The original location of the stockyards was southeast of downtown, along the east side of what is now I-35 N and south of E. Lancaster Avenue. This second location centered east of the intersection of Exchange Avenue and N. Main Street and is the historic heart of “Cowtown.” Cattle driving trails, of which the Chisholm is best known, ran north through downtown along what is now Commerce Street, crossed the Trinity River at a ford, and headed to the yards along Marine Creek, where the cattle were loaded into rail cars for transport north. Among the notable structures in the Stockyards district is the Thannisch Block (1907; 109 E. Exchange), built by Colonel Thomas Marion Thannisch and known historically as the Stockyards Hotel. The three-story brick structure was expanded in 1913. The Stockyards today is a tourist attraction of restaurants and shopping, with an occasional “drive” of longhorns down the street.
Headquarters for the competing Swift and Armour meatpacking endeavors were built at the east end of the Stockyards in 1902. Both structures remain and have been rehabilitated to serve other uses. Remnants of the south entrance stair to Swift and Company remain on NE 23rd Street.