Date: Tue, 24 Jun 1997
Dear Chancellor. Broski:
I am writing this letter in response to the University's plans to complete the redevelopment of the historic Roosevelt/Halsted/Maxwell neighborhood on the city's Near West Side. For years I have witnessed the continuing expansion of UIC as the wrecking ball has demolished block after block to make way for classrooms, dorms, athletic facilities and parking lots. Now that only a small corner of the original neighborhood still exists, I believe that it is time for a new approach to university expansion in the area.
It is obvious that this commercial district has fallen on hard times now that the surrounding residential neighborhoods have been depopulated and the open-air market has been relocated a few blocks to the east. I do believe that it is time to make more than a token effort to commemorate the past history of this district. Rather than a few memorials or plaques marking what used to be there, an effort should be made to preserve and rehabilitate the commercial structures that remain. Every effort should be made to accommodate the existing businesses while integrating them with the new enterprises that serve a multitude of purposes, including the needs of the university.
The commercial area should be transformed into a kind of living museum that shows the metamorphosis of the Near West Side through its various stages as a port of entry for newcomers, be they Eastern European Jews, southern Blacks, Latin Americans and others who have called this neighborhood home. Tasteful rehabilitation of existing properties as well as new infill construction faithful to historic architectural styles would result in a district that could bring us back to the time before urban renewal forever changed the face of inner city Chicago.
How could this small, historic commercial area function in 1990's Chicago? I can envision a shopping area that would serve not only the needs of the university community but also the ethnic groups that have always supported the established businesses and the open air market that once existed there. An effort should be made to incorporate as many ethnic-type businesses as possible featuring restaurants, grocers, delis, import stores and a farmers market. There should be cultural attractions especially featuring Chicago Blues. All this in a kind of international bazaar in an historic setting. Museums dealing with immigration and the ethnic history of the area would be a natural for the neighborhood. Relocating the open-air market back to the area between Halsted Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway and from Roosevelt Road to 15th Street would be an excellent idea. The stretch of Maxwell St. from Union St. up to and including the intersection of Halsted and Maxwell should be recreated much as it was in the 1940's and 1950's. While the number of stores, sidewalk vendor's stands, shoppers and bargain hunters may never be as plentiful as they were in that era, the lively atmosphere can be recreated. It would be an interesting place for locals and tourists alike.
This small corner of Chicago, set on the edge of a great urban university could become a lively and popular destination for visitors. It can be a great opportunity for the university to show that it can coexist with the surrounding community and preserve and revitalize one of the more historic parts of Chicago. This would definitely showcase the University of Illinois at Chicago as a great institution of this city.
I work in the field of urban planning for the State of Illinois and I have traveled extensively throughout the world noticing how various communities preserve the past while integrating the new with the old. You have the same opportunity to do the same here in Chicago.
Sincerely,
Alan R. Fijal
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