Question about neighborhoods

[PGC]

I'll start this by saying that I live in Maryland but I've always had a fascination with Detroit.

I've been wondering about this for a while...I've noticed that alot of times, if someone mentions that they are moving into the City of Detroit, they are usually steered towards downtown, or a handful of other neighborhoods [[Midtown, Palmer Park, East English Village, etc). Most other areas of the city are usually represented as no-go zones. My question is about some of these other areas.

Looking around on Google maps, I see a lot of neighborhood names that I don't think I've ever heard anything about. I've also been told that large parts of the city don't technically have neighborhood names, but are referred to as the name of a nearby intersection. I put together a list of some of these places that I would like to learn more about.

Can anybody tell me anything about some of these areas? I'm just curious, as I know absolutely nothing about them other than that they are usually represented as burned-out warzones. Basically, I would just like to know anything that anybody can tell me. Are some of them better or worse than others?

-Five Points
-The Eye
-Eliza Howell
-Weatherby
-Herman Gardens
-Westwood Park
-Minock Park
-Seven Mile/Evergreen
-Blackstone Park
-Seven Mile/Greenfield
-Belmont
-Grandale
-Barton-McFarland
-Littlefield
-Bagley
-Fitzgerald
-Green Acres
-Russell Woods
-Petosky-Otsego
-Michigan-Martin
-Boynton
-Alden Park
-Grixdale
-Krainz Woods
-McDougall-Hunt
-Mack/Van Dyke
-Ravendale
-Seven Mile/Van Dyke
-Greensbriar
-Mohican Regent
-Regent Park
-McNichols/Gratiot
-Conant Gardens
-Livernois/Fenkell
-Berg-Lasher

I realize it's a big list and I appreciate anything that anyone can tell me about any of them, good or bad. I haven't been to Detroit since I was in high school and I regret not seeing much besides downtown.

[rencense]

Hi PGC,

I can probably help a little. Now I can't vouch for individual neighborhoods in terms of safety much but have been around many of them and I would say there is generally a correlation between how well kept an area is and its safety [[probably a few exceptions to that rule though)

Herman gardens was previously a housing project that was demolished. I believe that there is new housing coming up in that area now.

Minock park is part of the rosedale park area which is pretty well kept [[maybe not quite as nice as rosedale park and grandmont-rosedale) but fairly nice and certainly not bombed out.

Bagley is very nice and in fact I'm looking at houses in the area. The neighborhood is very well kept and there is even some decent retail around there on livernois.

Green acres, along with palmer woods and sherwood park, is one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. Very large beautiful houses here.

Russell woods, mohican regent, and berg-lahser/old redford area are pretty decent overall. I believe there is a DYes poster here who lives in grixdale who might be able to provide some insight about that area.

Detroit is very unique in how drastically areas differ in a short distance of each other. If you paint with a very broad brush in general NW detroit has many of the most solid neighborhoods. Closer to downtown is more hit or miss. Google streetview can give a lot of insight as to how an area is holding up. Hopefully this helps and more will chime in if they're familiar with some of these neighborhoods.

[DetroitPole]

I'll start this by saying that I live in Maryland but I've always had a fascination with Detroit.

I've been wondering about this for a while...I've noticed that alot of times, if someone mentions that they are moving into the City of Detroit, they are usually steered towards downtown, or a handful of other neighborhoods [[Midtown, Palmer Park, East English Village, etc). Most other areas of the city are usually represented as no-go zones. My question is about some of these other areas.

Looking around on Google maps, I see a lot of neighborhood names that I don't think I've ever heard anything about. I've also been told that large parts of the city don't technically have neighborhood names, but are referred to as the name of a nearby intersection. I put together a list of some of these places that I would like to learn more about.

Can anybody tell me anything about some of these areas? I'm just curious, as I know absolutely nothing about them other than that they are usually represented as burned-out warzones. Basically, I would just like to know anything that anybody can tell me. Are some of them better or worse than others?

-Five Points
-The Eye
-Eliza Howell
-Weatherby
-Herman Gardens
-Westwood Park
-Minock Park
-Seven Mile/Evergreen
-Blackstone Park
-Seven Mile/Greenfield
-Belmont
-Grandale
-Barton-McFarland
-Littlefield
-Bagley
-Fitzgerald
-Green Acres
-Russell Woods
-Petosky-Otsego
-Michigan-Martin
-Boynton
-Alden Park
-Grixdale
-Krainz Woods
-McDougall-Hunt
-Mack/Van Dyke
-Ravendale
-Seven Mile/Van Dyke
-Greensbriar
-Mohican Regent
-Regent Park
-McNichols/Gratiot
-Conant Gardens
-Livernois/Fenkell
-Berg-Lasher

I realize it's a big list and I appreciate anything that anyone can tell me about any of them, good or bad. I haven't been to Detroit since I was in high school and I regret not seeing much besides downtown.

This is a good topic.

I get the impression that a lot of areas were essentially "assigned" names when in reality people just went by intersections. Of course there are notable exceptions.

What I like is that many of these places are little gems that the outside world has no idea about. Like "Ravendale." Well, I have no idea if anyone who lives there calls it that [[my only experience is a friend who dated a guy from the area) but for such a deep inner city area it appears to be some sharp, well-maintained bungalows.

Conant Gardens is also reasonably well-maintained, and was one of the few places where the black middle class was allowed to move to. The houses remind me of East Detroit.

Boynton is also interesting. In southwest Detroit, modest bungalows, well-maintained, and an almost exclusively black neighborhood.

Regent Park resembles Harper Woods. All brick, border of Detroit, East Detroit, and Harper Woods, mostly post-war bungalows. I'd say the most stable neighborhood off of Gratiot outside of downtown.

Alden Park is the area on the east side of Woodward across from Boston Edison. Much smaller, but very stately homes. My impression is that it was in more disrepair than B-E.

McDougall-Hunt is a weird one. There is a tiny sign on Mack past Gratiot that signifies McDougall-Hunt, which I assume may have been a block club a ways back, but the area appears to be totally shot.

Lastly, if I had to pick a neighborhood on the list to live, since mine, East English Village is not listed, I'd pick Green Acres. Cheers.

[PGC]

Thank you both for replying, it was very informative. I would like to find out as much as I can about various parts of the city, and sometimes its hard when the typical response from a lot of people is along the lines of "you'll get shot/stabbed/robbed/raped if you go there".

Do you know why it is that a lot of the areas don't have a name for the neighborhood? Did they have one in the past and it just fell out of use or did they never have one to begin with?

[eno]

There is no neighborhood called the Eye. The Eye was the name given to a community patrol project manned by concerned residents of the area bounded by Grand River/Telegraph/Six Mile Rd./Five Points. Signs were posted through the neighborhood stating the area was patrolled by the Eye. Apparently, Google Maps has mistaken the signs as identifying the area. I believe it's been quite a while since the Eye was active. If there were an identifying name for the neighborhood, it would have something to do with Redford since it was part of Redford Township when it joined the City of Detroit.

[evergreen]

Blackstone Park is located in the Meyers-8 Mile - Schaeffer - Pembroke area. [[In Oakland County Schaeffer becomes Coolidge Highway.)

Physically, it's a lovely subdivision, featuring an astonishing variety of solid brick bungalows and ranches built in the late, late 30's and 40's. It also features a strong and very active neighborhood association, the Blackstone Park Association.

It's in Detroit though,so check out the crimes statistics website. It's funny to note how the crime fever subsides [[please note I said subsides, not ends) north of 8 mile. The city side looks like a major outbreak of the measles. Crime consists largely of car thefts and break-ins. There is a strip club on 8 Mile and Ward which is sometimes the location of violent crime. There is the usual non-enforcement of quality of life ordinances which makes life in Detroit so difficult.

Most of the residents do a good job of maintaining their property, but there are some exceptions and reports of squatters in some of the houses.

I have no firsthand knowledge of the local DPS warehouses so I offer no comment.

[dtowncitylover]

PGC,

I asked the same question earlier in the year and here is the thread...

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?t=5187

[Brock7]

Mohican Heights is the name of the subdivision southwest of Gratiot and 8 Mile up to State Fair. Drennan and Seldons Regent Park Sub. No.1 is southeast of Gratiot and 8 Mile and runs east to Crusade, and No.3 and No.2 are west of the Mohican Heights subdivision. Regent Drive runs north/south between Mohican Heights and Regent Park No.3 and Mohican is a one block north/south street just west of Gratiot and 8. They were platted in 1925 and 1926, just after the area was annexed to Detroit. I've never heard anyone refer to the area by any specific name though, I've only seen it on maps linked here or the abatement pdfs on the CofD website.

[BRAZZMAN]

There is also an apartment complex with the name Alden Park. It's on E.Jefferson Ave. and Parker St. near Van Dyke. Indian Village neighborhood is just north. I lived at the Alden Park for about 13 years during the 1980's. There are 4 huge 8 story buildings that sit on property bounded on the north by Jefferson Ave and the south by the Detroit River. It's right next to the international headquarters of the UAW union. Built, I think, in the 30's or 40's it was the home of some of the Ford family. There was a fairly nice restaurant in the rear of the lower level which opened out onto a large grassy lawn right on the river. There are still mouring ? cleats in place where sailboats could tie up. Even when I lived there it was a full service residence with a grocery store, beauty/barber shop, dry cleaning, massage & sauna business, antique shop, photography & artists studios and underground parking.

Also lived in the Herman Gardens projects from about 1945 - 1950. Also a huge area and number of buildings and bounded by intersections of Southfield and Joy Rds at the NW corner and Tireman on the south. Built just after WW II and demolished sometime in the 1990s. It can be Googled for more info.

[Fury13]

Alden Park is the area on the east side of Woodward across from Boston Edison. Much smaller, but very stately homes. My impression is that it was in more disrepair than B-E.

That would be Arden Park.

Alden Park is, indeed, a 1920s upper-end apartment complex on East Jefferson.

[FoxyScholar10]

That list just looks like names of streets/intersections. Which is interesting because my neighborhood doesn't seem to be listed [[Fenkell/Greenfield Rds.) is the closest intersection to my neighborhood....

[Zacha341]

Uh, umm - I wonder why New Center is not listed. It's not the hot item it once was but we're still here, striving... LOL.... well actually I live on the border of NC.

[PGC]

I didn't mean to offend anybody by leaving some areas out. It's just that some areas [[New Center, for example) are easier to find information about online. I was mainly looking for anything that people could tell me about some of the areas that I don't really ever hear anything about.

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far.

[PGC]

That list just looks like names of streets/intersections. Which is interesting because my neighborhood doesn't seem to be listed [[Fenkell/Greenfield Rds.) is the closest intersection to my neighborhood....

Most of the places I listed where neighborhood names that showed up on Google maps, or intersections that didn't seem to have a neighborhood name. I'd be interested in anything you could tell me about your neighborhood as well. Thanks.

[Zacha341]

No offense taken. I learned alot from the list you provided and the posts responding to the list. Thanks!

I didn't mean to offend anybody by leaving some areas out. It's just that some areas [[New Center, for example) are easier to find information about online. I was mainly looking for anything that people could tell me about some of the areas that I don't really ever hear anything about.

Thank you to everyone who has replied so far.

[hogz]

I would describe Michigan-Martin as not much different from the other areas of western southwest detroit that michigan ave runs through. It is in decent shape, but nothing spectacular.

[preserve]

I don't believe there is an area called Grandale - I saw that on
some things for sale at Pure Detroit and other speciality stores. I believe they meant Grandmont - which is in the Greenfield/Southfield/Schoolcraft/Fenkell/Grand River area near Rosedale. It is a very nice residential area. The retail part of the neighborhood has deteriorated since I lived there in the 70's, but the homes are nice and I believe relatively safe. Good community vibe.

[Fury13]

-McNichols/Gratiot

That miight be the worst neighborhood in the city. Dangerous in daylight, never mind at night.

[PGC]

Again, thanks to everyone for all the information.

I don't believe there is an area called Grandale - I saw that on
some things for sale at Pure Detroit and other speciality stores. I believe they meant Grandmont - which is in the Greenfield/Southfield/Schoolcraft/Fenkell/Grand River area near Rosedale. It is a very nice residential area. The retail part of the neighborhood has deteriorated since I lived there in the 70's, but the homes are nice and I believe relatively safe. Good community vibe.

Google maps has the area along W Chicago between Greenfield and the Southfield Fwy listed as "Grandale", but I'm getting the impression that they are probably not the most reliable source.

I have 2 more questions that I'd appreciate if anyone could help me out with:

[[1) Why is it that a lot of the areas in the city don't have an "official" name for the neighborhood? I find that interesting, as I can't think of any other cities where that is the case.

[[2) I noticed on some satellite photos that some places near City Airport, particularly between Van Dyke and the airport, and between Van Dyke and Mt Elliot, have almost nothing left there and it looks like someone just placed a street grid pattern in the middle of a field. I was told that the city wanted to depopulate the area in order to expand the airport, and so they cut some services to those neighborhoods to try to get people to leave. Does anyone know if there is any truth to that, or what is was that caused those areas to depopulate?

[Ravine]

Keep in mind that, while some of those names may be historically accurate enough, we don't really use a lot of them.

It was only an examination of the deed to my house that revealed, to me, that the specific area in which I live has one of those little monikers, too.

[jcole]

I was born and raised in Detroit, and had absolutely no idea that I lived in or near Regent Park. Until recently the only neighborhood names I was aware of were Indian Village, Palmer Park, Corktown, Rosedale and Boston-Edison. We went Downtown, the West Side, the East Side and Southwest Detroit.

[gazhekwe]

I lived in Grandale in the mid-sixties. I am not sure of the boundaries, but I lived between Plymouth and Joy, Greenfield and Southfield.

The area identified by Eno as The Eye, the area bounded by Grand River/Telegraph/Six Mile Rd./Five Points, is just west of the neighborhood known as Old Redford, Six Mile to Seven Mile along Lahser, for about half a mile east and west. Old Redford might include part of the neighborhood designated as -Berg-Lasher in the OP. Lasher is correctly spelled Lahser.

Herman Gardens was a post-war public housing project south of Joy Road and east of Southfield. It has been leveled and is spottily being redeveloped into Gardenview Estates.

[LodgeDodger]

That miight be the worst neighborhood in the city. Dangerous in daylight, never mind at night.

My old parish, Assumption Grotto, is near that intersection. While I've never encountered a problem in the shrine or cemetery, I wouldn't go there after dark.

We lived one block west of Schoenherr on Seven Mile. I believe our sub was referred to as Schoenherr subdivision. I'm not positive.

[Ravine]

I was born and raised in Detroit, and had absolutely no idea that I lived in or near Regent Park. Until recently the only neighborhood names I was aware of were Indian Village, Palmer Park, Corktown, Rosedale and Boston-Edison. We went Downtown, the West Side, the East Side and Southwest Detroit.

Yup. That's how we roll.
And it is only the rock band Journey what doesn't realize that if you are staying in South Detroit, that means you had a fatal boating accident north of Windsor.

[ASR89]

PGC, I saw your post on the City-Data forum. What Retroit said about the airport, I heard that too and it sounds reasonable. As for the are between Mt Elliot and Van Dyke, I heard the area was cleared for industrial use, but that never went anywhere. I don't know for sure though.

http://www.detroityes.com/webisodes/...e/St-Cyril.htm

Here's an aerial 1949-2003 comparison from a tour webisode by our dear leader Lowell.