The Annapolis Park Historic District is a historic district located along Julius, Matthew, Hanover, Farnum, Alan, and Paul Streets in

Westland, Michigan Westland is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located about west of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,094. It is the 10th largest city and 12th largest municipality in Mich ...

, covering and 354 buildings. 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 2006.

History

During

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 ...

, the African-American population in Detroit ballooned to 300,000 residents.State of Michigan historic marker
from the state of Michigan, retrieved 1/18/10 However, blacks were restricted in where they could live due to housing covenants, overpriced rent, and other forms of discrimination. To alleviate the shortage of housing space, Julius and William Schwartz platted the Annapolis Park suburb in what was then Nankin Township and is now Westland, specifically for African-Americans. The neighborhood was platted in three sections: one in 1953, one in 1954, and one in 1955. A fourth Annapolis Park platting, in 1961, is not included in the Historic District. When local banks proved reluctant to provide mortgages to prospective home owners, the Schwartzes also established the Franklin Mortgage Company to make loans to residents. Annapolis Park was quickly successful, with the first two houses constructed in 1953, 134 more built in 1954, 168 more during 1955, and 51 houses built in 1956–57, completely filling the subdivision. It is likely that a substantial percentage of the original homeowners were

veterans who used the mortgage guarantee provisions of the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

to purchase their house. Sales were apparently mostly by word of mouth, but the availability of adequate financing and the efforts of part-time salesmen Jimmy Nelms (the first African American male school teacher in the Wayne school system)

Levi Jackson Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...

(a former

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

football captain) boosted sales. Annapolis Park residents formed the Southeast Homeowners Association (now the Southeast Westland Homeowners Association) in 1955 to promote community unity. In 1966, the city of Westland was incorporated from the remainder of the former Nankin Township, and Annapolis Park was included. Today's Annapolis Park is an attractive, well-cared-for neighborhood, which includes many descendants of the first homeowners.

Description

Annapolis Park contains 354 houses situated along a series of curved streets. The houses are ranch houses, primarily with brick exteriors, and all constructed in 1953–57. Lots are roughly 50–60 feet wide and 110–140 feet deep, and typically slightly irregular due to the curved streets. Although the houses are of uniform size and placement, the curving streets and variations in rooflines gives a pleasing visual character to the neighborhood. The streets are paved, with parallel sidewalks and a grass berm between. During the original construction, maples were planted on the berm at each lot; substantial numbers survive. The entire neighborhood is located on a roughly L-shaped, nearly level site, and is surrounded by similar residential subdivisions, some constructed around the same time and some of more modern vintage. The district contains a single brick bungalow, at the southwest comer of Middlebelt and Hanover, that was constructed before the neighborhood was platted. The remainder of the district consists of one-story two or three-bedroom ranch houses, either hopped roof or side gabled. A small percentage of the neighborhood, primarily the first houses built, are clad with siding, but the vast majority are brick. Brick veneers are typically of red brick, but orange-red, buff, and grayish brick were also used. Stone veneer or brick of a different hue is incorporated in many houses on the front above window-sill level and in decorative panels. Most houses have detached garages located at the back end of the lot. File:Annapolis Park B.jpg, Looking north on Julius File:Annapolis Park C.jpg, Looking south on Julius

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Historic districts in Wayne County, Michigan Houses in Wayne County, Michigan Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan