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The North End is a neighborhood in the eastern central area of Detroit, Michigan. It is located in the
Woodward Corridor The Woodward Corridor is the stretch of neighborhoods and suburban communities located along Woodward Avenue within metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. Woodward Avenue is often called Detroit's Main Street. Woodward starts in the center of Downtown Detr ...
, a densely populated region along Woodward Avenue that stretches from Downtown Detroit to the suburb of
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to: *Pontiac (automobile), a car brand *Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief Places and jurisdictions Canada *Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
."Testing Ground for a New Detroit
Mayor Mike Duggan’s Pledges Echo in Detroit’s North End" blog by John Eligon in '' The New York Times'' July 6, 2014
The North End has been home to several development initiatives, seen by many as an area for future development extending from Downtown and Midtown. The North End is approximately bound by East Grand Boulevard to the south, Woodward Avenue to the west, bordering
New Center New Center is a commercial and residential historic district located uptown in Detroit, Michigan, adjacent to Midtown, one mile (1.6 km) north of the Cultural Center, and approximately three miles (5 km) north of Downtown. The area is ...
; the City of Hamtramck to the east; and Woodland street to the north, bordering Tennyson street in Highland Park.


History

The North End was originally part of Hamtramck Township but was annexed by the City of Detroit in 1891. It received its name due to it being the "north end" of
Paradise Valley In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...
. Along with the rest of Detroit, it experienced a cultural and economic boom in the 1920s and 1930s due to the success of the
automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...
, and the district continued to experience growth. Many Motown musicians came from the North End, including Smokey Robinson,
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
, the Four Tops, and
Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
. The neighborhood began to see an economic downturn in the 1950s. I-75 was built in 1959, dividing the North End from the city center and also destroying the
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
neighborhoods of Paradise Valley and Black Bottom.
Marygrove College Marygrove College was a private Roman Catholic graduate college in Detroit, Michigan, affiliated with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It announced its closure on December 17, 2019, at end of the fall semester. History ...
professor Frank D. Rashid has noted that Detroit's vibrant entertainment district Paradise Valley had eventually stretched as far as the North End.


Demographics and education

According to 2000 census data, the North End was home to some 17,500 residents, a 16% decrease in population since 1990. Approximately 94% of this population was African American, 4% white, and some 1% multiracial. The average household income rate for the North End in 2000 was $33,360, below the Detroit average of $40,837. The North End is in the Detroit Public Schools district. 2000 census data showed that over 32% of the population did not have a
high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...
, slightly above the Detroit average.


Development initiatives

In 1994, the Vanguard Community Development Corporation was founded to improve the North End's prospects. The area has since become the site of increasing development. In 2006, the North End was chosen as one of six target areas for $100m funding from The Skillman Foundation, a grantmaking charitable body that focuses on improving the lives of Detroit's children. Its ten-year Good Neighborhoods program provides funding to an area defined as Northend Central, which includes the adjoining
New Center New Center is a commercial and residential historic district located uptown in Detroit, Michigan, adjacent to Midtown, one mile (1.6 km) north of the Cultural Center, and approximately three miles (5 km) north of Downtown. The area is ...
area within the targeted neighborhood. In 2011, the North End Neighborhood Investment Strategy was launched as a three-year partnership between Vanguard and the Woodward Corridor Initiative. This public-private partnership has attracted widespread support, including from the City of Detroit, Wayne State University, The Kresge Foundation, and the Skillman Foundation, and aims to create investment within the community, improve education and employment choices, create affordable housing and remove barriers to economic development within the neighborhood. Other organizations contributing to development of the North End include the North End Youth Improvement Council (NEYIC, founded by community activist Delores Bennett), North End Woodward Community Coalition (NEWCC), and the Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation (CDC). On March 14, 2016, the Michigan Humane Society opened its new and expanded $15.5 million animal care campus on five acres, including a 35,000 square foot, state-of-the-art veterinary facility, located just east of
New Center New Center is a commercial and residential historic district located uptown in Detroit, Michigan, adjacent to Midtown, one mile (1.6 km) north of the Cultural Center, and approximately three miles (5 km) north of Downtown. The area is ...
at 7887 Chrysler Drive near Clay Street. The society said the larger facility will enable it to expand its teaching and training opportunities with Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. On November 11, 2016, the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI) announced its plans to implement the first sustainable urban "
agrihood An agrihood is a type of planned community that integrates agriculture into a residential neighborhood. The purpose is to facilitate food production as well as provide green space, recreation, aesthetics and value for a community. The Urban Land ...
" in the United States. This plan is an extension of the community development work the nonprofit has been doing in the lower North End since 2011 in which MUFI's existing agricultural campus is positioned as the centerpiece of a larger mixed-use development (with a focus on residential). The first of its kind in the country, MUFI's sustainable urban agrihood is a model for its mission to use urban agriculture as a platform to promote education, sustainability and community in an effort to uplift and empower urban neighborhoods, solve social problems, and develop a broader model for redevelopment.


See also

*
Milwaukee Junction Milwaukee Junction is an area in Detroit, Michigan, east of New Center. Located near the railroad junction of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad's predecessors Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee Railway and the Chicago, Detroit and Canada Grand Tr ...
*
Woodward Corridor The Woodward Corridor is the stretch of neighborhoods and suburban communities located along Woodward Avenue within metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. Woodward Avenue is often called Detroit's Main Street. Woodward starts in the center of Downtown Detr ...
* Saint Rita Apartments


References


External links


America’s First Sustainable Urban Agrihood Debuts in Detroit's North End
- The Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, November 30, 2016
Grand Opening of the North End Career Center
- The Kresge Foundation, September 22, 2016
Central Detroit Christian Development Corporation (CDC) slowly rebuilds houses, commerce in 24-block area of North End
- Crain's Detroit Business, August 21, 2016 {{Coord, 42.3693, -83.077, type:city_region:US-MI, display=title Historic districts in Michigan History of Detroit Neighborhoods in Detroit Culture of Detroit mk:Нов Центар