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“All of us came from different countries, and we need to know our roots and what we did and why we did it.”
“Todos nosotros llegamos de diferentes países y debemos conocer nuestras raíces y lo que hicimos y por qué lo hicimos.”
– Dominic Pacyga, professor emeritus of history at Columbia College Chicago, and curator of the Packingtown Museum
Museo de Chicago recupera la historia de los rastros Union Stockyards by Antonio Zavala
For English translation: Chicago Museum Recovers History of Union Stockyards Traces
La Raza, Jan. 2024
“Before even stepping into the building, I would say, just take in the neighborhood. … Appreciate the neighborhood and the surrounding environment to understand the history that’s being presented in the exhibit.”
– Ivan Guzman, Curatorial Assistant for the Packingtown Museum, providing advice to first-time visitors
At the Packingtown Museum, Discover Yesterday’s Stockyards, Today’s Back of the Yards and the Future of Food by Maureen Kelleher
Block Club Chicago, June 2023
“Featuring vintage photos of stockyard workers, concrete ceilings fitted with steel rails that once carried hog and cattle carcasses, and eerie old refrigerator doors, the museum may give even the most bacon-obsessed visitor pause. …It’s a must-visit for anyone who cares about Chicago history.”
– Joanna Marszałek
Best of Chicago 2022: Best Tiny Museum for History Buffs
Chicago Magazine, July 2022
“(We) wanted the mural to speak to the building’s mission and also to celebrate the area’s meatpacking history and the people, many of them immigrants, who powered it.”
– John Edel, Bubbly Dynamics LLC, owner/operator of The Plant and the Packingtown Museum
A Pig and a Steer and a Whole Lot of History are Packed into Back of the Yards Mural
Chicago Sun-Times, Nov. 2020
“The museum will definitely make people think about what they eat, where it comes from, how it’s sourced.”
– Carolee Kokola, Bubbly Dynamics LLC, owner/operator of The Plant and the Packingtown Museum
Packingtown Museum Seeks to Tell how Chicago became ‘Hog Butcher for the World’
Chicago Sun-Times, Nov. 2018
“The story of meatpacking in Chicago is a story of American capitalism.”
– Dominic Pacyga, professor emeritus of history at Columbia College Chicago, and curator of the Packingtown Museum
The Union Stock Yards: A Story of American Capitalism
WTTW
“I never saw cause to leave the neighborhood.… it’s just a little patch in the city that’s been a comfort zone.”
Susan O’Dea interviewed her husband, John O’Dea, about growing up in Canaryville and his family’s work in the Yards, through StoryCorps Chicago
WBEZ, Aug. 2018