It is unthinkable that a university, whose function is to promote knowledge and preserve culture, would physically annihilate an area so important historically, socially, and culturally to Chicago and the entire country. History consists of more than what lies between the covers of books or has been captured on video, tape, and disk. Evidently, he believes that the history of the district lies not in the buildings themselves, but in evocative commemorations that make a mockery of the area s proud past. The history of a place consists to a great extent of its material culture, which has shaped the lives of the people who live there.
Buildings are part of that material culture.
By Mr. Delaney s logic, it would be acceptable to level New York s Lower East Side another gateway for immigrants and substitute a historical marker or a museum. To be sure, what took place on Maxwell Street was not the work of presidents, kings, titled noblemen, or generals, and may never have made the headlines of the world s great dailies. Rather, the Maxwell Street district was a place where ordinary people lived out their lives, toiling largely in obscurity, but leaving the magnificent legacy of a world class city. These immigrants built Chicago. By destroying Maxwell Street you are destroying the history of the city, and by extension, part of the history of the nation.