Maxwell St. Events During the 1998 Chicago Blues Festival, June 4 - June 7.

-- info provided by the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition

Background: Meetings at City Hall have taken place with the University of Illinois, The City of Chicago Dept. of Planning and Development, and the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition to try to save the old Maxwell Street area as a historic district. We await the University's decision. This may be the last year people will have the opportunity to visit this historic area to imbibe its continuity of culture of over 120 years.

• During the entire festival, a Preserve Maxwell St. display and literature will be available at the Chicago Blues Festival in the Grant Park booth shared with the Foundation for the Advancement of Blues and the Chicago Public Library Blues Archive. In the early afternoon we hope to have some Maxwell Street Blues veterans stop by to talk. Click here to see us last year at the Festival.

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  • During the entire festival, have lunch at Original Jim's Hot Dog Stand and visit Heritage Bluesbus Music next door. Visit this corner and catch up on news from Mississippi. Original Jim's is at northwest corner of South Halsted and Maxwell Street, about two miles Southwest from Grant Park. Jim's is a landmark Chicago institution and is at the heart of the old Maxwell Street area. Many Blues legends dined here on polish sausages and got electricity for their amps. Across the street was where Little Walter and Jimmy Rogers first got recorded in Chicago and was where the John Lee Hooker played in the movie, Blues Brothers. Next door, Reverend Johnson runs Heritage Bluesbus Music and it contains a mini Maxwell Street Museum in progress. He owned the famous blue Bluesbus that sold records and tapes in the old market.
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  • Friday evening, June 5, from 5PM to 11PM. Opening reception for an art exhibit, On Old Maxwell Street: bargains galore, artifacts, art, photography, and things that made the market famous. At the Roberto Lopez Gallery in the Flat Iron Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, IL 60622 (PH: 773-227-6221). This is in the Wicker Park neighborhood. This exhibit will run from June 5 to June 30, every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 12-5 or by appointment.
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  • Saturday, June 6, from 4:30PM to 6:00PM. Hear blues legend Jimmie Lee Robinson play at the Acoustic Blues Stage in Grant Park, on Columbus Drive south of Jackson. Jimmie Lee was born and raised in the old Maxwell Street area and has a new CD out called Maxwell Street Blues. He will be playing songs from that CD at this performance, including the now famous: Maxwell Street Teardown Blues.
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  • The morning of Sunday, June 7 (9AM to noon). Visit the New Maxwell Street outdoor market at the corner of Canal and Roosevelt Road, about a mile and half from Grant Park. The vibrant immigrant spirit is still alive at this bustling market of over 400 vendors. Weather permitting, we hope to have an old fashioned Maxwell Street Blues thing in the Earl Schieb parking lot at the northwest corner of Roosevelt and Canal. Piano C. Red is expected to lead the jam.
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  • Sunday, June 7 (10AM and Noon). Free tours of the old Maxwell Street area starting at the New Maxwell Market at the White Place Grill, northeast corner of Roosevelt and Canal. Visit the area where many Chicago Blues legends started playing when they first came to Chicago in the 1940s. Learn about the Jewish, Mexican, and Mississippi cultures that called Maxwell Street home. The spirits of blues legends still fill the air there and the scent of fried onions never smelled better. The tour will last about 1 1/2 hours. Wear good walking shoes.
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  • The evening of Sunday, June 7, at Rosa's Lounge starting at 9:30PM. Maxwell St. Blues Jam with Iceman Robinson and Lurrie Bell. Iceman played in the old Maxwell Street Market in the 1960s and has that genuine soulful Westside sound. Lurrie Bell is an outstanding younger blues artist, steeped in the traditions of old Maxwell Street. Lurrie's father, Carrey Bell, played there in the 1940s with most of the legends. Rosa's is at 3420 W. Armitage Ave. in the Logan Square neighborhood. Ph: 773-342-0452.

For more information on any of these events contact the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition at 312-341-3696 or email us at mar@interaccess.com. Check our website for future updates <http://www.openair.org/maxwell/preserve.html>.

Tours by arrangement can be made available by calling Professor Steve Balkin <312-341-3696> or Lori Grove <312-421-0078>

Click here for a virtual tour of Maxwell Street.

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