Obscure neighorboods of the City

[5speedz34]

Well that's the first I've heard of Cornerstone Village leave it to Facebook to elude me. Still doesn't explain what the boundaries of the neighborhood are, unless it's everything from Mack-I94 and EEV border-Kingsville.

[kathy2trips]

We lived on Alstead just south of Kingsville. At the time Kingsville was the Detroit-Harper Woods border. Our city code was Detroit, 36, Mich.

Thanks for the history of my old beloved neighborhood! I was little then and didn't know all the history. During Detroit's heyday, very few areas had neighborhood names. You would just give the cross-streets if asked.

[Frumoasa]

What is the area just north of Hamtramck city limits to the Davison called? I have heard it referred to as "Hamtramck Heights" but I always heard that that name referred to houses north of Caniff within Hamtramck. It isn't historically tied to Nortown and seems to have always been just Hamtramck overflow. I would be curious to find out if it ever had its own name or if it was always just an extension.

[EMG]

That is absolutely correct, and was and is true of Britain and Yorkshire as well [[as far as the houses). With the exception, I think, of a few houses along the south side of Grayton in the Wayburn-to-Laing area, NONE of those east-west streets had any houses facing them - at least between Kelly and McKinney. From McKinney to I-94, however, [[or from McKinney to Cadieux in the case of Britain), all three of those streets became residential blocks with houses on them - and the north-south King Richard was the cross street without houses facing it.

Of course, between Kelly and McKinney, some of those corner houses had GARAGES which faced the east-west streets.

[Hermod]

That is absolutely correct, and was and is true of Britain and Yorkshire as well [[as far as the houses). With the exception, I think, of a few houses along the south side of Grayton in the Wayburn-to-Laing area, NONE of those east-west streets had any houses facing them - at least between Kelly and McKinney. From McKinney to I-94, however, [[or from McKinney to Cadieux in the case of Britain), all three of those streets became residential blocks with houses on them - and the north-south King Richard was the cross street without houses facing it.

Of course, between Kelly and McKinney, some of those corner houses had GARAGES which faced the east-west streets.

Yes, those were referred to in the real estate biz as "side-loading garages" and were supposedly quite desirable.

I agree with you that east of McKinney the streets quit being side streets and became residential. Those streets were probably developed moving west from Harper [[the houses were older). West of McKinney the houses were developed moving north from Whittier. Most everything north of Grayton was still empty fields on Nottingham, Beaconsfield, Roxbury, and Lakepointe during WWII.

[kathy2trips]

Krainz Woods was named for Captain John Krainz, a World War II hero from Detroit. They named streets, neighborhoods, etc. after war heroes a lot. If you know your history, sometimes you can tell how old an area is just by their street names.

My mom's people all lived in what is now evidently called McDougall-Hunt, east of Mt. Elliot, but I never heard it called that. by anyone. I don't know where that name came from. I most often heard it called "Old Germantown" by the old folks [[born before 1920), due to the high concentration of Germans there at the time. I've also heard it referred to [[jokingly) by the "greatest generation" crowd as "North Indian Village". Oh, LA-DEE-DAH! LOL

[Cass1966]

This picture shows the area from Davison/ 6 Mile south to Luce and Fenelon west to Moenart. As you can see, it was part of the Highland Gardens sub-division and is just northwest of Hamtramck. The map shows that Jerome Ave. was changed to 6 Mile Road which was then changed to McNichols. We lived in lot #235 on Moenart, colored red. During the 1960’s there was a pizzeria called Home of the Pizza right on the corner of Moenart and 6 Mile and I was the delivery boy around 1965-66.

[Stinger4me]

Cass1966;
Thanks for posting the diagram. We lived on Buffalo between Luce and Desner. I remember the "Home of the Pizza" and when it took over a building which was vacant for a long time prior to them occupying the building. It wasn't a well-to-do neighborhood but the folks took pride in their homes and took care of them. Do you remember the Bazaar and Sunny Boy Supermarket?

[Danny]

This picture shows the area from Davison/ 6 Mile south to Luce and Fenelon west to Moenart. As you can see, it was part of the Highland Gardens sub-division and is just northwest of Hamtramck. The map shows that Jerome Ave. was changed to 6 Mile Road which was then changed to McNichols. We lived in lot #235 on Moenart, colored red. During the 1960’s there was a pizzeria called Home of the Pizza right on the corner of Moenart and 6 Mile and I was the delivery boy around 1965-66.

Highland Gardens today is a mostly black Detroit Ghettohood for the past 30 years. However during the past 20 years, fewer Yemeni Arab Muslim families are making a slow growth in that area. Due to crowded housing problems in Hamtramck. During the past ten years fewer Bengali Hindus and Muslim families are settling over there.

[Cass1966]

Highland Gardens today is a mostly black Detroit Ghettohood for the past 30 years. However during the past 20 years, fewer Yemeni Arab Muslim families are making a slow growth in that area. Due to crowded housing problems in Hamtramck. During the past ten years fewer Bengali Hindus and Muslim families are settling over there.

We just called our neighborhood “6 Mile and Davison�, if anyone asked where we were from. It was a safe, friendly, working class blue-collar area, just like a 1000 other neighborhoods in Detroit during the 1950’s & 1960’s. It contained everything a community needed and it’s sad to see it today in such bad shape. Transfiguration Parish is still open and so is Buddy’s pizzeria and White Elementary School, but about everything else from the time I lived there is gone: Turtle Soup Inn, Lasky Recreation center, Norm’s comics, Venice pool hall, etc. Stinger4me says he lived two streets over from me and I remember Sonny Boys and Bazaar, and the little store on Luce & Caldwell. The local garage was the 6 Mile & Buffalo Shell station and I found an old bill for some service work on my 1966 Chevy, the date on the receipt is 1-23-1967.

[WaCoTS]

a great resource for this topic is the book Detroit Beginnings: Early Villages and Old Neighborhoods of Detroit written in 2001 by Gene Scott, and produced as a Detroit 300 Partners Program of the Detroit Retired City Employees Association

it is uncopyrighted, and looks more like a pamphlet, but it has over 100 pages, and contains maps, pictures, bibliography, and outlines the name & origin of every single old neighborhood [[of which there's 51listed ) or early village [[of which there's 44 listed). there's also an appendix to explain what the names of many of detroit's streets mean, and how they got their name

[sumas]

I would love to get a copy of Detroit Beginnings. Clues anyone?

[dtowncitylover]

I would love to get a copy of Detroit Beginnings. Clues anyone?

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-163049951.html

Order it directly from Gene Scott, the author.

[MikeM]

I would love to get a copy of Detroit Beginnings. Clues anyone?

Try the Detroit Historical Museum gift shop.

[dtowncitylover]

I was looking at the blog from the thead "The Good Side of Detroit" and the author of that blog had photos of the "Chadsey-Condon" and "Norham" neighborhoods. I looked up Chadsey-Condon and that's on the west side, google maps calls it "Michigan-Martin". Norham, I could only find through another forum for being NORth of HAMtramck, kindly like Tribeca in NYC [[Triangle Below Canal St, fyi).

[Bearinabox]

I was looking at the blog from the thead "The Good Side of Detroit" and the author of that blog had photos of the "Chadsey-Condon" and "Norham" neighborhoods. I looked up Chadsey-Condon and that's on the west side, google maps calls it "Michigan-Martin". Norham, I could only find through another forum for being NORth of HAMtramck, kindly like Tribeca in NYC [[Triangle Below Canal St, fyi).

I knew which neighborhoods he meant, but I don't know that people actually call them that.

[donpablo]

I knew which neighborhoods he meant, but I don't know that people actually call them that.

There were new "Chadsey-Condon" banner signs installed in a few spot along Mcgraw near Central. But yeah, we dont call it that.

[FerndaleDamon]

What about "Leesville" @ Harper & Gratiot on the eastside? It was a distinct village, untill Detroit annexed it in the '20s. Another one was " Norris", which was at Mt. Elliot/Nevada? It was annexed by Detroit in 1924, from what I've researched. There were many more. I've always thought this kinda' history was really fascinating when you track Detroit's growth.

[FerndaleDamon]

"Norris" is particularly interesting because you can still see a cluster of a few homes & buisnesses that were the center of the town. The "Two Way Inn" is still open on weekends, which used to be the town's jail, post office & other functions. Very cool.

[missn]

Anybody ever hear of a former community on the West Side called Howlett? A friend had an old envelope postmarked from there.

I have always been interested in the part of Detroit across the Rouge River from Detroit that seems as if it should be a part of Dearborn Hts. Anyone know this area? I believe Google calls it Parkland.

[stromberg2]

What about Pilgrim Village, [[I think) around Grand River/Livernois area?

Stromberg2

[ggores]

the part of Detroit across the Rouge River from Detroit that seems as if it should be a part of Dearborn Hts.

Say what now?

[Hermod]

Anybody ever hear of a former community on the West Side called Howlett? A friend had an old envelope postmarked from there.

I have always been interested in the part of Detroit across the Rouge River from Detroit that seems as if it should be a part of Dearborn Hts. Anyone know this area? I believe Google calls it Parkland.

Howlett was a stop on the Grand River Line [[Detroit-Farmington) of the DUR. It was bounded by Livernois on the west, Dexter on the east, Fullerton on the north, and Joy Road on the south. It had a total population around 400 at the turn of the century. Grand River was the last of Detroit's 'radial roads" to be populated.

Rose Hill was in the vicinity of Schoolcraft and Grand River.

[MikeM]

Howlett, intersection of Grand River and Livernois:

Attachment 5787

[MikeM]

North Detroit, Leesville, and Kraft [[Hamtramck):

Attachment 5788