Photography by Richard E. Loftis

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"The Kansas City Stockyards were a cornerstone of early city development and formed a significant part of Kansas City's economy. The stockyards (as well as the Hannibal bridge) were designed by the very famous civil engineer -- Octave Chanute -- in 1871. Chanute later became a world renowned aviation figure. Not only being very instrumental in the activities of the Wright Brothers, Chanute also played a large part in the activities of many other early aviators in the United States and Europe.

At their peak, the Kansas City Stockyards claimed 600 acres in the West Bottoms area of Kansas City. When I started photographing the stockyards in the mid-1980s, they were almost entirely destroyed.

The following historic photographs of the remaining stockyards were taken in the mid to late 1980s."

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