“Like the face of its clock tower, the Stockyards Bank is frozen in time. Inside, the buildings’ faded splendor is visible in all the intricate architectural details.
“‘You can see, when you close your eyes, use your imagination that this was an incredible, iconic building in Chicago,’ said Rich Daniels, a director of Third Coast Music, a non-profit group looking to revitalize the building.
“The century-old bank served those working in – and passing through – the Union Stockyards, back when Chicago was ‘the hog butcher for the world,’ as author Upton Sinclair famously put it.
“‘Just to imagine these cowboys who had just driven in a bunch of cattle from the west along with guys in suits that were the real money people for this business, rubbing shoulders or whatever that expression is, in this building,’ said Katherine Hughes, a director of Third Coast Music.
“The building at 41st and Halsted Streets has been vacant since the 1970s, but Third Coast Music directors Daniels, Hughes, and Susan Chatman want to give it a second act, filling it with the sounds of the cinema.
“Third Coast Music has proposed an $80 million project to restore the bank, and to build the finest ‘scoring stage’ in the world on the vacant lot next door.
“‘We are creating something that is not in the Midwest,’ Chatman said. ‘This is something you find – scoring stages – in California on movie lots.’ A scoring stage is a performing and recording space where orchestras make Hollywood soundtracks.
“The Stockyards proposal would allow Chicago-based television shows and films to complete the whole production process in Chicago rather than having the soundtracks done in Los Angeles.” (Mike Lowe, WGN Chicago, 4/9/25)
Preservation Chicago has been advocating for the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Stock Yards Bank building for many years. The Chicago Landmark Designation prevented its demolition. We are thrilled by this adaptive reuse plan and look forward to seeing this important Chicago Landmark back in service.
Read and watch the full story at WGN Chicago
- Take it to the bank: Proposal would transform historic Stockyards Bank into state-of-the-art ‘scoring stage’ for movie music, Mike Lowe, WGN Chicago, 4/9/25
- Stockyards sites proposed for $80 million music campus to support Chicago’s film and TV industry, Dennis Rodkin, Crain’s Chicago Business, 11/18/24
- City envisions transforming vacant South Side bank building into $80 million recording complex, Brian Rogal, Chicago Tribune, 11/18/24
- What’s behind a proposed movie music production complex on Chicago’s South Side? Plans for an $80 million development on the former Chicago stockyards site include a scoring stage which would eclipse even the West Coast’s storied Skywalker Sound, Hannah Edgar, WBEZ Chicago, 12/10/24
- Historic Stock Yards Bank Could Become Music Recording Studio, Learning Center; The city selected nonprofit Third Coast Music’s proposal to develop the bank into a $80 million, state-of-the-art media production complex, Francia Garcia Hernandez, Block Club Chicago, 11/19/24
- Music Recording Complex Announced As Winner Of Back Of The Yards RFP, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 11/20/24
- Recording complex proposed for Stockyards Bank Site; The new building would stand at 821 W. Exchange Ave, Lukas Kugler, URBANIZE Chicago, 11/19/24
- The Stock Yards Bank Building, A Back Of The Yards Cornerstone, Is Ready For An Overhaul 50 Years After It Closed; The Stockyard Bank Building was born when Chicago ruled the meatpacking industry. Nearly a century later, some hope it can reshape the community, Colin Boyle, Block Club Chicago, 8/17/21
- Third Coast Music Sound Stage Proposal