Chicago, Monday, August 28, 2000

In a letter to Illinois State Historic Preservation Officer William Wheeler, dated August 25, 2000, Carol Shull announced that she has rejected the nomination of the Maxwell Street Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places. Shull is Keeper of the National Register and Chief of the National Historic Landmarks Survey. The nomination was prepared and submitted by the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition, and fiercely opposed by the University of Illinois at Chicago, which is clearing the area primarily to enrich a group of politically-favored private developers.

In her letter, Shull acknowledges that "the nomination establishes the importance of the Maxwell Street area as a 'port-of-entry neighborhood for many working class newcomers' of many ethnic backgrounds; a successful open-air market, commercial center, and economic launching ground for entrepreneurs; and a 'formative area in the development of 20th-century blues music.'"

However, she rejected the nomination because, "the proposed district has suffered so much change since its period of historic significance that it does not meet National Register Criteria for Evaluation."

Shull concludes her letter with the statement that "It gives me no pleasure to render this decision. The volume and substance of correspondence and petitions generated by this nomination make clear that many citizens care passionately about the important events that took place along Maxwell and neighboring streets and have a strong desire to preserve those few buildings that survive from the period of greatest activity and energy. It is regrettable that the district was not put forth for National Register evaluation before falling into its condition of recent years and that steps were not taken earlier to preserve its historic character. This is a tragic loss for the city of Chicago, as well as for devotees of blues music everywhere."

Unfortunately, Shull is silent about who bears the blame for this tragic omission: most prominently UIC, which has selfishly coveted the neighborhood for more than 20 years; but also the politically-favored private developers who drafted the University's plan and who will make millions from its implementation; and the city, which facilitated the neighborhood's deterioration through a policy of deliberate neglect.

For years, the Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition has urged all three to embrace a larger vision and adopt a redevelopment plan sensitive to the area's extraordinary historical significance. Ultimately, those pleas were answered with obstacles and obfuscation. If the city-approved "adaptive re-use" plan created for UIC by its developers is so good, why won't they nominate it to the National Register as a historic district, as the Coalition has repeatedly suggested?

More than anything else, Shull's decision demonstrates the malleability of National Register Criteria when they conflict with powerful political and financial interests. It demonstrates the tendency of official preservation entities to favor the history of powerful elites over the history of ordinary Americans. As Yale History Professor Max Page wrote to Carol Shull earlier this summer, "The National Register remains dominated by the physical buildings and landscapes of the wealthy and the white. One of the primary reasons that the National Register remains predominantly a list of buildings and landscapes of the elite is because of the requirement of 'integrity' and the way it is abused by those who care little for the past." The National Register, UIC, and the city have squandered a golden opportunity to establish a more inclusive paradigm.

Shull's decision closes another chapter in the struggle to preserve the heritage and culture of the Maxwell Street neighborhood, but that struggle is not over. The Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition intends to vigorously monitor the University's compliance with its intergovernmental agreement with the city, and will work for the establishment of a suitable, permanent Maxwell Street historical archive and interpretive center independent of University of Illinois control. The Coalition will continue to pursue its educational mission, including the production of a Maxwell Street documentary, and will continue to support the growth and vitality of the New Maxwell Street Market.

The Coalition's intention in nominating the proposed historic district was to inspire a larger vision of the neighborhood's potential. Although that hope has been officially rejected, we will continue to advocate it so long as any of the historic Maxwell Street neighborhood remains, in the hope that men and women of noble spirit finally will embrace that vision and commemorate the area's history in an appropriate fashion.

The legacy of Maxwell Street is too important to be forgotten.

Read Carol Shull's Letter of Determination.

Return to the Maxwell St. News Update page.

Return to the Maxwell St. page.

Return to Chuck Cowdery's home page.

Go to the Steve Balkin's Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition page.

Contact Us

TO REACH US VIA EMAIL:

info@maxwellstreet.org

Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition
P.O. Box 6435
Evanston, IL  60204