Dr. Irving Cutler
1923 – 2023
Advisory Council member and Honorary Board member
Dr. Irving Cutler was born in the Maxwell Street area and became an accomplished urban geographer and scholar, having authored major history publications including the best-seller, The Jews of Chicago: From Shtetl to Suburb. He generously provided his expertise about Maxwell Street to Foundation members for various projects-of-interest, including National Register nomination applications that the Foundation generated in 1994 and 2000 for the preservation of the built environment of the Market on Maxwell Street. He was a founding member of the Chicago Jewish Historical Society and a longtime faculty member at Chicago State University, lastly serving as chair of the Department of Geography. Dr. Cutler was also known for his handcrafted bus and boat tours where a tub of his wife’s chocolate chip cookies was always distributed, and for his street tours of Jewish Chicago. He was a resource to the Maxwell Street Foundation through his personal knowledge and zeal for Maxwell Street and its market on countless occasions.