The Packinghouse received national attention with articles in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, etc. Although such conversions are commonplace today, in the seventies this was a news feature.

It was recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in its “Main Street” program as a role model. The restaurant served as a successful example of adaptive reuse, bringing an outdated historic building to a new life. The building sat empty until 1978 when it was purchased by Jay & Mary Matson to be converted to a restaurant, the Packinghouse Dining Company, which opened in 1979. Swift operated the building continuously until 1976 when the Galesburg operationĨ. For the first 15 years of operation, all deliveries were made by horse-drawn carriages.ħ. It was not until 1927 that Swift introduced trucks to make deliveries. The open-air area of the front entrance carried all the way through the building to the north side.Ħ. The west side of the building was originally a stable for horses. The sides of beef would be processed into smaller portions to be delivered to butchers and grocery stores within a 50-mile radius of Galesburg.ĥ. The building could accommodate 120 sides of beef per delivery.Ĥ. Adjoined the building on the north side, and allowed for sides of beef to be transferred from the refrigerated rail car directly into the building (through the exit door on the north side of the dining room). The Galesburg building was serviced by a rail spur off the mainline, whichģ. Swift revolutionized the meat industry by using refrigerated rail cars to supply beef from Chicago throughout the country. It was a processing plant, not a slaughterhouse. It cost $50,000 and was built like a fortress with solid steel and concrete.Ģ. The company constructed the building and opened it on December 16, 1912.

M.e.a.t. chicago radius