Update: The pens shown above have since been demolished for the construction of the new Mississippi River bridge.

The National Stockyards are still impressive to see, even in their heavily demolished and abandoned state. The mule stables are the primary portion of the site that is still left; most of the rest was wood construction and is now gone.

The rows of columns create an interesting vista, showing the sheer size of the complex. Below are extant troughs for feeding animals.

Beyond the buildings, a wasteland of brush and other overgrowth stretches out for miles in every direction.

It is unfortunately also a site of immense illegal dumping.

It is only one fraction of what was once a whole complex of slaughter houses, holding pens and rail yards.