This is Chicago’s meatpacking district, just west of the Loop and known as the West Loop. And like its sister in New York City, the gritty, blood-soaked and sometimes rancid-smelling neighborhood is undergoing a major transformation.Click to see full answer. Furthermore, are there still stockyards in Chicago?The Union Stockyard and Transit Company closed its doors in 1971, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The Union Stockyard and Transit Company, known commonly as The Chicago Stockyards, was a major industrial hub in Chicago for more than a century.Beside above, what area is Meatpacking District? 18 ha Likewise, where was Packingtown in Chicago? The meat packing plants that Jurgis works in are in Packingtown, Chicago. Packingtown is a section in Chicago where the packing houses are located. Chicago was the worst and biggest meat packing industry in the early 1900s. Packingtown was notorious for their awful living conditions and working conditions.Why is Chicago known for meatpacking?From the Civil War until the 1920s Chicago was the country’s largest meatpacking center and the acknowledged headquarters of the industry. Europeans brought cattle and hogs to North America, let them forage in the woods, and slaughtered them only as meat was needed. Hogs were killed only in cold weather.