Maps

Neighborhoods Downtown Areas Grand Circus Park: Grand Circus Park Historic District contains the 5-acre (2.0 ha) Grand Circus Park, bisected by Woodward Avenue. Noted buildings encircling the park include the David Broderick Tower and David Whitney Building on the south, the Kales Building, and the First Methodist Church on the north. Comerica Park and the Detroit Opera House on the East. 25 W. Elizabeth was a boundary increase added in 2000. Campus Martius: Located downtown, the area surrounding Campus Martius Park is a historic district and central gathering place which contains parks, Woodward Fountain, the Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, and a large traffic circle surrounded by commercial and residential high-rises including 1001 Woodward Avenue. Since the traffic circle's restoration and expansion, it has emerged as a central gathering spot downtown with a mainstage. Free performances are held here, as are most downtown festivals or street fairs. Greektown Greektown is a primarily commercial district that encompasses a small area on the east edge of downtown. It includes St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, Second Baptist Church, the Greektown Casino Hotel, and the Atheneum Suite Hotel. The district contains numerous restaurants and Greek-themed shops. Financial District: This is the historic financial district of Detroit, which dates to the 1850s and contains prominent skyscrapers. Ornate skyscrapers in Detroit (including the Guardian Building, the Penobscot Building, and One Woodward Avenue), reflect two waves of large-scale redevelopment: the first in 1900–1930 and the second in the 1950s and early 1960s. Int'l Riverfront: The Detroit International Riverfront is a tourist attraction and landmark of Detroit, Michigan extending from the Ambassador Bridge in the west to Belle Isle in the east, for a total of 5½ miles. The International Riverfront encompasses a cruise ship passenger terminal and dock, a marina, a multitude of parks, restaurants, retail shops, skyscrapers, and high rise residential areas along with Cobo Convention/Exhibition Center and Joe Louis Arena. Key public spaces in the International Riverfront, such as the RiverWalk, Dequindre Cut Greenway and Trail, William G. Milliken State Park and Harbor, and a cruise ship passenger terminal and dock at Hart Plaza complement the architecture of the area. Southwest and West Side North Corktown: North Corktown, also known as Briggs, came into existence after the construction of I-75. Before this period Briggs was part of the Corktown neighborhood. It is one of those crumbling areas that might best be described as Urban Prairie, and the west side of the neighborhood is almost completely barren. North Corktown is home to one of Detroit's oldest pubs, Nancy Whiskey. Corktown: Corktown is the oldest surviving neighborhood in Detroit, dating to the 1850s. The name comes from the Irish immigrants who settled there; they were predominantly from County Cork. The neighborhood is primarily residential, but the district does include some commercial buildings, mostly along Michigan Avenue. Woodbridge: The Woodbridge neighborhood was originally developed between 1870 and 1920 with residences built in Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival, and 'cottage' style architecture. The original commercial districts in the neighborhood were located along Grand River, Trumbull, Twelfth and Fourteenth. The boundaries of the District were increased twice: first on 1997-12-01, and 2008-03-20; these are distinguished in the boundary listings with "also" descriptions. Woodbridge is one of Detroit's rapidly developing (and slightly more prosperous) neighborhoods as nearby Wayne State University continues to grow. Mexicantown: With a 6.9 percent population rise to 96,000 from 1990 to 2000, the city's revitalized Mexicantown has improved the local economy. About half the residents are Hispanic, 25% are African American, 20% are non-Hispanic white and 5% are Arab American, according to the Southwest Detroit Business Association. Despite its name, the neighborhood's Hispanic community is not exclusively Mexican, and has a significant number of Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics as well. Though over half of the Hispanics in the area are of Mexican origin. It is known for Mexican cuisine at restaurants such as Mexican Village, Evie's Tamales, El Zocalo and Xochimilco. Restaurants, bakeries, and shops are located on Vernor Highway. Mexicantown has had a thriving economy in the 2000s (decade), as evidenced by new housing and increased business openings. Clark Park, named for John Pearson Clark who donated much of the land to the city, borders the neighborhood. Ste. Anne de Detroit Catholic Church is north of the Ambassador Bridge. The parts of Mexicantown nearest the freeway and closer in to the city remain populated, but areas farther out were lost to Measure 2. East Side Poletown East: Poletown East borders the Market and Hamtramck, and is the northernmost area of the East Side. Polish immigrants gave the neighborhood its name, when they arrived en masse to take advantage of manufacturing jobs in the early days of the automotive industry. In the early 80s, there was a local controversy over a situation similar to Measure 2: Detroit Mayor Coleman Young and General Motors used eminent domain to 'take over' the north side of Poletown, for the construction of the GM Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly facility. A large portion of the historically working-class neighborhood was demolished, and 4200 residents forcibly relocated. Some of these residents later attempted to sue, but the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of GM and the cities of Detroit and Hamtramck, stating that economic development was a valid rationale for eminent domain. The remaining portion of Poletown East, like many of Detroit's residential neighborhoods, still suffers from an overabundance of decayed homes and empty lots. Lower East Side: The old East Side neighborhoods still within Detroit city limits are mostly here: Elmwood, Lafayette Park and the Eastern Market. The Eastern Market is the largest historic public market district in the United States, and has recently experienced a modest revival; the surrounding areas remain less prosperous. Upper East Side: East Side Detroit is one of the hardest hit districts of the city. Much of it is a ghost town and crime and gang violence has skyrocketed, even in those areas that remain inside the city limits. Unlike the Lower East Side, beyond Poletown this area has no communities, no neighborhoods to speak of--only street after street of working-class homes, many built in the early twentieth century and in need of drastic repairs. Even in the few commercial areas, "Closed" and "Going out of Business" signs appear with depressing frequency. Graffiti is rampant here, and goes hand in hand with gang activity. The further east one travels, the more run-down the neighborhood and streets become. There is no clear border marking the new Detroit city limit, no sign; only gradual decay. At night, the lack of streetlights might be a good indicator of whether one is in Detroit, or in the no-man's land that stretches between the new boundary line and the Grosse Pointes. Disincorporated East Side: Large portions of the East Side were abandoned as part of Measure 2. Beyond the Detroit city limits, these former neighborhoods of the Old East Side have become a cross between urban wasteland and DMZ. Some of this is "urban prairie," and many buildings are occupied by squatters, gangs and criminal enterprises of one sort or another. Many former industrial buildings have been boarded off, or their entries and first-floor windows filled in with concrete; the latter is the only successful strategy for keeping out squatters. Gasoline-drum fires are a common sight here in winter, and the streets are often patrolled by roving groups of would-be criminals. Jefferson Corridor: West Jefferson Avenue runs parallel to downtown along the International Riverfront which contains the Renaissance Center, Cobo Center, a cruise ship terminal and dock, residential high rises, and a promenade of parks and marinas extending to Belle Isle. The towering Riverfront Condominiums are among the high-rise residential areas along the riverfront. The University of Detroit Mercy College of Law is across from the Renaissance Center along Jefferson Avenue. The People Mover serves the Renaissance Center and the Cobo Center along the riverfront. When one travels far enough east on Jefferson Avenue, one arrives at neighborhoods abandoned in compliance with Measure 2. Jefferson Avenue itself, however, is relatively well maintained and it's the primary commuting route for wealthy individuals coming from the Grosse Pointes to the east. Midtown and Uptown Lower Midtown: Brush Park is the 22 block area bounded by Mack on the north, Woodward on the west, Beaubien on the east, and the Fisher Freeway on the south. This neighborhood is within the larger area known as Midtown and was known for the High Victorian style residences constructed for Detroit's wealthiest citizens, although many of the once-grand houses have been demolished in recent years. Opposite is Cass Park. This historic district surrounds Cass Park itself, and contains over 20 buildings including apartments, a hotel, the Detroit Masonic Temple, the S. S. Kresge World Headquarters, and Cass Technical High School. For much of the twentieth century, Cass Park has been a hotbed of drug activity. Much of Lower Midtown is in decay. New Center: New Center is a prominent commercial and residential historic district located uptown in Detroit, Michigan, adjacent to Midtown, one mile north of the Cultural Center, and approximately three miles north of Downtown. The area is centered just west of the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Grand Boulevard, and is approximately bounded by the Virginia Park Historic District on the north, the Ford Freeway on the south, John R. Street on the east and the Lodge Freeway on the west Upper Midtown: The Midtown area is a general mixed-use community area of neighborhoods containing successive waves of development that have transformed the area multiple times since it was first platted. The neighborhoods are dominated by the thoroughfare of Woodward Avenue, which runs north and south through the heart of Midtown. The north part of Midtown west of Woodward Avenue is dominated by Wayne State University, whose campus subsumes nearly the entire northwest portion of Midtown north of Warren Avenue and West of Woodward. The Art Center is centered on the Cultural Center Historic District: the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Horace H. Rackham Education Memorial Building. The district contains several cultural attractions. The Detroit Medical Center was organized in 1985 as a union among several hospitals: Harper University Hospital, Grace Hospital, Hutzel Women's Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Michigan. With the addition of other hospitals, such as Detroit Receiving Hospital, the campus of the DMC and its adjacent partner institutions (the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the John D. Dingell Veteran's Administration Hospital Center) now takes up most of the area between Mack Avenue on the south, Warren Avenue on the north, John R. on the west, and Beaubien on the east. North Palmer Park and the University District: The land encompassing Palmer Park and its historic districts was once the estate of Thomas Palmer, a wealthy Detroit resident and U.S. Senator. The neighborhood was platted in the mid-1910s. It contains many large homes and mansions constructed primarily between 1917 and 1929 and is known for its elm-lined streets, large brick homes, and widely varying architecture. The Palmer Park Apartment Building Historic District, on the other hand, is a small area of beautiful apartment buildings constructed in the 1920s and 1930s; at one time this area was Detroit's primary LGBTQ community hotspot, but an increase in crime encouraged a migration (by those who could afford to migrate) to outer suburb cities like Ferndale and Royal Oak. The better-known subdivisions within Palmer Park, other than the two historic districts, are Grixdale Farms, Palmer Woods and Sherwood Forest. The University District west of Palmer Park is named for the University of Detroit-Mercy; there are wealthy homeowners here, but also a wide assortment of businesses and apartment buildings for the university community. A linkified version of the Grid is available.