Midtown Detroit: Part 1

[hudkina]

Once known as the infamous Cass Corridor, where prostitutes outnumbered schoolchildren, and drugs were easily attainable at just about any corner. Now known as Midtown, less infamous and more schoolchildren. This neighborhood is located in the middle of the city just north of downtown and south of New Center. It is its own two square mile island as it is bounded by freeways on all four sides.

Home to most of Detroit's largest cultural institutions, the neighborhood is also known as the University Cultural Center. In this neighborhood you'll find the Detroit Medical Center, Wayne State University (the third largest in the state after UM and MSU), as well as the Detroit Institute of Arts. You'll also find the Detroit Science Center, the Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Museum, and the Main Branch of the Detroit Public Library System. There's also several theaters in the neighborhood including the home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Bonstelle Theatre, the Hillberry Theatre, and the Majestic Theatre.

However, for the most part the neighborhood is made up of an assortment of 19th century single family homes, early 20th century apartment towers, and most recently modern suburban-style townhomes.

In the last five or so years the neighborhood has really seen gentrification start to really kick up. Renovations and new construction have turned this once sorry area of the city into its brightest attraction. Though there is still a lot of work to do, the neighborhood is well on its way.

Part 2

Anyway, here is just a brief tour of the neighborhood, with a focus on the residential aspects:

And be sure to check out Part 2.

[SNWEB]

Mmmm gotta love the world's nicest mcdonalds located in Midtown!

Nice pics

[monsoon]

Great looking neighborhood and thanks for sharing it with us. Does it continue to move in the right direction as far as getting rid of the drugs and prostitution?

[chrisnov986]

detroit looks really nice,i mean,i used to think if of dark city with lots of dirty streets,it turns out to be so nice,wanna be there someday!

i luv that mcd!

[Wordsmith]

That was a wonderful set of photographs with seemingly more to come. I just walked around downtown a few days ago for hours before trekking up to midtown on foot. Considering the heatwave that was one hell of a commitment. But I became cemented in how far we have to go while at the same time acknowledging everything we've got going for us. That and it was fun to see some of the very places I passed. Unfortunately as I don't get much time to spend down there (hopefully that'll change once I get back to school) I didn't get to walk through any residential neighborhoods. And I was certainly too tired once I reached the library.

WS