Campus Martius was designed as the new center of the city under the Woodward Plan, which was the plan for rebuilding the city after the disastrous fire of 1805. This was really the point of changeover from the old French city to the new American one. At that time Campus Martius was actually a bit north of the city itself, but it soon grew into the center of Detroit. Eventually, of course, City Hall was located there [[as was the central market, opera house, etc.).
To add to Gazhekwe's list of mile roads above, the Michigan Ave. [[as far as Wyoming) - Ford Rd. alignment is basically zero mile. That's why when you get to the high spots on Ford Rd. on a clear day you see straight downtown.
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