The city’s decision to bring street vendors back to Maxwell Street on the Near West Side this summer is laudable — and will likely include free pork chop sandwiches.
Thirty years ago, merchants were forced out of the area when the site was redeveloped by the city of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
But the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events’ decision to temporarily return merchants to their historic home starting Sunday and then the last Sunday through October honors the original Maxwell Street’s place in Chicago’s history. It represents.
The Maxwell Street vendor currently has a weekly location at 800 S. Desplaines St.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a news release that the market “not only promotes entrepreneurship, but also provides critical opportunities for small businesses, including artisans, artists, farmers, restaurateurs and resellers.” Stated.
Ministry of Culture officials said the market will be held on Maxwell Street between Halstead Street and Union Avenue, then in Union from Rochford Street to Liberty Street.
A century of cultural significance
The original Maxwell Street area was in disrepair by the time it was demolished and cleared by the city and UIC, leaving merchants and street vendors with commercial buildings in embarrassing disrepair and roads so rough they could break ankles and car axles. I was trying to make money. The city closed the original Maxwell Street in 1994.
But what was lost to the bulldozers was a site with a century of cultural significance. The area, then concentrated along Halsted Street south of Roosevelt Street, was home to first-generation Jewish, black, and Latino merchants selling everything from pots and pans to suits and hubcaps. It was a retail store on Ellis Island.
A street vendor on Maxwell Street.
Provided by Chicago Defender
The Maxwell Street Polish, with mustard, poppy seed bun, sport pepper and grilled onions, became popular there, as did the pork chop sandwich.
Starting in the 1940s, this was also a place where musicians set up shop along the sidewalk and entertained shoppers with live blues music. However, a new type of blues called “electric blues” emerged that used amplified guitars and harmonicas to create a world-class sound. famous.
“For wave after wave of immigrants, Maxwell Street was the gateway to America,” according to the nonprofit Maxwell Street Foundation. “Then the Great Migration brought African Americans from the South, each bringing their own culture and aspirations to its vibrant streets and the markets they spawned. It made it a richer place.”
Maxwell Street may not be quite as legendary this summer. But writing a new chapter while remembering the region’s past, and finding a bargain or two in the process, is an extremely worthwhile endeavor.
Send your letter to letters@suntimes.com
