The City of Chicago: "Pre-Maxwell"
        The city of Chicago in 1850 was mainly a trading post.  People saw the potential of the city, and a set of railroad tracks were laid through the city. People began to move to the city and the population quickly tripled from 30,000 to 109,000.  The city began to industrialize with the production of many new companies looking for workers.  The city was growing quickly which meant they had to be building quickly.  They had easy access to the forests of Wisconsin and Minnesota.  The new buildings were virtually all made out of wood.  That help the city grow quickly, but it also brought about some major problems.
        There were many different types of immigrants pouring into the city.  For the most part, they were Irish, German, and Jewish.  These different ethnic groups stuck together as they tried to get a foothold in this new territory they called home.  One of the major issues in Chicago, in the late nineteenth century, was that of prohibition.  The Protestants and Americans were for it, while there was strong opposition from the Germans and the Irish.  This brought about violence and gangs bootlegging liquor.  While people were busy arguing about where and when they could drink alcohol, they overlooked the fact that they were living in a fire hazard.  Their city was built entirely out of wood.  There was nowhere near enough fire fighters to compete with the city's population.  That brought about the dramatic event of the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871.
        The Great Chicago Fire left many of the people in confusion, especially the new immigrants.  The new immigrants had just got settled, and were left homeless after the blaze in the end of 1871.  They used just about all they had to rebuild their houses and the government had to raise taxes in order to help rebuild the city.  The people had to pull together to survive these trying times.  The fire brought in many young men looking for work in the construction companies, which was the most lucrative business at the time.  The saloons and gambling houses flourished where these new workers lived.  This once again heated up the topic of prohibition.  The governor was forced to take action, and he passed a bill that raised the license tax when opening a saloon.
        A bit of a financial depression hit when a New York City Bank failed.  This little depression was nationwide, but it hit Chicago especially hard because they had been in a rebuilding spree.  This depression slowed the rebuilding and caused the depression to hit the citizens of Chicago.  Many of the immigrants were just scrapping by as it was.  This made it a little worse and forced them to pull together even closer as an ethnicity.  The birth of the market came about by a group of Bohemian and German immigrants.  By 1885, a large number of Jewish immigrants began settling near S. Halsted Street and Maxwell Street.  Eventually, the Jewish community dominated, in numbers, over the other immigrants.  The market had become, not only a place to shop, but also a place to socialize, as many were from the same ethnic culture.

History of Maxwell
        Located just outside the Loop, the South side was a perfect area, as it was the "port" where many immigrant and ethnic groups were settling in. The open air market was a place targeted for people at the economic bottom to shop freely.  It benefited both the shopper and vendor.  For the consumer, it was a cheaper way for obtaining goods and services because they were inexpensive.  For vendors, it was a low cost way to start an enterprise, exchange information, build a reputation for trust, and earn income.  Such a market helped small farmers, required little infrastructure, recycled goods and materials, and contributed to making the world a safer and saner place.
        Until the mid-1940's, the market was predominately Jewish.  Around this time, blues musicians from New Orleans began migrating to areas such as Bronzeville.  This began attracting African Americans and others from all around Chicago to the market.
        Meanwhile, after World War II, the Jewish community felt more comfortable mixing with other ethnic groups.  As a result, the Jewish, who once dominated the Market, moved away from it, and began shopping in the downtown area, where many of the kosher delicatessens moved as well.  With the Market changing, many Jews began moving to areas such as Skokie and Rogers Park.  Those who lived by Maxwell eventually moved south to the Hyde Park neighborhood.
        With the changes in population, faces around the neighborhood were also changing.  What once used to be a Jewish synagogue became the Gethsemane Baptist Church.  Just north of this location was St. Francis of Assissi, originally a German Catholic Church that, in time, became mostly Hispanic.
        While the Maxwell Street community allowed more diversity, it became home to many accomplished crasftsmen, artists, and musicians.  People from all around town were coming to this flea-market, as it offered, basically, anything you wanted at a price one could afford.  Best of all, you could bargain for a cheaper price.
        The food offered at the market changed with the changes in ethnic cultures.  Serving kosher meals soon became a fad.  Small vendors began moving in selling such items as tacos, gorditas, barbecue ribs, and pork chops, to name a few.
        As great as the market was, it also had a dark side.  Liquor had always been available, even during the Prohibition era.  Other illegal activities also sneaked along, such as prostitution and gambling.  With such events going on, it soon became an eyesore for the city.  This eventually led to the perception of the Market in a negative perspective to many across the city of Chicago.
        With the migration of blacks into the neighborhood, along came the introduction of the blues.  Many legendary performers got their start on Maxwell Street.  Muddy Waters, Earl Hooker, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James, Jimmy Rogers are just a few who began here.  Over the years, several local bands have formed here, such as Piano C. Red, Daddy Stovepipe, and Moody Jones' Maxwell Street Band.  Some of these local bands can still be found performing at the New Maxwell Street Market.