>> FULTON MARKET IS HOME TO SOME

OF THE TRENDIEST RESTAURANTS AND

HIGHEST REFERENTS BUT THE

HISTORY IS HARDLY NEW.

GEOFFREY BAER TAKES US BACK IN

THIS WEEK'S EDITION OF "ASK

GEOFFREY".

>> HELLO.

>> THIS QUESTION COMES FROM

RAY...

>> WELL, AS YOU POINTED OUT,

TODAY WE KNOW OF THAT WEST LOOP

AREA FOR ALL THE HIGH-END

RESTAURANTS, LOSTS AND CORPORATE

HEADQUARTERS LIKE GOOGLE AND

McDONALD'S IS THERE AND THIS

IS A FAR CRY FROM THE AREA'S

FORMER LIFE WHEN IT WAS AN

INTEGRAL PART OF CHICAGO'S

MEATPACKING INDUSTRY WHERE

ANIMALS WERE PROCESSED AND SOLD

WHOLESALE IN LARGE QUANTITIES.

IN FACT, THE BUILDINGS THAT OUR

QUESTION ASKER ONCE OWNED ARE

THE OLDEST MEATPACKING

BUILDINGS.

ONCE HOME OF THE FULTON STREET

MARKET COMPANY.

THESE BUILDINGS ONCE HOUSED

DOZENS OF MEAT WHOLESALERS.

AND YOU CAN SEE IN THE

ILLUSTRATION PUBLISHED SHORTLY

AFTER THE BUILDING OPENED IN

1887, THE COMPANIES SOLD DRESSED

BEEF, HOGS AND VEAL.

THEY SOLD THEIR WARES TO HOTELS,

RESTAURANTS GROCERY STORES AND

BUTCHERS AND IT WAS COMMON SOLD

THE HIDES AS WELL.

AND IT BOOMED IN THIS WEST LOOP

AREA OVER THE NEXT FEW DECADES.

SEVERAL DOZEN ADDITIONAL

COMPANIES POPPED UP.

LOOK AT THIS VIEW OF FULTON

WHOLESALE BUILDINGS.

THIS CAME FROM 1955.

ORGANIZED CHAOS.

IT WAS IN THESE BUILDINGS THAT

OUR QUESTIONER'S FATHER WORKED

AT WHAT WAS CALLED A STATIONARY

ENGINEER.

HE TOOK CARE OF THE BOILER IN

THE BUILDING.

HIS SON RAY JR. EVENTUALLY OWNED

THE BUILDINGS INCLUDE THE ONES

HIS FATHER WORKED IN AS AN

ENGINEER.

HE OWNED THEM FOR A FEW YEARS IN

THE MID-1980s.

>> HOW WAS FULTON MARKET RELATED

TO THE STOCKYARDS ON THE SOUTH

SIDE?

>> THE STOCKYARDS WERE THE

CENTER OF INDUSTRIAL SCALE

MEATPACKING.

BRING PORT, SOUTH BRANCH OF THE

CHICAGO RIVER FAMOUS FOR MAKING

CHICAGO HOG BUTCHER IN THE

WORLD.

SO FULTON MARKET UP ON THE NORTH

SIDE WEST OF THE LOOP, WAS

MOSTLY MADE UP OF SMALLER

INDEPENDENT MEAT PACKERS AND

WHOLESALERS.

ALTHOUGH EARLY ON SOME OF THE

MAJOR COMPANIES FROM THE

STOCKYARD ARMOR AND SWIFT SETUP

LOCATIONS ON FULTON STREET TO

EXPAND THEIR DISTRIBUTION.

THE AREA WAS A NATURAL FIT FOR

THE COMPANIES BECAUSE JUST A FEW

BLOCKS SOUTH OF FULTON IS

RANDOLPH STREET.

ONCE THE HOME TO A MASSIVE OPEN

AIR PRODUCE MARKET THAT SUPPLIED

MUCH OF CHICAGO'S FRESH FOOD.

RANDOLPH STREET'S HISTORY AS A

MARKET GOES BACK TO THE

BEGINNINGS OF CHICAGO IN THE

1850s.

THE CITY BUILT A STRUCTURE

CIRCLED IN RED CALLED THE WEST

MARKET HALL WHICH WAS RIGHT IN

THE MIDDLE OF RANDOLPH STREET AT

DES PLAINES IN 1850 AND THAT

SPAWNED A SPRAWLING WHOLESALE

MARKET THAT ATTRACTED LOCAL

FARMERS AND OTHER COMPANIES TO

RANDOLPH STREET AND THAT LED TO

THE CONSTRUCTION OF PERMANENT

WHOLESALE BUILDINGS KNOWN AS

THEY WERE CALLED COMMISSION

HOUSES.

AND LIKE ITS NEIGHBOR ON FULTON

STREET MANY OF THOSE BUSINESSES

ARE GONE.

BUT THEY HAVE LEFT THEIR

PERMANENT MARK ON THE

NEIGHBORHOOD.

THINK, IF YOU'VE BEEN DOWN TO

RANDOLPH STREET, GOING TO

RESTAURANTS LOOK HOW WIDE THAT

IS.

SO YOU WILL NOTICE IT'S VERY

WIDE WITH EXPANDED LANES ON

EITHER SIDE BECAUSE THE STREET

WAS WIDENED SEVERAL TIMES AROUND

THE TURN OF THE CENTURY TO

ACCOMMODATE THE TRUCKS AND

WAGONS THAT WERE FREQUENTING THE

WHOLESALE WAREHOUSES TO OGDEN

AVENUE NEW.

>> AND TODAY MOST OF THE

BUILDINGS HAVE BEEN REPURPOSED?

>> ABSOLUTELY.

STARTING IN THE 1980s AND

90s, THE NEIGHBORHOOD SAW A

HUGE INFLUX OF RESTAURANTS AND

OTHER COMPANIES MOVING TO THE

LOOP.

MANY PEOPLE CITE OPRAH WINFREY'S

HARPO STUDIOS MOVED TO RANDOLPH

AND MAY STREETS AS THE START OF

THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGE.

SOME OF THE CITY'S TOP

RESTAURANTS CAN BE FOUND ALONG

RANDOLPH AND FULTON TODAY.

AND THEN AS WE SAID BEFORE HUGE

COMPANIES LIKE GOOGLE HAVE SETUP

SHOP.

AND McDONALD'S MOVED THEIR

HEADQUARTERS TO THE FORMER SITE

OF OPRAH WINFREY'S STUDIOS.

THAT BUILDING WAS TORN DOWN AND

THE HEADQUARTERS WAS BUILT.

BUT THERE ARE STILL A FEW

MEATPACKING COMPANIES AROUND.

MANY OF THEM HAVE DOWNTOWN ROOTS

IN THE AREA.

AND PIONEER MEATPACKING COMPANY

THEY PACK AND SELL LAMB, VEAL,

POULTRY AND OTHER PRODUCTS.

AND I HAVE TO GIVE A PLUG HERE

WE WILL BE FEATURING THIS WEST

LOOP AREA IN MY NEW UP COMING

SHOW, CHICAGO BY L.

WHICH IS GOING TO BE DEBUTING ON

MARCH 4TH ON WTTW.

>> WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO

THAT.

AND IT MAKES SENSE THAT THE

COMMUNITY RESTAURANT ROW

PROVIDING A LOT OF FOOD TO

CHICAGOANS.

>> RETAIL NOW.

>> YES.

THANK YOU GEOFFREY.