And This Is Free: The Life and Times of Chicago’s Legendary Maxwell Street

Through two films, this collection explores the vibrant history of Chicago’s legendary Maxwell Street, an area that blossomed from a simple wooden-plank road into the birthplace of Chicago blues. The 1964 documentary And This Is Free offers a slice-of-life portrait of the local scene at the time. Maxwell Street: A Living Memory looks back on the experiences and legacy of the neighborhood’s Eastern European Jewish immigrants.