Maxwell Street History Of History

It lives on as a fleeting memory in the expansive history that is the city of Chicago, and crosses the minds of few regularly. Stretching roughly a mile in distance, Maxwell Street was once the epicenter of commerce, the birth of culture, and change. From its birth out of the Great Chicago Fire, to the first Jewish immigrants, to it’s final day as a bazaar, it is this rise and decline of Maxwell Street that has aided in cultural differentiation that ultimately gives insight into the urban spacing and transitions in the city of Chicago.

Once a wasteland southwest of the downtown Chicago area, Maxwell Street was little developed till the 1850s. With the influx of trade and commerce, made possible by the addition of railroad routes, the city of Chicago saw a staggering influx of population. Fort Dearborn, a military base founded on the Chicago River, had been established as a Native American trading post until 1833 when the surrounding occupants of the fort voted it part of their growing community and thusly made Fort Dearborn legally incorporated with the rest of the community. The fort would be officially deserted in 1836 Fort Dearborn would be the initial official community setting that would eventually grow to be the city of Chicago. After the disbandment of the military base, people moved into the surrounding community to begin building it up.

One occupant of Fort Dearborn, a medical surgeon, Dr. Philip Maxwell, would eventually be the Chicagoan the Near West Side street would be named after. The phenomenon of naming streets after influential members of society is a longstanding practice in the United States. Chicago streets were no such exception, however the exact time as to when the streets name was officially adopted is ...

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...r the development of a better and bigger Maxwell street market.”

The Modernization Movement began with the Code of Ethics but did not end there. The Maxwell Street Association, in order to gather information about the pushcarts and storeowners businesses, gave vendors surveys. The purpose behind the survey was, “to get the true facts and merchandising habits of the business and professions located on Maxwell Street proper for the furtherance, improvement and betterment of conditions as they relate to real estate and business interests in the great district.” Venders were asked about sales from 1938 and how they compare to current sales statistics. Venders were also asked if they are happy with their current volume of sales, what personal improvements they would like to see, in terms of street lighting, carts and stands, street health and sanitation improvement.