A-Prime Packing Plant is the only plant that remains in The Yards which was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century. Now the old buildings are fancy offices and four star restaurants. In the early 1900s, The Yards had been confined to an area in the southern part of the city. The land itself is priceless and David’s father got supreme satisfaction by not selling when everyone else did. The area was bordered by 39th and 47th Streets and by Halstead and Ashland. There was a different ethnic neighborhood living on each border and most of the men had worked in the plants. A-Prime Packing is in the southeastern corner of The Yards. David knows zoning changes will force him to sell, but for now he shares his father’s obstinacy. He parks in front of the main office and looks up at the building. It covers an entire block and goes up to six stories high. It is entirely constructed of block and brick. The coolers and the access to the tracks are on the opposite side of the block, where the kill room is.
