For Immediate Release
Contact: Steve Balkin, phone: 312-341-3696, e-mail <mar@interaccess.com>
For most of this century, Chicago's Maxwell Street was a lively commercial avenue of storefronts and street vendors, swarming with recent immigrants and other customers in search of bargains. It was famously scented with the aroma of grilled onions and sausages, and rang with the sounds of blues and gospel music.
Today, much of the old Maxwell Street neighborhood is gone, replaced by baseball fields and parking lots. What remains is severely pot-holed; its sidewalks dangerously fractured. Many of its buildings are empty and boarded.
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), which owns those ball fields and much of the other property in the area, intends to acquire it all for campus expansion. But a group of local activists, called the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition, has a different vision. They picture a revitalized Maxwell Street, restored as a living monument to generations who began new lives there and to the street's most enduring legacy, the Chicago Blues.
On March 30, leaders of the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition met with UIC Chancellor David Broski and his staff, and received assurances that their preservation proposals will be considered in the development plans. They were further assured that the university will refrain from purchasing or demolishing any more property in the area until a plan has been adopted, thus averting the demolition of four buildings scheduled for April 15.
But because UIC did not commit itself to the Coalition's proposal, Maxwell Street remains in terminal danger. In July of this year, UIC will name a master developer. Plans will not be finalized for some time. Meanwhile, the neglected buildings and other infrastructure continue to deteriorate. Without official Historic District status, UIC can resume its demolition plans at any time.
"The preservation of Maxwell Street is important to many different people for many different reasons," says Steve Balkin, an economics professor at Chicago's Roosevelt University and one of the Coalition leaders. "Many Jewish families from Eastern Europe came here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and established businesses in the district," says Balkin. Before that it was the Irish, Germans, and Italians. Later, African-American migrants came from the South. In recent years, the outdoor market became heavily Mexican-American. Maxwell Street has also hosted Greeks, Romani, Asians and many others. "Maxwell Street is called the Ellis Island of the Midwest," says Balkin.
In addition to its heritage as a 'port of entry' for generations of immigrants, Maxwell Street has a leading role in the history of the Chicago blues, a musical form that led directly to modern rock and roll. When new arrivals from the Mississippi Delta came to Maxwell Street, they found music that was familiar but also different. In order to be heard in a bustling outdoor marketplace, many performers adopted electric instruments, thus transforming rural, acoustic blues into sometime new: urban electric blues, also known as the Chicago blues.
Virtually every African-American blues musician who came to Chicago came to the Maxwell Street District. Major figures such as Muddy Waters, Otis Rush and Robert Nighthawk started their careers there. Some, like Little Walter Jacobs and Bo Diddley, began as street musicians. Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, discovered on the street by a record company talent scout, wrote and recorded the song that launched Elvis Presley: "That's All Right, Mama." Many other rock stars, such as Chuck Berry and Keith Richards, were strongly influenced by the Maxwell Street sound.
The Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition urges a redevelopment of this historic neighborhood along the lines of Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. "A Maxwell Street Historic District will be good for Chicago and a good neighbor for UIC," says Balkin. "It will add something authentic and special to the campus that will attract visitors from all over the world." Because Maxwell Street ends at Union Street, which is adjacent to a major expressway, the District will always be on the campus perimeter. "The university will never surround it," says Balkin, "so public access will never be an issue."
The Coalition proposes a Maxwell Street Historic District encompassing Maxwell Street itself from Newberry to Union, and South Halsted between Roosevelt and Liberty. The remaining vintage buildings would be preserved and restored, new buildings of complementary design would be constructed on some of the now-vacant lots, while other lots would be developed into small parks and plazas. In addition to existing merchants, who would be encouraged to remain, there would be a mix of restaurants and music clubs, "tourist" shops selling everything from T-shirts to blues CDs, and museums and other "interpretive" attractions to tell visitors the rich Maxwell Street story.
"Creating a Maxwell Street Historic District will be a win-win for everyone," insists Balkin. "It will benefit UIC, the city, area residents, worldwide blues fans, and everyone who can trace their family roots to Maxwell Street." The Coalition's proposal is supported by many prominent elected officials, civic leaders and blues artists, as well as blues fans from all over the world. "Future generations deserve a chance to hear the blues on Maxwell Street," says Balkin.
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