Maxwell Street
| Dr. Philip Maxwell Street 1330 South |
|
| Location | Chicago |
|---|---|
| West end | Blue Island Avenue in Chicago |
| East end | Clinton Street in Chicago |
| Other | |
| Known for | Philip Maxwell |
Maxwell Street is an east-west street in Chicago, Illinois that intersects with Halsted Street just south of Roosevelt Road. It runs at 1330 South in the numbering system running from 500 West to 1126 West. The Maxwell Street neighborhood is considered part of the Near West Side and is one of the city's oldest residential districts. It is notable as the location of the celebrated Maxwell Street Market and the birthplace of Chicago blues and the "Maxwell Street Polish", a sausage sandwich. A large portion of the area is now part of the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and a private housing development sponsored by the university.
Maxwell Street first appears on a Chicago map in 1847. It was named for Dr. Philip Maxwell. It was originally a wooden plank road that ran from the south branch of the Chicago River west to Blue Island Avenue. The earliest housing was built by and for Irish immigrants who were brought to Chicago to construct the first railroads. It continued to be a "gateway" neighborhood for immigrants, including Greeks, Bohemians, Russians, Germans, Italians, African Americans and Mexicans.
Hull House, the largest and most famous of the 19th-century settlement houses, was established by Jane Addams here to help immigrants transition to their lives in Chicago. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started only a few blocks away, but it burned north and east, sparing Maxwell Street and the rest of the Near West Side.
...
Wikipedia