The Maxwell Street district, termed "Bloody Maxwell" by the Chicago Tribune, was the chief breeding ground for criminals during the 19th and early 20th century in Chicago.
Most of those criminals ended up at one time or another, here, at the 22nd precinct police station at the corner of Maxwell and Morgan St. During its heyday as a terror district, the station was surrounded on all sides by "corners, saloons, and houses that have seen the rise, the operations, and often the death of some of the worst criminals the land has ever known," according to the Tribune.
Likely the newspaper had in mind Dead Man's Corner, located just two blocks away from the station.
Built in 1888, the station was in continued use by the Chicago police for over 100 years. Fans of the 1980s hit television series Hill Street Blues will recognize the station from the opening credits.
Today, the station is still in use by police as the headquarters for security at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
6 comments:
Hill Street Blues fans reading this, may be interested to know there is an active fans website and Egroup, both of which can be found from this link http://www.hillstreetblues.tv
Regards Andy
Does anyone know,or heard of a juvenile officer,who worked out the Maxwell st station,in the late 50's early 60's by the name of Eldivdo Donato?He covered the Jane Adams projects.
THIS PLACE BRINGS BACK MEMORIES,I LIVED AT 1626 S MORGAN,IN 1971 I WAS ARRESTED ALONG WITH 6 FRIENDS AND ACCUSED OF MURDER...MY LAWYER WAS THOMAS MALONEY WHO BECAME A SITTING JUDGE AT COOK COUNTY. .I SPENT 3 DAYS OF BEATINGS AND BEAT THE CASE.
THIS PLACE BRINGS BACK MEMORIES,I LIVED AT 1626 S MORGAN,IN 1971 I WAS ARRESTED ALONG WITH 6 FRIENDS AND ACCUSED OF MURDER...MY LAWYER WAS THOMAS MALONEY WHO BECAME A SITTING JUDGE AT COOK COUNTY. .I SPENT 3 DAYS OF BEATINGS AND BEAT THE CASE.
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My father worked at this place (cop). First job as a rookie. Very short time, less than a year, mid 1960s. CPD drove him out as a cop while he was there. From his first couple of days there, he seemed haunted and terrified. I would hear him talking to my mother late into the night about how he had to get out. The other cops said he was not streetwise (or some term like that) and he was reassigned to desk duty, examining banking records or things like that. He was an accountant when he joined the CPD. He had been young, over 6 ft tall, solid, lots of physical courage, but the place stole all his psychological courage.
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