The gate was designed by Burnham and Root around 1875, and is the only significant structural element of the stock yards to survive.

The Union Stock Yard Gate is located on Chicago's South Side, on a plaza in the center of Exchange Avenue at its junction with Peoria Street.

This position marked the principal eastern entrance to the stock yards, which occupied several hundred acres to the west.

Restored in the 1970s, the limestone gate now stands as one of the few reminders of Chicago's past dominance in the meat packing industry.

The gate was designated an official Chicago Landmark on February 24, 1972, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 1972.