Quote Originally Posted by Shollin View Post
I was thinking about the difference between Hamtramck and Highland Park. I was touring Highland Park yesterday, and the housing stock is just so beautiful, or at least it was. Some of the streets looked like they could rival areas of Grosse Pointe had they not been abandoned. You also have Woodward running right through the middle of it. With this great housing stock and commercial thoroughfare, why did Highland Park decline so much more than Hamtramck? Why did immigrants chose Hamtramck over Highland Park? I know the Ford plant closed in Highland Park, but Hamtramck also experienced the closing of Dodge Main. Perhaps the final blow was Chrysler moving from Highland Park to Auburn Hills? I also wonder if Hamtrack being 90% polish had anything to do with it? Perhaps being dominated by one ethnicity there was more a sense of community and more a sense to stay.
Also keep in mind that Highland Park was the "canary in the mine" in the 80s; it was the first area of town to really get hit with the crack epidemic.