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    Detroit's Corktown
    Detroit's Corktown
    Detroit's Corktown
    Ebook189 pages56 minutes

    Detroit's Corktown

    By Armando Delicato, Julie Demery and Workman’s Rowhouse Museum

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    Detroit's Corktown documents and celebrates the history of Detroit's oldest neighborhood, detailing its history of diversity.


    Detroit's Corktown celebrates the history of Detroit's oldest neighborhood. Many of their shotgun homes are still occupied, and many commercial buildings have served the community for decades. From Irish immigrants in the 1840s to urban pioneers of the 21st century, this community has beckoned to the restless of spirit, the adventurous, and those who have sought to escape poverty and oppression to make a new life in America. While the city of Detroit has undergone tremendous change over the years, Corktown has never forgotten the solid working-class roots established by brave pioneers in the mid-19th century. Today the neighborhood is the scene of increasing residential and commercial development and has attracted attention throughout the region. No longer exclusively Irish, the community has also been important historically to the large German, Maltese, and Mexican populations of Detroit. Today it is a diverse and proud community of African Americans, Hispanics, working-class people of various national origins, and a growing population of young urban pioneers. It is still the sentimental heart of the Irish American community of metropolitan Detroit, and the Irish Plaza on Sixth Street honors the city's Irish pioneers and their 600,000 descendents living in the region.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateOct 22, 2007
    ISBN9781439618981
    Detroit's Corktown
    Author

    Armando Delicato

    Armando Delicato is a retired teacher of history and a media specialist. A member of several Italian organizations, his love of Detroit and his Italian heritage motivate him to offer this work as a testimony to those who inspired their descendants to be proud of their past and to embrace their future.

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      Book preview

      Detroit's Corktown - Armando Delicato

      Ybarra.

      INTRODUCTION

      After over a century of existence as a small French outpost on the frontier, Detroit began to grow and develop in the 1830s with the introduction of steamboats on the Great Lakes, railroads, and the completion of the Erie Canal. The discovery of extensive mineral resources in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the tremendous amount of lumber from the forests of the new state resulted in explosive growth. When Horace Greeley made his famous suggestion to young Americans to go west young man, he was referring to Michigan and the Midwest, and people began to take his advice.

      From 2,200 inhabitants in the census of 1830 to 9,102 in 1840, the rate of growth was tremendous. The rural village of French-speaking farmers and traders was soon to be swamped by incredible growth that would transform it into a modern industrial giant. Detroit was on its way to becoming a beacon to the rest of the world, offering opportunities to escape from poverty and oppression. The stage was set for Detroit to become the multicultural composite it is today.

      The first large group of immigrants to reach Detroit was the Irish, escaping the oppressive political, social, and economic conditions in their homeland. Detroit was not to be the largest settlement of the Irish diaspora. Far larger numbers settled on the East Coast while many filtered further west to Chicago and the mining areas in the mountain states.

      Detroit, however, was a favored destination for thousands of Irish, as it would become for many thousands of others, because of its relative lack of hostility as well as the potential for economic improvement.

      Detroit’s French Catholic origins meant that there was less religious discrimination faced by the many Irish Catholics. The frontier spirit discouraged the growth of an elite upper class, and opportunities seemed endless for people that embraced a strong work ethic.

      The first Irish immigrants settled on the lower east side of the city and in the downtown area. By 1840, the French ribbon farms to the west of the city were sold by the Cass and Woodbridge families for development. The neighborhood known as Corktown quickly became home to more and more of the new Detroiters from Ireland. Proximity to the river and the growing industries there as well as the easy access to downtown were important factors in the development of the neighborhood. By the 1850s, the eighth ward of Detroit had become predominantly, though not exclusively, Irish, and the cultural institutions they founded became the center of a vibrant working class community. By the end of the Civil War, the German population of Detroit, while centered on Gratiot Avenue on the east side of the city, began to spill over into Corktown as well.

      The Catholic and Protestant churches, founded by the new Detroiters, became the foundation of the neighborhood. Retail, industry, and entertainment centers also provided the inhabitants of Corktown with the means to live the American dream.

      By the early 1900s, the Irish inhabitants had begun to spread throughout the city and suburbs. New immigrants, especially from Malta and Mexico, began to settle in Corktown, adding their own imprint on the neighborhood. Ethnic diversity developed as African Americans and southern whites and other immigrants joined them.

      By the mid-20th century, new problems developed for Corktown. The city’s prosperity meant that many middle-class residents were able to move up to newer and bigger homes in the outlying neighborhoods of the city and suburbs. Corktown was becoming a neighborhood for the poor and neglected. By the 1950s, the city condemned large portions of the neighborhood in order to construct the John C. Lodge and the Fisher Freeways. Much of the rest of Corktown was razed in order to create an industrial park despite determined opposition of the citizens. As air travel and the new interstate highways became more popular, the train station lost traffic. Even the stadium lost the Detroit Lions and its name was changed to Tiger Stadium to reflect its only tenant. Vacant lots became parking lots to serve the stadium while numerous bars opened to serve the sports fans rather than the residents. As the century wound down, the stadium was abandoned when the new Comerica Park was opened downtown and the Michigan Central Railroad station sat empty and forlorn at the western edge of the community. The future of Corktown seemed grim.

      Fortunately, the grand old neighborhood was able to resuscitate itself. The churches of the neighborhood, the remaining neighborhood businesses, and organizations such as the Gaelic League, Maltese Federation, and the Greater Corktown Development Corporation have worked to infuse the neighborhood with energy. New businesses, restored homes, and creative reuses of older buildings in the community have given Corktown a renewed determination to thrive in its third century. The neighborhood’s Irish roots have continued to survive through the efforts of the churches, the St. Patrick’s Day parade that draws thousands of Detroiters to celebrate each year in March, the continued presence of the Gaelic League, and the Irish saloons that have survived. These institutions continue to serve as a draw to bring people back to the neighborhood.

      An important development is the restoration of a building on Porter Street that is the Worker’s Rowhouse Museum, which honors the immigrants and other residents of Corktown who have made the community charming and humane over its long history. While the past is respected and homage is paid to those who have created this community, the future reflects a synergy of respect for the past and drive to the future.

      One

      EARLY HISTORY

      Following the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, Detroit was no longer isolated on the frontier. The

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