While The City Sleeps

Markets

South Water Market

F-F Saver May 1958

Nobody seems to know just exactly when the South Water Market got started; 
like Topsy. it “just growled”

Most old timers on the Market are pretty agreed however, that it began shortly after the Chicago Fire of 1871 . . . and it’s been steadily growing until today it is the largest fresh fruit and vegetable terminal in the world

The great majority of Chicagoans- except the very young-have heard of South Water Market.
Very few have ever seen it in its most active operating hours-between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. when most Chicagoans and nearby suburban dwellers are nested all snug in their beds, while visions of fresh strawberries, Bibb lettuce, Pascal celery, romaine, avocados, Casaba melons or plump Idaho potatoes dance through their heads, hundreds of men, trucks, railway refrigerator cars, and even an occasional horse or two are working valiantly to supply the teeming Chicago area with the best in fruits and vegetables.

The market itself is a two-block area of utter confusion and chaos . . . unless you’re used to it. Nowadays, it is located in an area bonded by Morgan and Racine avenues and 14^th Place and 15^th Street.
The location is of relatively recent origin . . . since the Market moved there in 1925.

Originally, south Water market sprawled along the Chicago River on South Water Street. It stretched westward from what is now Michigan Ave. (A peek at out cover picture will give you a good idea of what it looked like in 1899.) The Market was set up in this spot originally because the location was easily reached by truck and farmers coming from the outskirts of the city; it was fairly assessable to the rail yards; and most of all, it was backed up to the docks where incoming vessels could bring fruits and vegetables from the states located around the Great Lakes.

Back in those days, Michigan was a big supplier during the warm months. Cherries, celery, apples, plums and other fresh commodities were put on boats in Benton Harbor, St. Joe, Ludington, Traverse City and other Michigan port cities and shipped to the South Water Market.

There were drawbacks to the system; however, Old Market hands report that the severe summer storms on Lake Michigan often played hob with the shipments. One grizzled old-timer said: “If you have never been close to a large cargo vessel filled to the gunwales with storm-delayed, completely rotten cherries, you didn’t know what real stench is.”

But in spite of Lake Michigan storms, fluctuating frit and vegetables prices, and the lightly varied tastes of the Chicago gourmets . . . the south Water Market grew and prospered.

  Along about 1925 an ominous cloud gathered on the Markets horizon . . .  the City of Chicago began the construction of new streets to parallel the River. Named after a famous city planner of the “turn of the century” days-Wacker-the new drive was laid out in such a way that it would run smack through the Market. Progress prevailed, condemnation suits were filled, and amidst grumbling and grousing from the men who had made their lives on old south Water Street the Market was gradually moved to its new location.

Sam Schatz, board chairmen of Gridley-Maxon & Company, one of the largest commission houses in the Unites states, remembers the move well. “ It meant the end of an era for many of us. But on the other hand the whole Market was better off. We were now close to the railhead: truck transportation was getting better due to improved roads; and some of the ‘dreamers on the street were even looking with interest on a new-fangled transportation media, the airplane.”

So the Market moved; it prospered; it took its place in the sun, but in spite of all the changes brought with the years-the blast of a Diesel horn to replace the gentle whinny of Old Dobbin, the shipping of breadfruit form Caledonia to supplement carrots from downstate Illinois, and chain store buyers to augment the corner grocer-the Market still goes on in the same pattern set about 100 years ago.

Today, imports from 48 states, Canada and more than 20 foreign countries are melded in the Market to give Chicago consumers whatever they desire. Produce from any point in the United States takes between 3 and six days to reach the South Water Market; from overseas it takes a little longer-but not much-by air freight.

  As the rail hub of the nation, of course, Chicago is pretty much the focal point for fruits and vegetables, In addition to filling the great mouth which is Chicago and its surrounding communities, the Market also supplies the bulk of the produce throughout the Midwest. Last year there were about 115,000 railway cars of produce, which arrived here. Of these, about 65.000 were unloaded in Chicago and 50.000 were sent on to other market areas for unloading.

The great proportion of the fruits and vegetables for the City arrive by truck. As the years go by, however, more and more of the fresh produce going out from Chicago is shipped by truck and trailer.

When the rail produce arrives, it comes in at the Chicago Produce Terminal, 2700 South Wood Street. The terminal can accommodate about 2500 railroad boxcars on tracks, which adjoin concrete driveways. As the shipments come in, samples are taken from the cars and are put on display in a large warehouse, which stretches over a quarter mile in length.

The traders from south Water market look at the samples, make notes on them and prepare to bid against each other at the early morning auctions.

Fruit auction in around 1957
       

  The early morning auctions are a sight to see. They are held in the sales room of the fruit auction Sales Company warehouse and would make the average tobacco auction look like child’s play . . .  as a look at the accompanying picture will reveal.
Standing in the dais is the auctioneer-master of all he surveys. The auctioneer knows the buyers, and all they all know him. A raise eyebrow; a flick of a cigar ash; a tug at the tie . . .  and perhaps three carloads of golden Delicious apples are sold.

On Monday, after the weekend pile up of freight cars, more than 100 cars of fruit can be sold in le than three hours.

As each carload-or portion of a carload-is sold upstairs, workers on the loading docks are busy moving the fruit into the delivery trucks where it is rushed to South Water Market for the trade with the retailers.

  From this point on, the fruits and vegetables are speedily transported to your corner grocery store of supermarket. There they are put in the bins or on shelves-packaged or on their “from the field” costume-for you to look at, to examine carefully and buy.

According to most of the wise hands on South Water Market, the fruit and vegetable business is not for the timid. “You can loose several thousand dollars in a matter of minutes if you make the wrong judgment,” they report. “However, through the years, we have reached the point where we know how many people are interested in buying black raspberries, collard greens, artichoke or eggplant . . . and what they will pay for them.”

Of course, in the produce market the prices can change by the minute, and an adverse spurt downwards can force the merchants to sell below their purchases price.

Another factor to consider is that the fruits and vegetables are perishable commodities. This means that the merchants must buy, sell and deliver their wares within a space of hours. Too many of the Market-men remember the days of the rotting cherries in the ship’s hold to take the risk of delay.

And in spite of the seeming confusion at the Market, it actually is well regulated by the government. No organization on south Water Market can operate without a United States license. In addition to federal controls, the business is regulated by the Market Service Association. This institution watches over the Market housekeeping; operates a credit association for members; and determines the hours of operation.

From the loading docks in the south Water Market, most deliveries are made in huge trucks. Every morning these trucks take off from the Market with big orders for thousands of Chicago retail stores. Big refrigerator trucks pull out bound for the surrounding areas. Many of the refrigerator truck and trailer combinations which “drop off” produce are of the same ones which earlier that morning brought produce into the Market from as far away as Florida and California.

Remember the old song, which lamented, “Yes, We Have No Bananas?” Well, today that doesn’t hold true. We’ve got not only bananas, cabbage, onions, scallions and all the other goodies mentioned in the song; but we’ve got papayas, coconuts, rutabagas, fennel, and a thousand other little known fruits and vegetables.

One interesting fact brought out at the market is that World War II brought little change in the eating habits of Chicagoans.

“While the War was going on,” a Market man said “we felt certain that Chicagoans serving the armed forces overseas would develop a taste for exotic things like papayas, breadfruit, Valencia oranges and other fruits and vegetables from far-away places. It didn’t turn out that way.”

Even so, there are a great many imported commodities available at the Market, most of them destined for fruit and vegetable markets, which cater to a clientele which “wants something different.”

But the old South Water Market hands say: “Chicago is still a peas, green bean and carrots town. If Chicagoans only knew what was available, they’d really be eating exotic. Frankly, they ain’t tasted nothing’ yet!”