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Maxwell Street, is a short street in Chicago, Illinois (about a block or two long), near Halsted Street and Roosevelt Road. The area is just south of "Greek Town", on what was in its Heyday, the west side of the city. Because of its being part of the old Jewish neighborhood in Chicago, the entire area was colloquially known as "Jew Town". Although there were many fine stationary department stores located nearby, it had the character of an open air market, and was the precursor to the flea market scene in Chicago. One could almost buy anything there, legal and illegal. The old Chicago Police Academy on O'Brien Street, was adjacent to it. Maxwell Street was later famous for its blues music and street musicians, and became an important part of black culture in the city.
For more than a century, Maxwell Street was a port of entry into Chicago for immigrants arriving from all over Europe, Latin America and the southern states. In need of jobs and quick cash, entrepreneuring upstarts came to Maxwell Street – many say the largest open-air market in the country – to develop a livelihood. From clothes, to produce, to cars, appliances, tools, and virtually anything anyone might want, Maxwell Street offered discount items to consumers and was an economic hub for poor people looking to get ahead. This milieu of culture and ethnicity was a distinctly American phenomenon and Maxwell Street was known as the Ellis Island of the Midwest.
In the 1930’s & 40’s, when many black musicians came to Chicago from the segregated south, they brought with them outdoor music.
But when the early blues musicians began playing in the streets of Maxwell – the place where they could be heard by the greatest number of people -- they realized they needed either a louder than standard Resonator guitar (e.g. Arvella Gray) or amplifiers and electrical instruments (e.g. Jim Brewer) in order to be heard. From the filthy streets of Chicago’s near-west side, by sheer accident, a new musical genre was born – electrified, urban blues, later coined The Chicago Blues.
This music was different from the acoustic, country blues, which was played in the south. This amplified, new sound was popularized by blues giants like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Bo Diddley and Howlin Wolf, and evolved into rock & roll.
Bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Cream and Led Zeppelin owe a tremendous debt to the early Chicago Blues artists who developed their sound on Maxwell Street.
The University of Illinois at Chicago's expansion into Maxwell Street
The University of Illinois at Chicago was established at the Harrison/Halsted area in 1965, the location chosen by Mayor Richard J Daley. It was especially unpopular to the locals, who had been promised more low-income housing by the city, and there were numerous protests. The university had little interaction with the surrounding community, and decided against keeping local businesses in it's plans for expansion in the 1980s. The college slowly began buying land in the Maxwell area, and demolishing the buildings. It is rumored that the university never officially announced their plans in the 80s, but circulated speculation that they were going to exercise eminent domain, which was in fact backed by state legislation. This strategy would have saved the school millions of dollars, not only because people slowly moved out and did not have to be compensated, but also because real estate prices continued to drop thru the 80s and early 90s because of the rumors. When the school finally made public its plans to move the Maxwell Street Market, and demolish the buildings, the community tried to petition to designate the Maxwell Street Market area a National Historic District in 1994. The proposal was eventually turned down due to the efforts of the university, backed by Mayor Richard M Daley (son of Richard J Daley).
New Maxwell Street Market
In 1994, the Maxwell Street Market was demolished due to the expansion of the University of Illinois at Chicago. The City of Chicago subsequently moved the market a few blocks away to Canal Street. This outdoor market was named the New Maxwell Street Market. It will move again in 2007 to nearby Des Plaines Street.
Maxwell Street Polish
Maxwell Street was the home of the Maxwell Street Polish Sausage sandwich. The famous entrepreneur, Ron Popeil, began his career at Maxwell Street. In the early twenty-first century, the area became an upscale housing and shopping development.
Maxwell Street In Popular Culture
Portrayed as a thriving ethnically African-American community, Maxwell Street was featured in the 1980 cult classic, The Blues Brothers. The scene featured the two stars, "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues - played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, looking for Matt 'Guitar' Murphy and Lou 'Blue Lou' Marini to get their band back together. Upon entering, John Lee Hooker is playing "Boom Boom" on the street, and it shows some typical street shots as well as the famous Cheat You Fair. Once the song ends, Jake and Elwood go into Matt's resturaunt, who is waited by his wife, Aretha - played by Aretha Franklin. When Matt is excited that the band is getting back together, Aretha launches into "Think". In the end, much to Aretha's dismay, Matt turns in his apron in, and hits the road with the Blues Brothers.
"Maxwell Street"