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| Detroit Apartment Locator Services : Detroit Apartments |  | Contents | |
| History |
The Detroit skyline at night. |
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| French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac founded
a fort and settlement at the site of Detroit in 1701. Originally
the settlement was called Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit
after the comte de Pontchartrain, minister of marine under Louis
XIV and for the river that connects Lakes St. Clair and Erie.
The British gained control of the area in 1760 and thwarted
an Indian attack three years later during Pontiac's Rebellion.
In 1796 Detroit and its surrounding areas passed to the United
States, and from 1805 to 1847 the town was the territorial and
state capitol of Michigan. Though Detroit fell to the British
for a short time during the War of 1812 (see: Battle of Detroit),
it was recaptured by Gen. William Henry Harrison in 1813. |
| Detroit was incorporated as a city in 1815. |
| Situated strategically on a strait along the Great
Lakes waterway, Detroit emerged as a key transportation center.
The city grew steadily during the 1830s, and subsequent decades
saw substantial growth in the shipping, shipbuilding and manufacturing
industries. A thriving carriage trade set the stage for the
work of Henry Ford, who in 1899 built his first automobile factory
in Highland Park, an independent city within Detroit. Ford's
manufacturing innovations as well as significant contributions
from many other automotive pioneers such as William C. Durant,
the Dodge brothers and Louis Chevrolet, solidified Detroit's
status as the world's car capital, and the blossoming industry
spurred the city's spectacular growth during the first half
of the 20th century. |
| With the factories came high-profile labor strife,
climaxing in the 1930s as the United Auto Workers initiated
bitter battles with Detroit's auto manufacturers. The labor
activism established during those years, which brought fame
and notoriety to hometown union leaders such as Jimmy Hoffa
and Walter Reuther, remains a key feature on the city's cultural
and political landscape. |
| Detroit has endured a painful decline during the
past several decades, and is often held up as a symbol of Rust
Belt urban blight. The city's population has plummeted since
1950 as residents have moved to the suburbs, particularly following
the 12th Street Riot in 1967. Large numbers of buildings and
homes were abandoned, with many remaining for years in states
of decay. Recent urban renewal efforts have led to the demolition
or renovation of several abandoned skyscrapers and large buildings,
the razing of old houses for new housing developments, and an
expedited process to remove abandoned homes near schools. |
| During the latter half of the twentieth century,
Detroit's crime figures were often among the highest in the
country. Though those figures have decreased in recent years,
the crime rate remains high. |
| "Renaissance" has been a perennial buzzword
among generations of city leaders, particularly during the construction
and completion of the Renaissance Center, but it was not until
the 1990s that Detroit enjoyed something of a bona fide revival,
much of it centered downtown. In 1996 a state referendum paved
the way for three Detroit casinos—MGM Detroit, Motor City
Casino and Greektown Casino—with the goal of increasing
tourism and stemming the flow of gambling dollars to nearby
Windsor, Ontario. |
| In 2000, Comerica Park replaced historic Tiger
Stadium as the home of the Detroit Tigers—a move that
brought some controversy—and Ford Field (2002) brought
football's Detroit Lions back into Detroit from suburban Pontiac.
The 2004 opening of the Compuware Center gave downtown Detroit
its first significant new office building in a decade. Significant
landmarks such as the Fox Theater and the Gem Theater have been
restored and now host concerts, musicals and plays. Many downtown
centers draw partons and host activities; Greektown, Eastern
Market and the Michigan State Fairgrounds and the new Campus
Martius Park. |
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