Is Lincoln Park officially a ghetto?

**melvindaler** · February-19-18, 04:34 PM

Okay, so y'all know how River Rouge and Ecorse are basically Detroit? Well what I want to know is if Lincoln Park is officially like that too? The northern areas like on Outer Drive are pretty bad, but South LP is okay. So can Lincoln Park as a whole be considered ghetto like RR and the E?

**dtowncitylover** · February-19-18, 06:10 PM

No, I don't know but this oughta be good.

**Richard** · February-19-18, 06:27 PM

Lol,do they actually have official names for the ghetto,my wealthy friends tell me I live in the ghetto,then when they visit they are shocked as how quiet it actually is.

So then I get to tell them I have the same quietness they have at 1/10 of the cost,I think it is a subjective term, ghetto.

My ghetto house has appreciated 160% in the last three years where theirs a lowly 20%,I kinda like the ghetto.

**melvindaler** · February-19-18, 08:16 PM

Originally Posted by Richard

Lol,do they actually have official names for the ghetto,my wealthy friends tell me I live in the ghetto,then when they visit they are shocked as how quiet it actually is.

So then I get to tell them I have the same quietness they have at 1/10 of the cost,I think it is a subjective term, ghetto.

My ghetto house has appreciated 160% in the last three years where theirs a lowly 20%,I kinda like the ghetto.

I define ghetto as having a lot of abandoned property, high crime rate, or houses that look like crap. That means houses that have with broken windows, roofs with some of the shingles gone or that only have a tarp over the roof, or where it looks like there's crap on the siding. There's some of that in north LP, I used to live there til '16, then I moved to Melvindale, which is actually a nice city. I don't know why everyone says Melvindale is worse than LP, but that deserves its own separate post.

**softailrider** · February-20-18, 01:18 AM

I know a lady that has some rental houses in LP. She said there’s a lot of crack heads around there, sneaking into garages of vacant houses to get high, those are her words not mine. To me that city doesn’t seem like heaven on earth but it doesn’t seem too bad either.

**melvindaler** · February-20-18, 01:55 AM

Originally Posted by softailrider

I know a lady that has some rental houses in LP. She said there’s a lot of crack heads around there, sneaking into garages of vacant houses to get high, those are her words not mine. To me that city doesn’t seem like heaven on earth but it doesn’t seem too bad either.

What part of LP? We didn't get crackheads on Arlington and Porter, though there were people driving down the street blasting loud rap music, and sometimes I'd get woken up at 3am because of the sound of squealing tires. Glad I don't live there anymore

**jackie5275** · February-20-18, 09:12 AM

My husband lived on the east side of Detroit in the area of E State Fair & Schoenherr before we married and moved to Lincoln Park in the early 90s. His Detroit neighborhood was in decline. He was a crime victim more than once. Lincoln Park was a decent area when we first moved there, however after some time it started going down hill. We didn't even live in the north end. We were south of Southfield and east of Fort. We were there for about 10 yrs. The last 2-3 was when my husband started seeing in our neighborhood the same signs of decline he had seen in his Detroit neighborhood. Gang graffiti, cars speeding down residential streets, home invasions, etc. It was when the dead body was found at the park near our house that our final decision to move out was made. We left with no regrets and never looked back.
Some parts of it are okay, particularly the areas farther south down Fort closer to Wyandotte. However, anything north of Southfield isn't and even wasn't when we lived there.

**MicrosoftFan** · February-20-18, 09:15 AM

Lincoln Park was never really nice to begin with. It was a bedroom community with a basic housing stock. However, it has some potential. It’s an inner ring suburb with a downtown, and could experience a revival similar to Hazel Park or Ferndale. The schools are still decent and even some of the areas on the north side near Melvindale are ok.

**mtburb** · February-20-18, 11:22 AM

You also have to remember - Lincoln Park has two large dead strip malls and they have been well run-down lately. Fortunately the largest of the two, the Lincoln Park Shopping Center, is already being torn down.

The area around Fort and Outer Drive is simply a continuation of dilapidated Detroit across the border, but head south and it gradually improves.

Even though it abuts the smaller of the dead strip malls, Emmons Boulevard heading east from Fort has a large number of nice 1920's-era homes, though those will become more prominent as you head further east into Wyandotte.

**Lowell** · February-20-18, 01:58 PM

I'd like to see some Google Street views of Lincoln Park that demonstrate your point. I couldn't find any. For example is there anything that compares with, say, this level decay [sampled from Detroit]?

I do not find anything like that in my quick sampling of Lincoln Park via Street View.

Instead I see tidy homes, few with iron grate doors and none obviously abandoned and/or in decay. Note I street-view sampled only those parts of Lincoln Park adjacent to Detroit and Ecorse.

**aj3647** · February-20-18, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by jackie5275

The last 2-3 was when my husband started seeing in our neighborhood the same signs of decline he had seen in his Detroit neighborhood. Gang graffiti, cars speeding down residential streets, home invasions, etc.

Similar trajectory with my family. Graffiti showing up on garages, cars doing 45MPH down residential streets and blowing through stop signs, increasing property crime, people accosting you on the sidewalks, etc. And that was 20 years ago. I see Allen Park on a similar trajectory, just with a two decade lag time.

**melvindaler** · February-20-18, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

I'd like to see some Google Street views of Lincoln Park that demonstrate your point. I couldn't find any. For example is there anything that compares with, say, this level decay [sampled from Detroit]?

I do not find anything like that in my quick sampling of Lincoln Park via Street View.

Instead I see tidy homes, few with iron grate doors and none obviously abandoned and/or in decay. Note I street-view sampled only those parts of Lincoln Park adjacent to Detroit and Ecorse.

There isn't much of LP that is comparable to that, but it's still got some bad areas. Like these

1
2

The second one isn't even near Detroit

**Cincinnati_Kid** · February-20-18, 03:17 PM

You can make that claim about other suburbs also. You been to Hazel Park lately? Most of the inner ring suburbs around Detroit, are showing signs of decay.

**jackie5275** · February-20-18, 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

I'd like to see some Google Street views of Lincoln Park that demonstrate your point. I couldn't find any. For example is there anything that compares with, say, this level decay [sampled from Detroit]?

I do not find anything like that in my quick sampling of Lincoln Park via Street View.

Instead I see tidy homes, few with iron grate doors and none obviously abandoned and/or in decay. Note I street-view sampled only those parts of Lincoln Park adjacent to Detroit and Ecorse.

Does an area have to be decaying to be considered a ghetto? How long ago where these Google street views taken? The street view photo of my old house in Lincoln Park was taken in July 2013. If that's when they did all of them for Lincoln Park, well, there can be a lot of changes in 4+ years.

**MicrosoftFan** · February-20-18, 04:21 PM

It’s not so much decay as just a general dumpy-ness. Homes in LP have always pretty much been sided bungalows. Nor is it the fault of an increasing minority population from SW Detroit- LP has always had a lower income, white working class population similar to Taylor. The tax base is shrinking as old people die and not enough millenials to take their place.

And on the strip malls- someone should really redevelop one of those into a suburban mixed use development.

How’s Melvindale these days?

**Lowell** · February-20-18, 04:45 PM

I don't see anything special from those links. The first is just a dead end with no houses, the second are humble but kept up homes and, what always speaks volumes for me, with no iron grated security doors.

Did I miss something?

Originally Posted by melvindaler

There isn't much of LP that is comparable to that, but it's still got some bad areas. Like these

1
2

The second one isn't even near Detroit

**wilderness** · February-20-18, 06:01 PM

Lowell,
The first link dead ends because the bridge formerly crossing the Ecorse Creek is closed. Austin St was the emergancy entrance for the former Outer Drive Hospital [[re-named multiple times) on the right of the same pic.

The 1800 block of Hanover is the 1st block east of Dix. Believe just across from the old Sears. Some of the homes have been maintained while others have not.

More than 35 years ago, the entire north end of the city up-to-and-including Champaign st., were deemed a blighted area to allow low interest Federal loans for home improvement. When the loans began it was 6-months to a year to get approved. Some years back I heard that the waiting list was multiple year, and that was just to get on the list.

LP is a high turnover for Real Estate Agents.

BTW, many of the former bungalows were created in 1920s and sold for $1,500 being located on the very back of the property. They were known as garage homes and initially only meant to be temporary. A few still exist today [[with improvements and additions, but still on the property back).

In the 50s there mass sub-divisions built where they all were almost identical. Most are in the 800 to 950 sq ft range. Some have had additions.

**mtburb** · February-20-18, 08:06 PM

Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

You can make that claim about other suburbs also. You been to Hazel Park lately? Most of the inner ring suburbs around Detroit, are showing signs of decay.

Even older suburbs close to Detroit but not sharing a border with Detroit have a little sign of decay.

Take this example from Wyandotte, this one is in fact nowhere near either Lincoln Park or Ecorse.

**MicrosoftFan** · February-20-18, 08:10 PM

There’s really nowhere not showing decay except far out exurbs who’ve only existed for 10 years. I think LP has a lot of potential- also, is it just me or are all of their streets terrible?

**melvindaler** · February-20-18, 08:24 PM

Originally Posted by mtburb

Even older suburbs close to Detroit but not sharing a border with Detroit have a little sign of decay.

Take this example from Wyandotte, this one is in fact nowhere near either Lincoln Park or Ecorse.

what is a leather company doing on a residential street?!

**softailrider** · February-20-18, 08:37 PM

Like I said before, I don’t think LP is that bad. But if you have a bunch of trash living around you it makes your quality of life bad, even if you go out of your way to mind your own business.

**MicrosoftFan** · February-20-18, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by melvindaler

what is a leather company doing on a residential street?!

Wyandotte is famous for having either poorly enforced or far fewer zoning laws. Don’t they also have the most bars per capita?

**lpg** · February-20-18, 09:58 PM

My family has been in LP since 1914. Attended LP schools as have our kids. I live close to the plaza on Emmons. Watched the city rise and fall. It has changed a lot. More rentals and the associated problems with tenants who bring a loud and violent lifestyle with them. Would move if we could, but every area has it's problems.