[Villages Kahuna]

The old Maxwell Street doesn't exist anymore, Nonie. That area was taken by an expansion of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. The old vendors have been given the opportunity to place their booths in a new multi-level parking structure built by UIC. Most have opted not to endure the heavy-handed, risk averse and litigation avoiding rules laid down for using that antiseptically clean and heavily policed space.

My experience was that the old Maxwell Street wasn't any more threatening than many of the flea markets that pop up on weekends here in Florida. Our southern flea markets have many of the same colorful personalities that used to occupy Chicago's Maxwell Street. It's too bad they don't serve Chicago hot dogs, polish and Italian beef sandwiches.