West Village is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

located in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

, bounded by Jefferson, Kercheval, Parker, and Seyburn Avenues. Adjacent to the west is the Islandview neighborhood, and adjacent to the east is Indian Village. The district received its name in the mid-20th century because of its location just west of the more well-known Indian Village Historic District.West Village Historic District
from the city of Detroit 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 1980.

Description

West Village is a primarily residential neighborhood containing 275 single and two-family houses, thirty apartment buildings, and about twenty commercial structures spread over 20 square blocks.West Village Historic District
from the state of Michigan The neighborhood is platted in an irregular grid, and includes a number of service alleys and short, narrow cross streets. Buildings are uniformly set back from the curb, and a great number of architectural styles are represented, including frame Queen Anne houses, and Tudor, Colonial Revival, and Mediterranean Revival houses as well as Georgian Revival and Jacobean apartment buildings.

History

The areas adjacent to Jefferson Avenue were one of the most exclusive residential addresses in turn-of-the-century Detroit. When the area that is now West Village was platted around that time, the incorporation of restrictions regarding structure cost, use, setback, and height ensured that this area too would be popular. Between 1905 and 1925, the neighborhood rapidly filled with upper-middle-class homes, apartment buildings, and row houses. The neighborhood was home to a number of prominent Detroiters including Franz C. Kuhn, Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court,

Edwin C. Denby Edwin Denby (February 18, 1870 – February 8, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Secretary of the Navy in the administrations of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge from 1921 to 1924. He also played a notable role in th ...

, Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Hinchman, president of the architectural firm of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, and sculptor Julius Melchers. As in many Detroit neighborhoods, the racial tensions, red lining, and white exodus to the suburbs following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

led to a decline of the neighborhood. However, the resurgence of nearby Indian Village in the 1970s created a resurgence in interest in the neighborhood. The West Village Association, a neighborhood association, was formed in 1974.

References

External links

West Village
on

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The Villages Community Development Corporation - West VillageDetroit Lions, Hatch Detroit roar into West Village to help improve the Agnes retail strip
– Detroit''upspun'' May 8, 2014 {{Architecture of metropolitan Detroit Historic districts in Detroit National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Neighborhoods in Detroit Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan