Beginnings In 1892,
Frederick Henry Prince, a financier and railroad magnate, acquired south Chicago's Central Junction Railway, which connected the
Union Stockyards with Chicago's major trunk lines to other cities. Seeing that the stockyards would not provide enough business for his railway, Prince began purchasing adjacent land. The CMD began in 1905 by developing a square mile adjacent to the Union Stockyards. The development ultimately led to $20 million (1905 $USD) worth of streets, sewers, rail facilities, docks, and other improvements. The district had its own architectural department and its own engineers to supervise the construction that it provided for its customers. The C.M.D. is considered the first modern industrial park, though it is predated by similar, but less encompassing developments such as
Industry City in
Brooklyn and
Trafford Park in
Manchester. Prince served as one of the CMD's two trustees from its founding. Prince then built the
Stockyards-Kenwood elevated railway to assist commuters in getting to the C.M.D. During its peak, The district's tenants included
Ford Motor Company,
Rexall, the
Pullman Company, and
Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The
private railroad police that patrolled the
Chicago Junction Railway had an approximately 100 percent conviction rate; private security also patrolled the grounds on motorcycle. Fire safety was assured by spreading apart the buildings, by
wire-glass windows and metal frames, and by the CMD's 250,000-gallon
sprinkler tower. According to
Central Manufacturing District Magazine, lots were standardized "to accommodate the most economical building units, to eliminate waste ground, and to give an ideal arrangement of improvements and facilities with easy accessibility." Concrete tunnels were dug between plants and the CMD's freight station so that
electric tractors could haul goods back and forth. Only one out of the CMD's hundreds of companies failed during the
Great Depression. The CMD reduced rental and interest payments, extended credit, and forgave temporary mispayments during the 1930s. Prominent businesspeople of the district joined the CMD Club, which held various social activities. The CMD bragged of good housing "built for workers at cost" that could be found near the CMD's plants.
Decline In 1957, the Stockyards-Kenwood elevated railway shut down after twenty years of deferred maintenance, limiting commuter options into the C.M.D. The Centex Industrial Park, in suburban
Elk Grove Village, Illinois, inspired by the C.M.D. eventually became the preferred industrial form with its high, single story warehouses taking tenants from the C.M.D. After changing hands several times, the Wrigley Factory at West 35th Street and South Ashland Avenue was demolished. ==Geography==