Hamtramck

[RickBeall]

I know where you are coming from but I don't think that would be a good idea. It would be better to just use existing laws and make sure they keep their properties up to code.


How about a law where you cannot garden on a parcel unless it is contiguous to your house? Ha ha . Just messin' with you.

[CassTechGrad]

1950's looking south from Caniff & Campau.

1960's from near the Polish Art Center looking north.

[Shollin]

I was thinking about the difference between Hamtramck and Highland Park. I was touring Highland Park yesterday, and the housing stock is just so beautiful, or at least it was. Some of the streets looked like they could rival areas of Grosse Pointe had they not been abandoned. You also have Woodward running right through the middle of it. With this great housing stock and commercial thoroughfare, why did Highland Park decline so much more than Hamtramck? Why did immigrants chose Hamtramck over Highland Park? I know the Ford plant closed in Highland Park, but Hamtramck also experienced the closing of Dodge Main. Perhaps the final blow was Chrysler moving from Highland Park to Auburn Hills? I also wonder if Hamtrack being 90% polish had anything to do with it? Perhaps being dominated by one ethnicity there was more a sense of community and more a sense to stay.

[Detroitej72]

I was thinking about the difference between Hamtramck and Highland Park. I was touring Highland Park yesterday, and the housing stock is just so beautiful, or at least it was. Some of the streets looked like they could rival areas of Grosse Pointe had they not been abandoned. You also have Woodward running right through the middle of it. With this great housing stock and commercial thoroughfare, why did Highland Park decline so much more than Hamtramck? Why did immigrants chose Hamtramck over Highland Park? I know the Ford plant closed in Highland Park, but Hamtramck also experienced the closing of Dodge Main. Perhaps the final blow was Chrysler moving from Highland Park to Auburn Hills? I also wonder if Hamtrack being 90% polish had anything to do with it? Perhaps being dominated by one ethnicity there was more a sense of community and more a sense to stay.

The other thing that is interesting is that Hamtramck was mostly line workers, very blue collar while Highland Park was more management. In fact, at one time HP rivaled Grosse Pointe, complete with their own water system.

I think the biggest reason for the two cities treading in opposite directions is due to immigrants. Hamtown has been a destination and has welcomed multiple waves of immigrants over the years. Meanwhile, HP never really attracted any new ethnic groups once the white folks moved out to greener pastures.

I would hold this up as another example why immigration is good for the United States, they stabilize older neighborhoods and create jobs.

[Islandman]

I was thinking about the difference between Hamtramck and Highland Park. I was touring Highland Park yesterday, and the housing stock is just so beautiful, or at least it was. Some of the streets looked like they could rival areas of Grosse Pointe had they not been abandoned. You also have Woodward running right through the middle of it. With this great housing stock and commercial thoroughfare, why did Highland Park decline so much more than Hamtramck? Why did immigrants chose Hamtramck over Highland Park? I know the Ford plant closed in Highland Park, but Hamtramck also experienced the closing of Dodge Main. Perhaps the final blow was Chrysler moving from Highland Park to Auburn Hills? I also wonder if Hamtrack being 90% polish had anything to do with it? Perhaps being dominated by one ethnicity there was more a sense of community and more a sense to stay.

Also keep in mind that Highland Park was the "canary in the mine" in the 80s; it was the first area of town to really get hit with the crack epidemic.

[RickBeall]

Highland Park was circling the drain even when Chrysler was there. I lived in Highland Park in the 1980's. It looked the same. The loss of Chrysler did not cause the problem.

[Shollin]

IIRC Highland Park has a water resoivor on Dequindre by 6 mile.

[Danny]

IIRC Highland Park has a water resoivor on Dequindre by 6 mile.

That reservoir is connected with a series watermains which comes from Grosse Pointe.

[GUSHI]

Not to mention a lot of Albanians in other parts of Hamtown,

[GUSHI]

Danny you forgot about all the Albanians and former Yugoslavian, that's also lived in Hamtramck,at that time, some still do, the streets of dorthy, Oliver, winkle man, and miller and few other streets around there housed a shit load of Albanians, from the 1970 to early 1990s between Conant and mt Elliott, the former resurrection parish[[Polish parish) on miller which is now a Mosk, use hold mass in Albanian in the 1970s for a short time, I grew up in that area when I moved out in tue early 90s there were still over a dozen Albanian families in that area,

[RickBeall]

Hey Danni, that was an unvarnished, pretty impressive history you gave there! Nice!