The Last ... Picture Show

Starting Friday -- and running through October 29 -- at Stephen Daiter Gallery is the exhibition "The Last Great Maxwell Street Picture Show", featuring photographs by numerous artists since the 1930s.

For those unfamiliar with Maxwell Street, it was host to a Sunday market that was the biggest in Chicago. Described as "a carnivallike riot of human interaction," the area was home to Jewish and other immigrants, most recently a nexus for African-Americans. A scene in The Blues Brothers is indicative of the vitality of the area and the importance of the Blues in its history, as John Lee Hooker growls on the crowded street. The relatively recent demolition of the last remaining buildings along Halsted near Maxwell was the unfortunate end of a long battle to Save Maxwell.


Top: Untitled, early 1930s by Kaufmann & Fabry
Bottom: Untitled, 1968 by Jack Jaffe

These and other photographs can be seen on the Gallery web page. The Stephen Daiter Gallery is located at 311 West Superior.