Joseph Campau Street, also known as Joseph Campau Avenue, is a city street in

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2020 Census, 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small po ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in the southeastern part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Jos. Campau Historic District is located along the street in Hamtramck. Along Joseph Campau Street and the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...

are

River Place The historic River Place (also known as Stroh River Place) is located in Detroit, Michigan, bounded by Joseph Campau Street, Joseph Campau Avenue, Wight Street, McDougall Street, and the Detroit International Riverfront. It was formerly the Parke ...

and The Roberts Riverwalk Hotel and Residence Detroit. Joseph Campau Street has a unique collection of buildings in southeast Michigan reflecting early 20th century commercial architecture. It is adjacent to a dense neighborhood of single-family homes having a strong, cultural community focus. It retains an atmosphere of a small town and viable main street.

Joseph Campau

The street is named for

Joseph Campau Joseph Campau (February 20, 1769 – May 13, 1863) was among the leading citizens and wealthiest landowners in Detroit, Michigan, at the beginning of the 19th century. Campau had three trading posts and a store in Detroit until the early 1800s. He ...

(February 2, 1769 – July 23, 1863) who was among

's leading citizens and wealthiest landowners at the dawn of the 19th century. He made millions in the real estate industry and served in several public offices for the city. Campau held multiple public office positions in Detroit. He was City Trustee in 1802, City Treasurer, City Inspector of water barrels and City Assessor, appraiser, and over-seer of the poor. In 1802, he was an original trustee of Detroit and its incorporation.

Jos. Campau Historic District

The Jos. Campau Historic District is a commercial historic district located along Joseph Campau Street in Hamtramck. The district runs from roughly Holbrook and Lehman Streets on the south to Pulaski and Casmere Streets on the north. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2012. In 1901, a portion of Hamtramck township centered around Jos. Campau Street was incorporated as a village. People, many of them Polish, flooded into the area when a

Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Plym ...

plant called Dodge Main was completed in 1914 at the southeast corner of the village. Most of the stores along Joseph Campau Street opened in the 1920s. The surrounding neighborhoods were densely packed single-family homes, and this section of street quickly became the second busiest shopping district in southeast Michigan, after only downtown Detroit.

Riverwalk Hotel Detroit

Parke-Davis Research Laboratory Detroit MI

The Roberts Riverwalk Hotel and Residence Detroit is located on Joseph Campau Street at the Detroit River. The former Parke-Davis Research Laboratory, designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

, was redeveloped as a boutique luxury hotel located on the

Detroit International 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 5.5 miles (8.8 kilometers). The International Riverfront en ...

.Parke-Davis Research Laboratory
from the state of Michigan
from Detroit1701.org

River Place

The historic

, also known as Stroh River Place, is bounded by Joseph Campau Street, Wight Street, McDougall Street, and the

Gallery

File:FARMER(1884) Detroit, p673 ST. PAUL'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERANCHURCH, JOSEPH CAMPAU AVENUE.JPG, St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church

References