Karin Risko - A History Lovers Guide to Detroit

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2018 by Karin Risko

All rights reserved

First published 2018

e-book edition 2018

ISBN 978.1.43966.577.0

Front cover: Rod Arroyo.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018948037

print edition ISBN 978.1.46713.567.2

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Dedicated with love to Baylee and Stefan.
And in loving memory of Tracy Savage and Charles Risko.
Hard to believe youve been gone five and ten years, respectively.

CONTENTS

Slow Roll, a weekly cycling event drawing thousands of cyclists, takes over Cadillac Square. GM RenCen can be seen in the distance, First National Building in the right foreground.

Courtesy of Bedrock.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A sincere thank you to: Krista Slavicek (former History Press acquisitions editor), Ben Gibson, Hilary Parrish and the entire History Press team for making this book not only look good but turning it into a reality.

Rodney L. Arroyo, owner of Portraits by Rod and City Books and Photos, Inc.

Family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, businesses and subject matter experts who offered insightful tips, photographs, clarification, design assistance, proofreading/editing help, moral support, etc.: Blake Almstead, Dan Austin, Bedrock, Chad Bianco, Charley Bohland, Elizabeth Bohland, Bruce Butgereit, Carhartt, Danielle Center, Ken Coleman, Bill Dickens, Karen Dybis, Bobbie Fowlkes-Davis, Natalie Gray, Gail D. Hershenzon, Jamon Jordan, Michael Keropian, Kathryn Luna, Rachel Lutz, Luke McGrail, Marion Miele-Christiansen, Patricia Mischel, Dave J. Moore, Gail Offen, Michele Picchi-Babcock, Candi Randazzo-Boik, Bridget Risko, Robin Schwartz, Sue Schleicher-Shoemaker, Nancy Senatore, Kimberly Simmons, Steven Stanford, Kelly Walter and Charlie Worden. My apologies to anyone I missed.

A special shout-out to my Detroit Tigers experts: Kathy Azzopardi-Bridges, Michael Bsharah, Suzette Daye, Bob Hatline, Jonie Holland, Carrie Hutchinson, Andrew Johnson, Tim Kaminski, Chuck Mickiewicz, Susan Mierzejewski-Flores, Paula Portelli, John Rutherford and Kim Stafford. Without your input, the corner at Michigan and Trumbull would have been just another corner!

INTRODUCTION

Detroit is popping up on all kinds of popular travel lists as the place to visit. After decades of negative press, the recognition is appreciated. The influx of visitors, curious to see what the buzz is all about, is a welcome boon for local attractions and businesses, including mine. Requests for private and public tours have soared in the past two years.

There is something rather comical and even disconcerting, however, about these lists. They tend to portray Detroit as some new discovery and imply that there was nothing in Detroit worth seeing or discovering until the city emerged from bankruptcy, a pricey watchmaker (no offense, Shinola, we love you) and other oft-touted new businesses opened up shop and investors became interested in the city. This narrative couldnt be further from the truth.

While many think the trendy art, food and cocktail scene, new sports stadiums and redevelopment projects are the big draws, theyre just part of the storythe icing on the cake. Yes, hip coffee shops, restaurants, bars, distilleries, microbreweries, boutiques, urban gardens, galleries and funky street murals do elevate the travel experience. Theyre what draw visitors and make for an exciting stay. These leisure and lifestyle amenities can, however, be easily replicated anywhere. What makes Detroit truly an exciting destinationunlike anywhere elseis its unique soul, story, history.

The flags of three different countriesFrance, England and the United States of Americahave flown over Detroit, one of the Midwests oldest cities. Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac claimed this region for New France seventeen years before the French lay claim to historic New Orleans. Our nations Founding Fathers declared independence from Britain seventy-five years after the creation of Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit.

City on the rise waterfront view features a bustling wharf with steamships from Tashmoo Park and Bob-Lo Island, favorite local amusement parks, and signage for homegrown staple Vernors Ginger Ale. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Sainte Anne de Detroit, established two days after the citys French founding, is the second-oldest continuously operating Catholic parish in the United States. Detroit served as a major stop on the Underground Railroad. Its residents played a pivotal role in securing Union victory during the Civil War, while local politicians authored major legislation that still defines our nation.

Not only is Detroit known for putting the world on wheels, but its also known as the Arsenal of Democracy. During his December 29, 1940 fireside chat that was broadcast live over the radio, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt warned listeners of the dangers Americans would encounter if Britain fell and the Axis powers prevailed. We must be the great arsenal of democracy, he implored after urging manufacturing facilities to begin producing defense materials without delay. The Motor City answered the call by suspending automobile production at its factories to make jeeps, tanks, bombers and other military equipment instead. By producing 30 percent of the nations munitions, Detroit shaped the outcome of World War II.

Civil rights leaders and labor activists organized massive marches and protests here. Their activism brought about significant social changes in the country. Sports legends such as Joe Louis, who was raised in Detroit, and labor leaders such as Walter Reuther not only left marks in their respective fields but also impacted American history.

Detroits storied sports teams, dating back to the early days of their prospective professional leagues, have long drawn visitors, as have the citys distinguished cultural institutions. The Detroit Institute of Arts ranks among the finest art museums in the nation, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra is a world-class orchestra. Prior to the recent opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., Detroits Charles H. Wright Museum held the distinction of being the largest repository of African American artifacts in the world.

Its no big secret Detroit is synonymous with music. Home of the worlds oldest jazz club, its here where many legendary jazz and blues artists met fame. The Motown sound, the soundtrack to so many lives, still endures. Rock greats, the Queen of Soul and the first family of gospel all hail from Detroit, where the music legacy continues today in the contemporary forms of the genres mentioned, as well as hip-hop and techno.