Maxwell Street Days

For 50 years, Maxwell Street Days has provided bargains, culinary delights and music for more than 30,000 annual attendees. This annual Summer Sidewalk Sale on State Street in downtown Madison, Wis., takes place the 3rd weekend in July. Why is there a “Maxwell Street Days” on State Street? Maxwell Street in Chicago, Ill., was home to a famed outdoor market and “urban bazaar” from 1871 to 1994. In 1975, Martin's, a Madison, Wis., clothing store and tailor shop, founded an outdoor sidewalk sale to showcase the State Street shopping district, starting Madison's very own “Maxwell Street Days” tradition.