Brighton Park

The Santa Fe Railroad built Corwith Yards in Brighton Park in 1887. The rail yard, which at the time was the world's largest, was the end of the line for trains full of livestock that was bound for the neighboring Union Stock Yards. Because of the busy rail yard, as well as the thousands of manufacturing jobs in the area, Brighton Park saw an influx of European immigrants during this time. 

The Union Stock Yards have closed and many of the area's manufacturing jobs have disappeared, but the rail yard still plays a significant role in the Brighton Park neighborhood. Now called the Corwith Intermodal Facility, the yard "handles much more freight than it did in its 19th-century heyday," mostly in the form of shipping containers. The neighborhood has also seen population growth in recent years. According to the 2000 Census, Brighton Park's population has grown back to within a couple thousand of its peak in 1930.