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Detroit, Michigan
Flag of Detroit, Michigan
Flag
Official seal of Detroit, Michigan
Seal
Nickname(s): 
Motor City, Motown, Hockey Town
Motto(s): 
Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus"
(Latin for, "We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes")
Location in Wayne County, Michigan
Location in Wayne County, Michigan
Country
State
County		United States
Michigan
Wayne County
Government
 • MayorKwame Kilpatrick (D)
Elevation
190 m (623 ft)
Population
 (2004)
 • City
900,198
 • Metro
4,493,165
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Websitehttp://www.ci.detroit.mi.us
"Detroit" redirects here. For other uses, see Detroit (disambiguation).

Detroit (IPA: [dəˈtɹɔɪt]) (French: Détroit, pronounced [detʁwa]ⓘ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat for Wayne County. The city is located on the Detroit River, north of Windsor, Ontario. Established in 1701 by French fur traders, it is the center of an industrial area in the American Rust Belt. Today it is known as the world's traditional automotive center and an important source of popular music—legacies celebrated by the city's two familiar nicknames, Motor City and Motown. The city ultimately gets its name from the Detroit River, which in turn derives from the French, "Rivière du Détroit," literally, the "River of the Strait." The name alludes to the connection the river forms between Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie, although it is not literally a strait.

As of 2004, Detroit ranked as the United States' 11th most populous city with 900,198 residents; this is half of the peak population it boasted in the 1950s, and Detroit leads the nation in terms of declining urban population. Detroit's crime rate has created international notoriety and a tarnished reputation. The city continues to struggle with the burdens of racial disharmony between itself and its suburban neighbors, and an antiquated economy. In the 1990s and 2000s the city experienced a moderate revival with the construction of the Compuware headquarters and three gambling casinos, amid budget shortfalls and cuts in city services.

Residents are generally known as "Detroiters". "Detroit" is also sometimes used as shorthand for the Metro Detroit region, which is unofficially referred to as "Southeast Michigan."

History

Main article: History of Detroit, Michigan
Detroit in the 1880s.

Travelling up the Detroit River on LaSalle's ship Le Griffon, Father Louis Hennepin noted Detroit as an ideal location for a settlement. French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded a fort and settlement at Detroit called Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit in 1701. The British gained control of the area in 1760 during the French and Indian War. Three years later, in Pontiac's Rebellion, an unsuccessful siege of Fort Detroit occurred with Native Americans, led primarily by Chief Pontiac, an Ottawa war leader. In 1796, Detroit passed to the United States under the Jay Treaty. In 1805, fire destroyed almost the entire town—a river warehouse and brick chimneys of the wooden homes were the sole structures to survive.[1]

From 1805 to 1847, Detroit was the capital of Michigan. Detroit fell to British troops during the War of 1812 in the Siege of Detroit, was recaptured by the United States in 1813 and incorporated as a city in 1815. Prior to the American Civil War, the city's access to the Canadian border made it a key stop along the underground railroad.[2]

Strategically located along the Great Lakes waterway, Detroit emerged as a transportation hub. The city grew steadily from the 1830s with the rise of shipping, shipbuilding, and manufacturing industries. A thriving carriage trade prompted Henry Ford to build his first automobile in 1896 in a rented workshop on Mack Avenue, and in 1904, the Model T was produced. Ford's manufacturing—and those of automotive pioneers William C. Durant, the Dodge brothers, and Louis Chevrolet—reinforced Detroit's status as the world's automotive capital. The industry spurred the city's spectacular growth during the first half of the 20th century and drew many new residents, particularly from the southern United States. Strained racial relations was evident in the trial of Ossian Sweet, a black Detroit physician acquitted of murder after he shot into a large mob when he moved from the all-black part of the city to an all-white area.[3] With the introduction of prohibition, the river was a major conduit for Canadian spirits, organized in large part by the notorious Purple Gang.[4]

File:4a22542r.jpg
A photograph of the Detroit Cadillac plant on Clifford Avenue, circa 1910

With the factories came high-profile labor strife, climaxing in the 1930s as the United Auto Workers initiated bitter disputes with Detroit's auto manufacturers. The labor activism established during those years brought notoriety to hometown union leaders such as Jimmy Hoffa and Walter Reuther. The 1940s saw the construction of the world's first urban depressed freeway, the Davison[5] and the industrial growth during World War II that led to Detroit's nickname as the Arsenal of Democracy.[6]

Greektown Casino, one of three casinos in Detroit

Detroit has endured a painful decline since the 1950s, and is often held up as a symbol of Rust Belt urban blight. The 12th Street Riot in 1967 and court-ordered busing accelerated "white flight" from the city. Large numbers of buildings and homes were abandoned, with many remaining for years in a state of decay. The percentage of black residents increased rapidly, and the city's first black mayor, Coleman Young, was elected in 1973. Young's style during his record five terms in office was not well received by many whites.[7]

The 1960s and 1970s saw the rise of heroin, and a crack cocaine epidemic. Drug-related property crimes and violence among competing drug dealers rose, and urban renewal efforts led to the razing of abandoned homes. Sizeable tracts have reverted to nature, to become a form of urban prairie with wild animals spotted migrating into the city.[8]

"Renaissance" has been a perennial buzzword among leaders since the 1967 riots, reinforced by the construction of the Renaissance Center in the early 1970s. It was not until the 1990s that Detroit enjoyed a moderate revival, much of it centered downtown. In 1996, three casinos opened: MGM Grand Detroit, Motor City Casino, and Greektown Casino. In 2000, amid controversy, Comerica Park replaced historic Tiger Stadium as the home of the Detroit Tigers.[9] And in 2002, Ford Field brought the NFL's Detroit Lions back into Detroit from Pontiac. The 2004 opening of the Compuware Center gave downtown Detroit its first significant new office building in a decade.

Geography and climate

A simulated-color satellite image of Detroit taken on NASA's Landsat 7 satellite.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 142.9 square miles (370.2 km²); of this, 138.8 square miles (359.4 km²) is land and 4.2 square miles (11 km²) is water. The elevation in northeastern Detroit is 626 ft. (191 m). Detroit completely encircles the cities of Hamtramck and Highland Park. In its northeast corner are the wealthy communities of Grosse Pointe. The city is crossed by three road systems: the original French template, radial roads from a Washington, D.C.-inspired system, and true north–south roads from the Northwest Ordinance township system. Oakland and Macomb counties lie to the north.

The city sits atop a large salt mine,[10] and is north of Windsor, Ontario. In fact, Detroit is the only major city along the U.S.-Canadian border in which one travels south in order to cross into Canada. Detroit has four border crossings: the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel provides motor vehicle thoroughfare and the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel railroad access to and from Canada. The fourth border crossing is the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry, located near the Windsor Salt Mine and Zug Island.

Cityscape

Detroit buildings show a variety of architectural styles. Art Deco from the 1920s and 30s mingle with more modern structures in the downtown area near the Detroit River and in the New Center adjacent to Wayne State University. While the downtown and New Center areas contain high-rise buildings, the majority of the city consists of low-rise structures and single-family homes. Many abandoned buildings and large tracts of empty land are scattered throughout the city, although several neighborhoods, such as Greektown and Indian Village, are prosperous and show few signs of urban blight.

File:Copy of DSC00438.JPG
An open field in Detroit where houses once stood, an example of the urban blight that sections of Detroit suffer from.

A number of downtown redevelopment projects—of which Campus Martius Park is one of the most notable—have revitalized parts of the city. Since the 1990s, there have been plans to redevelop the riverfront area from the Ambassador Bridge to Belle Isle (the largest island park in a U.S. city) with a combination of parks, residential buildings, and commercial areas. Other major parks include Palmer (north of Highland Park), River Rouge (in the southwest side), and Chene Parks (on the Detroit River east of downtown).

Detroit is also trying to rebuild its riverfront to make it similar to the park directly across the river in Windsor, Ontario. Windsor replaced acres of train tracks and some abandoned buildings with what is now 5 km (3 mi.) of uninterrupted parkland. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is spearheading most of this development. Included in the plans are to have Michigan's first urban state park, Tri-Centennial State Park. Hopes are that returning the riverfront to pedestrian uses rather than the old industrial uses will spur more residential development.[11]

Climate

Detroit and the rest of southeastern Michigan have a typically Midwestern temperate seasonal climate, which is influenced by the Great Lakes. Winters are cold with moderate snowfall; summers can be warm and humid.[12] The average high temperature in July is 85°F (29°C) and in January 33°F (1°C). Summer temperatures can exceed 90°F (32°C), and winter temperatures rarely drop below 0°F (–17°C). Average monthly precipitation ranges from about two to five inches (50 to 130 mm), being heaviest in the summer months. Snowfall, which typically occurs from November to early April, ranges from 1 to 10 inches (3 to 25 cm) a month.[13] The highest recorded temperature was 103.0°F (39.0°C) on June 25, 1988, while the lowest recorded temperature was –17.0°F (–27.0°C) on January 19, 1994.[14]

Demographics

See also: Neighborhoods and projects in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit's population increased more than sixfold during the first half of the 20th century, fed largely by an influx of Eastern European and Southern migrants — both white and black — who came to work in the burgeoning automobile industry. As of the 2000 census2, there were 951,270 people, 336,428 households, and 218,341 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,855.1 people per square mile (2,646.7/km²). There were 375,096 housing units at an average density of 2,703.0 people per square mi (1,043.6/km²).

Historical population[15]
File:DetroitPopulation.jpg

As of 2001, the city was 81.55% Black or African American. Metro Detroit has a higher percentage of blacks than any other northern U.S. metropolitan area — roughly one quarter of the area population. More than one million African-Americans live in the metropolitan area, with about 80% living within the Detroit city limits. With the suburban outflux, Metro Detroit is among the nation's most racially segregated regions.[16] 12.26% of residents are White, 0.33% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.54% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races. 4.96% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Metro Detroit's ethnic communities are diverse and include descendants of the French founders, as well as Germans, Poles, Irish, Italians, and Greeks who settled during the city's early 20th century industrial boom. Metro Detroit has the largest concentration of Belgians outside of Belgium. The Detroit area is also home to a large Chaldean-Assyrian population and the country's largest concentration of Arab Americans whose retail businesses are economically important to Detroit's neighborhoods,[17] including some 90% of the city's "party stores" (selling lottery tickets, hard liquor, and snack foods). The southwest side of the city contains a small Chicano community in the area lately renamed "Mexicantown." Up until the 1980s, there was a growing gay presence in the Palmer Park area in the north of the city that migrated to the cities of Ferndale and Royal Oak after the community collapsed.[18]

There were 336,428 households out of which 33.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.7% were married couples living together, 31.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.45.

There is a wide age distribution in the city, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median household income in the city was $29,526, and the median income for a family was $33,853. Males had a median income of $33,381 versus $26,749 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,717. 26.1% of the population and 21.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 34.5% of those under the age of 18 and 18.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

The National Institute for Literacy declared in 1998 that 47% of Detroiters were "functionally illiterate."[19] Some 72% of all Detroit children are born to single mothers.[20]

Economy

A United States Coast Guard Cutter passes the Renaissance Center, headquarters of General Motors.

Detroit and the surrounding region constitute a manufacturing powerhouse, most notably as home to the Big Three auto companies. There are hundreds of offices and plants in the automotive support business: parts, electronics, and design suppliers. Because of its almost singular dependence on the auto industry, Detroit is more acutely vulnerable to economic cycles than most large cities.[21] Greater competition from foreign brands and more inexpensive labor in other regions of the world have led to a steady decline of manufacturing jobs in the region. In the early 21st century, losses and bankruptcy filings by several of the area's auto parts manufacturers have exacerbated Detroit's economic situation. Another factor contributing to the habitability of the city has been historically high taxes, with many unable to afford the cost of citizenship entailed by levys on property and income.[22] In February 2006, the metropolitan Detroit's unemployment rate was 8.6%, topped only by communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina.[23] In the city, the unemployment rate hovered around 15% at the end of 2005, leaving Detroit as the nation's poorest city with more than one-third of residents below the poverty line.[24]

File:Detroit-Skaters in front of Compuware.jpg
Skaters at Compuware headquarters in Campus Martius.

Much of the domestic auto industry's woes can be traced to its own history and devices. The Big Three automakers have collectively lost market share to foreign imports that have been of higher quality and better design, at least in public perception.[25] In 1994, with a boom in demand for gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks, the industry fought the Clinton administration's efforts to impose a 40% increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for many trucks and obtained Congress's approval to block the plan to develop stricter regulations.[26]

In recent years, rising gasoline prices combined with better fuel economy from Japan and Europe's vehicles has seen Detroit's auto industry's attempting to create "greener" vehicles. In 2006, Ford stated that it will dramatically increase production of its hybrid gas-electric models,[27] as well as promote the use of existing technologies to equip vehicles with mixed ethanol and gasoline fuelled systems. General Motors has made a major investment in fuel cell-equipped vehicles,[28] while Chrysler is focusing much of its research and development into biodiesel.[29] In 2002, the state of Michigan established NextEnergy, a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to enable the commercialization of various energy technologies. Its main complex is located north of Wayne State University.

Other Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Detroit include auto parts maker American Axle & Manufacturing, Comerica, and DTE Energy.[30] Detroit is home to Compuware and the national pizza chain Little Caesars. Casino gaming also plays a major economic role, with Detroit currently the largest city in the United States with legalized gaming.[31] Medical service providers such as the Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford Hospital are major employers in the city. Other major industries include advertising, chemicals, and computer software.

Law and government

Main article: Government of Detroit, Michigan
The Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, housing the Detroit and Wayne County governments

The city government is run by a mayor and nine-member city council and clerk elected on an at-large nonpartisan ballot. Since voters approve the city's charter in 1974, Detroit has had a "strong mayoral" system, with the mayor approving departmental appointments. The council approves budgets but the mayor is not obligated to adhere to any earmarking. City ordinances and substantially large contracts must be approved by the council. The city clerk supervises elections and is formally charged with the maintenance of municipal records. Municipal elections for mayor, city council and city clerk are held every year congruent to 1 modulo 4 (meaning 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009).[32] The city consistently supports the Democratic Party in local and national elections.

File:800px-Eight Mile Road-fixed.jpg
Exit onto 8 Mile Road from I-94, with 8 Mile being the city's northern border

Suburb baiting is another common feature in Detroit politics. In his 1974 inaugural address, former Mayor Coleman Young told the the city's criminals to "hit Eight Mile Road" (the most prominent dividing line between Detroit and northern suburbs). When Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick found himself behind in the polls in the 2005 election, his campaign tried to draw attention to the support his opponent, Freman Hendrix, received in the suburbs. During one debate, Kilpatrick spoke of higher illegal drug use in the suburbs compared to Detroit.[33]

With a decreasing population and decline in the automotive industry, the city's finances have been adversely affected. Detroit has cut its workforce and closed operations, including recreational facilities, to avoid state-ordered receivership.[34] In addition, Detroit has demanded pay cuts and other dramatic "give backs" from the municipal unions that represent city employees.[35] In the 2000s, Detroit has fought off legislative efforts to turn control of the city-owned Water and Sewer system to the suburbs.[36]

Detroit's courts are all state-administered and elections are nonpartisan. The Circuit and Probate Courts for Wayne County are located in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in downtown Detroit. The city is also home to the 36th District Court, as well as the 1st District of the Michigan Court of Appeals' and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Detroit has several sister cities, including Chongqing (People's Republic of China), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Kitwe (Zambia), Minsk (Belarus), Nassau, Bahamas, Toyota (Japan), and Turin (Italy).[37]

See also: List of mayors of Detroit, Michigan

Crime

2004 Crime statistics
(per 100,000)[38][39]
Crime Detroit USA
Homicide 43 5.5
Rape 81 32
Robbery 611 137
Assault 1,049 291
Burglary 1,368 730
Larceny 2,314 2,366
Auto Theft 2,755 421

Despite improvement in recent years, Detroit's crime figures are often among the highest in the U.S. The city is currently listed as the most dangerous city with more than 500,000 by the Morgan Quitno's statistics,[40] but comes after Camden, New Jersey. Detroit is consistently in the top five for homicide rates. Murders peaked at 714 in 1974, though the highest murder rate was recorded in 1991, when there were 615 homicides and the city's population was just over a million. In 2003, there were 361 homicides, the lowest count in recent years.

Many of these problems are blamed on the widespread middle-class flight (which has contributed greatly to urban decay), poverty, de facto segregation of the region, and unemployment.[41] Abandoned and burned out shells of buildings are a frequent sight, with some 16,037 empty houses recorded in 1999. The city lacks funding to demolish the properties and the homes are often used for the production, sale, and use of illicit drugs.[42]

File:Copy of DSC00439.JPG
Abandoned buildings are often left to the elements with the city government having no funds for restoration or removal.[43]

An analysis of crime in downtown Detroit by the Michigan Metropolitan Information Center at Wayne State University found crime rates in the central city lower than rates for the entire nation, state and other large Michigan metro areas - and improving. Detroit also includes middle-class neighborhoods in which crime is less prevalent than in impoverished areas.

The city has faced hundreds of arsons, often in the city's many abandoned homes, each year on Devil's Night, the evening before Halloween. The Angel's Night campaign, launched in the late 1990s, draws many volunteers to patrol the streets during Halloween week. The effort has reduced arson: while there were 810 fires set in 1984, this was reduced to 142 in 1996.[44]

Brutality and the failure to ensure the rights of suspects has caused problems within the Detroit Police Department. In 2004, following scandals and multiple adverse legal decisions, a court-ordered reorganization of the Detroit Police Department was implemented under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.[45]

Education

The city is served by the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) district, various charter schools, and private schools, and parochial Catholic schools run by the Archdiocese of Detroit.[46] In the early 1970s, the federal courts ordered busing to desegregate the system, which helped to accelerate the white flight that had been ongoing in the city.[47] As of 2004, Detroit schools were 91% African-American.[48]

File:Hilberry.jpg
Wayne State University's Hilberry Theatre

In the mid-to-late 1990s, the Michigan Legislature removed the locally elected board of education amid allegations of mismanagement and replaced it with a reform board appointed by the mayor and governor. The elected board of education returned following a city referendum in 2005. The first election of the new eleven member board of education occurred on November 8, 2005.[49] Due to rapidly declining enrollment, Detroit Public Schools has projected the closure of 95 schools by 2009.[50] Detroit Public Schools has closed 29 schools,[51] and the state mandated deficit reduction plan calls for the closure of a total of 110 schools.[52]

Detroit has several universities and colleges within its borders. Wayne State University is an internationally renowned university with medical and law schools. Other institutes of higher education are College for Creative Studies, Lewis College of Business, Marygrove College, University of Detroit Mercy, and Wayne County Community College. The Detroit College of Law, now affiliated with Michigan State University, was founded in the city in 1891 and remained there until 1997, when it relocated to East Lansing. Detroit was once the home of the University of Michigan, which was founded in Detroit in 1817 but later moved to Ann Arbor in 1837.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Detroit, Michigan

and Black culture of Detroit

Entrance to the Detroit Institute of Art located in the Cultural Center

Music has been the dominant feature of Detroit's nightlife since the late 1940s. The metropolitan area boasts two of the top live music venues in the United States: DTE Energy Music Theatre and The Palace of Auburn Hills[53] Detroit is home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Opera House. Major theaters include the Fox Theatre, Masonic Temple Theatre, and the Fisher Theatre.

Throughout the 1950s, Detroit was a center for jazz, in which stars of the era often came to Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood to perform.[54] One highlight of Detroit's musical history was Motown Records success during the 1960s and early 1970s, founded in Detroit by Berry Gordy, Jr. During the late 1960s, Detroiter Aretha Franklin became America's preeminent female soul artist. In the late 1960s, Metro Detroit also spawned a high-energy rock scene, the precursors of the punk rock movement. The area is also generally accepted as the birthplace of the Techno movement. Detroit is more recently home to many prominent hip-hop artists, notably Eminem. Several annual music events are held in the city, including the DEMF/Movement/Fuse-In electronic music festival, Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival, and the Concert of Colors summer music festival.

The car plays a major role in Detroit's cultural life in major events such as the North American International Auto Show. Due its close proximity to Canada, Detroit participates in the Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival, which features a fireworks display over the Detroit River and coincides with U.S. Independence day and Canada Day. The America's Thanksgiving Parade — previously referred to as the Hudson's Thanksgiving Day Parade — is one of the nation's largest and has been held continuously since 1924.[55]

Media

The Fisher Building, located in the City's New Center area, home to the Fisher Theatre as well as the antenna for radio station WJR.

The major daily newspapers serving Detroit are The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News, both broadsheet publications that are published together under a joint operating agreement. Other Detroit publications are weekly tabloids The Metro Times and Crain's Detroit Business. Detroit is home to the weekly Michigan Chronicle, the state's largest African American owned newspaper, and the Michigan Citizen.

The Detroit television market is the 11th largest in the United States.[56] Broadcast channels in Detroit include WJBK (Fox), WDIV-TV (NBC), WXYZ (ABC), and WWJ-TV (CBS). Other Metro Detroit television stations include WMYD (The WB), WKBD-TV (UPN), WPXD-TV (Pax TV) and WADL-TV. WTVS is the city's PBS station. Detroiters also receive broadcasts from CBET, the CBC Television affiliate in Windsor. Depending on location, some viewers can receive Canadian networks such as TVOntario, CTV, Global, A-Channel, Citytv, and SRC. Comcast has the one cable franchise so far granted by the city.

Detroit has the ninth largest radio market in the United States.[57] The primary AM stations are WWJ 950 (news), WJR 760 (news-talk), and WDFN 1130 (sports). WDET 101.9 is the city's NPR station. WUOM 91.7 and WEMU 89.1 are also regional NPR affiliates. Windsor radio stations CIMX 88.7 and CBC 89.9 can be heard in the Detroit area.

Sites of interest

Many Detroit museums are located in the Cultural Center near Wayne State University. These museums include Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Historical Museum, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Science Center, and the main branch of the Detroit Public Library. Other cultural highlights include the Motown Historical Museum, Tuskegee Airmen Museum, Fort Wayne, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, and the Belle Isle Conservatory. The Eastern Market farmer's distribution center is the largest open-air flowerbed market in the United States and has more than 150 foods and specialty businesses.[58]

File:DSCN4745 detroitofficebuildings e.jpg
Downtown Detroit buildings, the historic Art Deco Guardian Building is on the left

Hart Plaza, between the Renaissance Center and Cobo Hall on the riverfront, is the site of many events and various music festivals. Other sites of interest are the Detroit Zoo, the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, and the Belle Isle Aquarium. The aquarium and zoo on Belle Isle are currently closed.[59] The J.W. Westcott II, which delivers mail to freighters on the Detroit River, is the world's only floating post office.[60]

The most important civic sculpture in Detroit is the "Spirit of Detroit" at the Coleman Young Municipal Center. The image is often used as a symbol of Detroit and the statue itself is occasionally dressed in sports jerseys to celebrate when a Detroit team is doing well.[61] A memorial to Joe Louis at the intersection of Jefferson and Woodward Avenues was dedicated on October 16, 1986. The sculpture, commissioned by Sports Illustrated and executed by Robert Graham, is a 24 foot (7.3 m) long arm with a fisted hand suspended by a pyramidal framework.[62]

Sports

Interior of Joe Louis Arena.
See also: U.S. cities with teams from four major sports

Like many blue collar cities, Detroit is known for its avid fans, particularly basketball and hockey. Popularity in the latter sport has given the city the moniker of "Hockeytown." Detroit is home to professional teams representing the four major sports in North America. All but two play within the city of Detroit (basketball's Detroit Pistons and Detroit Shock play in suburban Auburn Hills). There are three active major sports venues within the city: Comerica Park, home of the baseball team Detroit Tigers; Ford Field, home of the football team (Detroit Lions and Joe Louis Arena, where the ice hockey team Detroit Red Wings plays.

Main entrance of Comerica Park.

In college sports, the University of Detroit Mercy has a NCAA Division I program, and Wayne State University has both NCAA Division I and II programs. The NCAA football Motor City Bowl is held at Ford Field each December.

Since 1904, the city has home to the American Power Boat Association Gold Cup unlimited hydroplane boat race, held annually on the Detroit River near Belle Isle.[63]. Detroit was the former home of a round of the Formula One World Championship, which held the race on the streets of downtown Detroit from 1982 until 1988, after which the sanction moved from Formula One to Indycars until its final run in 2001.[64]

Comerica Park hosted the 2005 MLB All-Star Game on July 12, 2005, and Ford Field hosted Super Bowl XL on February 5, 2006. On December 13, 2003, the largest crowd in basketball history (78,129) packed Ford Field to watch the University of Kentucky defeat Michigan State University, 79-74.[65]

Infrastructure

Emergency entrance to Detroit Receiving Hospital

Medicine

Detroit is home to three major medical systems: the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), Henry Ford Health System, and the St. John Hospitals. The DMC, a regional Level I trauma center, consists of Detroit Receiving Hospital and University Health Center, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Harper University Hospital, Hutzel Women's Hospital, Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Sinai-Grace Hospital, and the Karmanos Cancer Institute. The DMC has more than 2,000 licensed beds and 3,000 affiliated physicians.[66] The center is staffed by physicians from the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the largest single-campus medical school in the United States.[67]

Transportation

Because of its proximity to Canada and its industrial facilities, major highways, rail connections and international airport, Detroit has been an important transportation hub. There are three international border crossings at the Ambassador Bridge, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and Michigan Central Railway Tunnel, linking Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. Some 35% of U.S. trade with Canada passes through Detroit.[68] The Ambassador Bridge is the nation's busiest border crossing, carrying 25% of the total trade between the U.S. and Canada.[69]

A Detroit Department of Transportation bus along Woodward Avenue.

Detroit is the crossroads for three Interstate Highways: I-94 (Edsel Ford Freeway), I-96 (Jeffries Freeway) and I-75 (Fisher and Chrysler Freeways). I-696 (Walter Reuther Freeway) serves the northern suburbs, while I-275 serves the western suburbs and I-375 is a short extension of the Chrysler Freeway. Other major routes are the John C. Lodge Freeway (M-10), the Southfield Freeway (M-39) and the Davison Freeway (M-8).

A Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) bus traveling along Woodward Avenue

Coleman A. Young International Airport (DET), previously called Detroit City Airport, is on Detroit's northeast side. Although Southwest Airlines once flew from the airport, there is currently no commercial passenger service.[70] Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), the area's principal airport, is located in nearby Romulus and is a hub for Northwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines. Willow Run Airport, in far-western Wayne County near Ypsilanti is a general aviation and cargo airport.

Mass transit in the city functions in two separate spheres of influence. Bus services are provided by the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT), which terminates at the outer edges of the suburbs. Services in the suburbs are provided by the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART). Combining the systems has been problematic and tainted by the racial politics that has affected all aspects of city–suburban relationships.[71]

An automated guideway transit system known as the People Mover provides a 2.9 mile (4.6 km) loop in the downtown area and usually operates daily.[72] Amtrak provides service to Detroit, operating its Wolverine service between Chicago, Illinois, and Pontiac. The current passenger facility north of downtown replaced the presently unused Michigan Central Station, which was opened in 1913 and vacated in 1988.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Ste. Anne of Detroit St. Anne Church (accessed April 29, 2006).
  2. ^ Blockson, Charles and Chase, Henry (4/05). Detroit - Follow the North Star, The Guiding Light of the Underground Railroad. American Visions.
  3. ^ Zacharias, Patricia (2003). 'I have to die a man or live a coward' -- the saga of Dr. Ossian Sweet. Detroit News.
  4. ^ How Prohibition made Detroit a bootlegger's dream town. Detroit News.
  5. ^ Michigan Highways. michiganhighways.org (accessed April 30, 2006).
  6. ^ Nolan, Jenny (2003). Willow Run and the Arsenal of Democracy. Detroit News
  7. ^ Detroit's 'great warrior,' Coleman Young, dies (November 29, 1997). CNN.com.
  8. ^ Wild Kingdom. Detroit Blog. Accessed March 8, 2006.
  9. ^ Lage, Larry (2003). Comerica Park has what Tiger Stadium didn't - in many ways. The Detroit News
  10. ^ Zacharias, Patricia (2001). The ghostly salt city beneath Detroit. The Detroit News.
  11. ^ Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. (accessed May 27, 2006).
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  17. ^ Lin, Judy. Party store crackdown creates rift (February 16, 2006). Detroit News, reprinted in Chaldean Chat
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  21. ^ Flint, Jerry (9/9/1996). Can Detroit Weather a Downturn?. Forbes, found at faculty.ncwc.edu/denders/eng112/sample_summary.htm
  22. ^ Josar, David (5/27/2005) Neighborhood rebirth stalls: High property taxes burden Detroit homeowners. Detroit News.
  23. ^ Bureau of Labor Statistics (2/06). Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary. U.S. Department of Labor.
  24. ^ Bello, Marisol (12/30/2005).Auto woes add to city's budget problems. Detroit Free Press.
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Further reading

  • Burton, Clarence M (1896). Cadillac's Village: A History of the Settlement, 1701-1710. Detroit Society for Genealogical Research. ISBN 0943112214.
  • Burton, Clarence M (1912). Early Detroit: A sketch of some of the interesting affairs of the olden time. Burton Abstracts. ASIN B00085GX94.
  • Chafets, Zev (1990). Devil's Night: And Other True Tales of Detroit. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 0394585259.
  • Farley, Reynolds; et al. (2002). Detroit Divided. Russell Sage Foundation Publications. ISBN 0871542811. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
  • Peter Gavrilovich and Bill McGraw (2000). The Detroit Almanac. Detroit Free Press. ISBN 0937247340.
  • Powell, L. P (1901). "Detroit, the Queen City," Historic Towns of the Western States (New York).
  • Farmer, Silas (1889). History of Detroit and Wayne County and Early Michigan. Omnigraphics Inc; Reprint edition (October 1998). ISBN 1558889914.
  • Parkman, Francis (1994). The Conspiracy of Pontiac. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803287372.
  • Poremba, David Lee (2003). Detroit: A Motor City History. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738524352.
  • Sugrue, Thomas J (1998). The Origins of the Urban Crisis. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691058881.

Municipal government and local Chamber of Commerce

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Historical research and current events

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