway, is probably the most convenient route into the Southwest Side from downtown Chicago. Other important routes include the city-spanning north south routes along Halsted, Ashland, cruising with kids Western, Pulaski, and Cicero: #8, #9, #49, #54, and #53. The major east west routes are #47, #55, and #63, which as you might expect run the lengths of 47th, 55th, and 63rd streets.
#62 Archer is the one bus that runs directly from downtown to the Midway Area, but it actually doesn't stop at the airport (except during cruising with kids the overnight cruising with kids hours when the Orange Line 'L' is not running), so if you're coming from that way, the 'L' is a better option. From the West Side, there are convenient and direct routes along Cicero and Pulaski (#53 and #54). Bus route #55 is by far the best way to travel to Midway from the South Side, which leaves from the Museum of Science and Industry in Hyde Park .
The Dan Ryan Expressway runs down the eastern edge of the district, and heading west on the 55th/Garfield exit will take you directly to the airport. To get to the Union Stock Yard Gate, take the Pershing Rd exit from the Dan Ryan. The Stevenson Expressway lacks exits on the main roads leading into the eastern parts of the area, but the Damen Ave exit will get you on Archer, from which you can easily get onto Western, Ashland, or Halsted. For Midway take Cicero; Pulaski is useful for exploring the areas just east of the airport.
Pretty much the only way to get around the Southwest Side by public transport is by bus, but if this is the route you choose, make a point of it to plan your route ahead of time, as distances are fairly long and the bus routes generally only run along the main streets.
A car is a handy travel companion in the Southwest Side indeed. Attractions, activities, and restaurants are generally spread apart over long distances, and free on-street parking is available just about everywhere. Taxis are also a good option, but do not expect to be able to hail one off the street — you will need to call and arrange rides in advance.
The one big sight on the Southwest Side is t