Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is a city located in Wayne County in the state of Michigan, in the
Midwest region of the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a
total population of 951,270. Located between Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie,
it is the seat of Wayne County. Detroit and its suburbs are the home of the
modern American automobile industry, the Big Three: Ford Motor Company,
General Motors, Chrysler as well as two national pizza chains. Detroit is
also known for its musical heritage as it was the birthplace or highly
influential in the origins of Motown, punk, and techno music.

Detroit has several sister cities including Toyota, Japan; Minsk, Belarus;
Chongqing, China; Nassau, Bahamas and Kitwe, Zambia.

History

1701 Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac, with his lieutenant Alphonse de Tonty and
a company of 100 men, established a trading post on the Detroit River under
orders from the French King Louis XIV. They named it Fort Pontchartrain du
DŽtroit at the present site of Detroit, with dŽtroit being the French for
strait and Pontchartrain being the name of the Count of Pontchartrain, the
Royal Minister of Marine.

1760 Major Robert Rogers and a group of his Roger's Rangers takes formal
command of Fort Detroit in the name of Great Britain after the French defeat
in the French and Indian War.

1763 Chief Pontiac besieges Detroit during Pontiac's Rebellion.

1796 American control over Detroit established, 13 years after it was
assigned by treaty to the United States at the end of the American
Revolutionary War.

1903 Ford Motor Company founded by Henry Ford in Detroit.

1950 Detroit's population reaches it height at 1.6 million.

1962 Jerome Cavanagh becomes mayor. Inaugurates a series of reforms.

1963 Great March to Freedom

1967 On July 23 the 12th Street Riot, one of the worst riots in United
States history, begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American
inner city (43 killed, 342 injured and ~1,400 buildings burned).

1968 "Focus: Hope" project founded.

1974 Civil rights activist Coleman Young is elected Detroit's first black
mayor - a position he holds for 20 years.

Geography

Detroit is located on the north bank of the Detroit River, in southeastern
Michigan. It lies north of Windsor, Ontario, leading to the saying in
Detroit that Canadians are "our neighbor to the south". Two border crossings
exist: the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. A railroad
tunnel also connects the two countries.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
370.2 km² (142.9 mi²). 359.4 km² (138.8 mi²) of it is
land and 10.8 km² (4.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is
2.92% water.

Culture

Major parks include Belle Isle, Palmer Park, Rouge Park, Chene Park. Other
city recreational facilities include municipal golf courses (William Rogell,
Rouge, Belle Isle, Palmer Park), Northwest Activities Center, Detroit Zoo,
Belle Isle Zoo, Belle Isle Aquarium. Cultural centers include Detroit
Institute of Art, Museum of African American History, Detroit Science
Center, Detroit Historical Museum, Motown Historical Museum, Tuskegee Airman
Museum, Historic Fort Wayne, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, and the Belle Isle
Conservatory.

Detroit is home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Opera House.

Neighborhoods

Current and historic neighborhoods in Detroit include: Black Bottom,
Corktown, Chaldean Town, Mexicantown, Poletown, Greektown, Indian Village,
New Center, Palmer Woods, Warrendale, Springwells, and Del Ray.

External link: 106 neighborhoods in Detroit

Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there are 951,270 people, 336,428 households, and
218,341 families residing in the city. The population density is
2,646.7/km² (6,855.1/mi²). There are 375,096 housing units at an
average density of 1,043.6/km² (2,703.0/mi²). The racial makeup of
the city is 12.26% White, 81.55% African American, 0.33% Native American,
0.97% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.54% from other races, and 2.32% from
two or more races. 4.96% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 336,428 households out of which 33.9% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 26.7% are married couples living together, 31.6%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% are
non-families. 29.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.2%
have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average
household size is 2.77 and the average family size is 3.45.

In the city the population is spread out with 31.1% under the age of 18,
9.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100
females there are 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $29,526, and the median
income for a family is $33,853. Males have a median income of $33,381 versus
$26,749 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,717. 26.1% of
the population and 21.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 34.5% are under the age of 18 and 18.6% are
65 or older.

Major industries/products

Motor vehicles, computer software, casino gambling,

Taxes

In addition to property tax, the city levies income tax of 2.65% on
residents, 1.325% on non-residents, and 1.6% on corporations.

Law and Government

Mayor and nine member city council, elected at-large on nonpartisan ballot.
Municipal elections are held every year congruent to 1 modulo 4. Current
mayor is Kwame Kilpatrick.

Mayor or City Executive

Mayors of town of Detroit

   * 1806 Solomon Sibley
   * 1806 Elijah Brush

Mayors of the City of Detroit

   * 1824-1825 John R. Williams
   * 1826 Henry Jackson Hunt
   * 1826 Jonathan Kearsley
   * 1827-1828 John Biddle
   * 1829 Jonathan Kearsley
   * 1830 John R. Williams
   * 1831 Marshall Chapin
   * 1832 Levi Cook
   * 1834 Charles Christopher Trowbridge
   * 1834 Andrew Mack
   * 1835-1836 Levi Cook
   * 1837 Henry Howard
   * 1838 (resigned) Augustus S. Porter
   * 1838 Asher B. Bates
   * 1839 De Garmo Jones
   * 1840-1841 Zina Pitcher
   * 1842 Douglass Houghton
   * 1843 Zina Pitcher
   * 1844-47 John R. Williams
   * 1847 James A. VanDyke
   * 1848 Frederick Buhl
   * 1849-1850 Charles Howard
   * 1850-1851 John Ladue
   * 1851-1852 Zachariah Chandler
   * 1852-1853 John H. Harmon
   * 1854-1855 Oliver Moulton Hyde
   * 1855-56 Henry Ledyard
   * 1856-1857 Oliver Moulton Hyde
   * 1858-1859 John Patton
   * 1860-1861 Christian H. Buhl
   * 1862-1863 William C. Duncan
   * 1866-1867 Merrill I. Mills
   * 1868-1871 William W. Wheaton
   * 1872-1875 Hugh Moffat
   * 1876-1877 Alexander Lewis
   * 1878-1879 George C. Langdon
   * 1880-1883 William G. Thompson
   * 1884-1885 Stephen Benedict Grummond
   * 1886-1887 M. H. Chamberlain
   * 1888-1889 John Pridgeon, Jr.
   * 1890-1897 Hazen S. Pingree
   * 1897 William Rickert
   * 1897-1904 William Maybury
   * 1905-1906 George Codd
   * 1907-1908 William B. Thompson
   * 1909-1910 Philip Breitmeyer
   * 1911-1912 William B. Thompson
   * 1913-1918 Oscar Marx
   * 1919-1922 James Couzens
   * 1922-1923 John Cabot Lodge
   * 1923-1924 Frank Doremus
   * 1924 Joseph Martin
   * 1924 John Cabot Lodge
   * 1924-1928 John Smith
   * 1927-1929 John Cabot Lodge
   * 1930 Charles Bowles
   * 1930-1933 Frank Murphy
   * 1933-1938 Frank Couzens
   * 1938-1940 Richard Reading
   * 1940-1948 Edward Jeffries
   * 1948-1950 Eugene Van Antwerp
   * 1950-1957 Albert Cobo
   * 1957-1962 Louis Miriani
   * 1962-1970 Jerome Cavanagh
   * 1970-1974 Roman Gribbs
   * 1974-1993 Coleman Young
   * 1993-2001 Dennis Archer
   * 2002-present Kwame Kilpatrick

Colleges and Universities

   * Wayne State University
   * University of Detroit-Mercy
   * Marygrove College
   * Lewis College of Business
   * College for Creative Studies

Sporting Teams

   * Detroit Red Wings, NHL
   * Detroit Tigers, MLB
   * Detroit Lions, NFL
   * Detroit Shock, WNBA
   * Detroit Pistons, NBA
   * Detroit Rockers, Major Indoor Soccer League

The Detroit International Marathon course crosses the border into Canada on
a bridge and returns to America through a tunnel.

Airports

   * Detroit City Airport, no current commercial service
   * Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (located in Romulus,
     Michigan)

Festivals

   * International Freedom Festival
   * Detroit Electronic Music Festival
   * Downtown Hoedown, free country music festival
   * Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival
   * Detroit Thunder Fest, hydroplane race

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