History of the Lower North End

[YounginDetroit]

Between E. Grand blvd and I94 and woodward and I75. Does anybody have any pictures of the area. It was obviously idustrial, but what where the bars like, where there any restaurant and are all the rail lines in use. Any information possible would be greatly appreciated.

[Detroitnerd]

It used to be largely residential north of Milwaukee before the 1950s. They bulldozed a lot of homes to put up, for instance, what's now the Hastings Street Ballroom.

[Hamtragedy]

The original Ford Model T plant on Beaubien and Brush is still there. The history of that neighborhood [[if it could really be called that) is that there were more than 30 different automobile companies [[not just factories) alone in that section of town. [[Studebaker had a huge plant on Riopelle that burned to the ground less than 10 years ago). Detroit zoning laws were pretty much non-existent then, so you would see housing mixed with industry, some of which is still visible on Harper [[94 service drive, north side). The rail lines supplied the industry with raw materials, on the way to Milwaukee Junction, due east of that neighborhood. By the time the Dodge Brothers built the Dodge Main plant [[where the Poletown GM plant is now [[and way before 1-75), it was larger, by comparison, every single entity combined in that section of town, including the Murray Body works [[Russell Industrial Complex), Fisher Body [[several in that neighborhood), Briggs [[long since burned), Ford, Studebaker, etc.

If that section of town interests you, by all means take a Preservation Wayne tour of the Model T Plant and get the lowdown on what, essentially, was the incubator of Detroit Automotive history. And if you haven't found it yet [[and lost days of productivity) the Detroit Yes hall of fame thread Old Car Factories is about 27 pages, includes maps, pictures, everything.

[EastsideAl]

As for restaurants, it was once home to the famous Stanley's Mannia Cafe

[313WX]

I'm remember hearing Sonny Eliot grew up in that area [[Milwaukee Junction)...

[Neilr]

As for restaurants, it was once home to the famous Stanley's Mannia Cafe

A tangent to Eastside Al's post:

Stanley Hong lived a bit to the NW of his restaurant at 961 Boston Blvd. in a home designed by his neighbor, architect Nathan Johnson.

[Hastings]

It used to be largely residential north of Milwaukee before the 1950s. They bulldozed a lot of homes to put up, for instance, what's now the Hastings Street Ballroom.

HUH? The building that houses Tangent/Hastings street ballroom was built in the early 1930's. Any pictures of the area would be great to see. I've often fantasized what it was like back in the day. Industrial south of the blvd and residential north is what I see. Some aerial pictures I've seen show some smaller buildings. Bars ,Flop houses, restaurants? Steam engines up and down the rr tracks. and probably anything you could want, a meal, a drink , a woman or a room to sleep ,within a ten min. walk.

[Dan Wesson]

I worked a lot of residential in Detroit during the 80's and I don't really recall many jobs at all in that area. I didn't live far from that area and never really had the need to go in there. It's almost like a lost area to me.
I vaguely remember a bar or two on brush, I think. But mostly remember small single story brick factories in the area with a few homes on the blvd

[313WX]

I worked a lot of residential in Detroit during the 80's and I don't really recall many jobs at all in that area. I didn't live far from that area and never really had the need to go in there. It's almost like a lost area to me.
I vaguely remember a bar or two on brush, I think. But mostly remember small single story brick factories in the area with a few homes on the blvd

I would say most of residential along the I-75 corridor [[arguably as a result of I-75) was long gone by the 70s.

There were replaced by housing projects, the DMC, the Pepsi factory and more warehouses/factories.

[EastsideAl]

I would say most of residential along the I-75 corridor [[arguably as a result of I-75) was long gone by the 70s.

There were replaced by housing projects, the DMC, the Pepsi factory and more warehouses/factories.

The real action was, of course, in Paradise Valley along Hastings St. [[where I-75 is today) south of Harper [[roughly where I-94 is today) down to Gratiot. It was the heart of Detroit's African-American entertainment and commercial district until it was demolished by the city in the late '50s and early '60s.

Oakland Ave. north of the Blvd. was a similar entertainment and commercial district. It was a primarily Jewish area for some years [[a Jewish bathhouse - "The Schvitz" - is still there), and later African-American.

The area the original poster is talking about though, from Harper to the Blvd., was mostly industrial. The railroads ran through there, and, of course, the major Milwaukee Junction railroad junction was there.

Here is a gallery of pictures of Paradise Valley just before it was demolished, after its real heyday.

https://www.reuther.wayne.edu/image/tid/1720