Detroit History

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By Rodney L. Arroyo, FAICP

My professional background is in city planning and photography, and my consulting firm was based in downtown Detroit. I am also a jazz enthusiast. All of these interests drive my passion for research and exploration of Detroit’s past.

As a city planner, part of my job is storytelling – telling the story of the history of a city or place and then helping a community craft and describe a vision for that place.  As a photographer, I also serve as a visual storyteller, using images to convey the stories of people and places.

This research work is a passion project for me. My goal is to continue presenting my findings and facilitating a dialogue about the information, photographs, maps, and data I share. Our education system, in my opinion, does not provide an adequate curriculum for teaching students of all ages about the many stories that make up Paradise Valley and Black Bottom, and the lessons we can learn from them. I hope to help change that and share my research with people of all ages.

Many people have asked for copies of the maps I have been creating. They are available in a new booklet through this link: https://square.link/u/AmMGPiGb.

Jazz and Blues Clubs in Detroit (1930s through 1950s)

The map below focuses on and around Paradise Valley but also includes Black Bottom, the Medical Center / Brush Park area, Sugar Hill, and some key locations farther from the core study area. Note that some of the streets where the clubs were located, including Hastings Street, are no longer there. The base street map is a modern base map that provides context.

If you want to learn more, I highly recommend the books “Before Motown: A History of Jazz in Detroit 1920-1960 by Lars Bjorn and Jim Gallert (the primary source used for the above map) and “Jazz from Detroit” by Mark Stryker. Lars Bjorn, Jim Gallert, and I have partnered to provide a separate resource for Detroit’s jazz history. You can find more information at www.detroitjazzhistory.com.

Black-owned Businesses in Paradise Valley, Black Bottom, Medical Center District, and Cultural Center District

I have been documenting Black-owned businesses in Detroit during its population peak, in the early 1950s, prior to the construction of the Interstate Highway System and substantial urban renewal projects in Black Bottom, Paradise Valley, the Medical Center District, and the Cultural Center District. I am pleased to share the completed map. Please use the link below to the blog associated blogpost:

Map of Detroit Black-Owned Businesses in 1952 (link)

Notes above the cover image at top of this post: The cover image at the top of this page is a photo of current-day Greektown: Monroe Street between Beaubien and St. Antoine. Many are unaware that Greektown was part of the Black Bottom neighborhood. This block is flanked by the Second Baptist Church on the west, the oldest Black church in Michigan and the Midwest, and by Old St. Mary Church on the east, a church built by German immigrants.

When Bebop Came to Detroit: The Story of a Jazz Revolution

As World War II raged across the globe in the early 1940s, something also explosive—though infinitely more harmonious—was taking shape in New York City’s jazz clubs. Bebop, that revolutionary jazz style characterized by breakneck tempos, dizzying chord progressions, and virtuosic improvisation, wasn’t just changing music—it was changing American culture. And Detroit, with its vibrant nightlife and remarkable musical talent, became an essential player in this thrilling jazz revolution. This post explores Detroit’s role in the evolution of bebop: https://city-photos.com/2025/05/when-bebop-came-to-detroit-the-story-of-a-jazz-revolution/

Bird in the D: Charlie Parker’s Detroit Story

The legendary Charlie “Yardbird” Parker didn’t just revolutionize jazz—he left an indelible mark on Detroit’s music scene. From helping to discover future stars like Betty Carter to recording memorable sessions at United Sound Systems Studios, Parker’s Detroit connections reveal a fascinating chapter in the history of bebop. https://city-photos.com/2025/07/bird-in-the-d-charlie-parkers-detroit-story/

Motown and the Empire on West Grand Boulevard

The story of the Motown Record Company and its empire on West Grand Boulevard is complex and rooted in Detroit history, planning history, jazz history, and entrepreneurial spirit. To tell the full story, it is critical to understand the boulevard, the neighborhood, and the origins of the company that became known worldwide as Motown. https://city-photos.com/2026/01/motown-and-the-empire-on-west-grand-boulevard/

Detroit’s Black Hospitals

My blog post on Detroit’s Black Hospitals, can be found: https://city-photos.com/2025/01/detroits-black-hospitals/. Detroit once had 18 Black-owned hospitals, which were opened by Black physicians to care for patients that faced segregationist and discriminatory practices in other Detroit hospitals.

Black Bottom Population

How many people lived in Detroit’s Black Bottom? There is much confusion on this topic, but I provide some clarity on the topic with this blog post.

Comerica Park and the Tigers’ Opening Day: Looking Back

This post provides insight into the land that now contains Comerica Park and associated parking. Many historic structures and Black-owned businesses were once located here. https://city-photos.com/2025/04/comerica-park-and-paradise-valley-a-historical-perspective-for-the-detroit-tigers-opening-day/Other Cities Impacted by Freeways and Urban Renewal

Detroit was not the only city to see its Black population and Black-owned businesses decimated by freeway construction and urban renewal. In this blog post, I explore Miami’s Overtown neighborhood.

Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction

Detroit’s Milwaukee Junction is considered the cradle of the automobile industry. To learn more, follow this link to my blog post: https://city-photos.com/2024/08/manufacturing-plants-in-detroits-milwaukee-junction-map-and-photos/. This link includes a map I created to highlight many of the Fisher Body plants that were located in the district, as well as other auto-related plants.

How the Federal Government’s Actions to Improve Housing and Transportation Harmed and Excluded Black Americans and Helped to Build a White Middle Class

The actions of the federal government to boost homeownership and discriminate against Black Americans left a legacy of loss during a critical time for building wealth in the U.S. This happened during a period when interest rates were low and housing prices were historically affordable.  This post explores these actions in depth. https://city-photos.com/2025/06/how-the-federal-governments-actions-to-improve-housing-and-transportation-harmed-and-excluded-black-americans-and-helped-to-build-a-white-middle-class/

Detroit’s Early Skyscrapers: The Alphabet Buildings

This blog post describes Detroit’s early skyscrapers and the design pattern used by architects to maximize air and light during a time before modern air conditioning systems made buildings more comfortable year-round. https://city-photos.com/2025/03/early-skyscrapers-in-detroit-the-alphabet-buildings/

Detroit’s Grand Circus Park Theater District

Between 1917 and 1928, Detroit transformed into a movie lover’s paradise. The Grand Circus Park Theater District became a dazzling entertainment hub that captured the city’s explosive growth and cultural creativity. As Detroit’s population soared from 446,000 in 1910 to nearly 1.6 million by 1930, its theaters became more than just places to watch films—they were palaces of entertainment.

This blog post explores the Grand Circus Park Theater District. Remarkably, this district had 25,275 theater seats in the 1930s and 1940s. That’s one seat for every 62 residents in 1930.

https://city-photos.com/2025/03/detroits-cinematic-wonderland-a-story-of-lights-camera-and-action-in-detroits-historic-grand-circus-park-theater-district/ 

Slavery in Detroit

Northern states, territories, and Canada have a deep history of slavery. Early French settlers were enslavers. Enslavement was considered legal in New York as early as 1725, and many early settlers in Michigan came from New York.  Traders of beaver pelts used enslaved people to transport products from Michigan to New York and other states along the Atlantic coast.

Although the Northwest Ordinance (1785) banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, it did not require existing enslaved persons to be freed. The same was true of the Act of 1793 in Canada.  Slavery was not banned in New York, a frequent trade partner of Michigan, until 1827. Slavery was not abolished in the U.S. until 1865 (13^th Amendment).

As a component of my ongoing research into Detroit history – with a focus on city planning history, the evolution of jazz in Detroit, and the stories of Paradise Valley and Black Bottom – I have prepared a map showing Detroit streets in and around Paradise Valley and Black Bottom that were named for enslavers.  This is now part of my presentation “Rhythms of Resilience and Change: Looking Back at Detroit’s Paradise Valley and Black Bottom – When Jazz and Blues Reigned Supreme”

If you want to learn more about Detroit’s slavery history, I highly recommend “The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits,” by Tiya Miles.

About Rod Arroyo

See my blog post and the map for more information. About Rod Arroyo 

Rod Arroyo is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners and has served as an adjunct professor of city planning at Wayne State University.  He has over 35 years of city planning consulting experience. He is a retired Partner/Director of Community Planning for Giffels Webster, based in Detroit. He is currently researching the impact of urban renewal and freeway construction during the 1950s – 1970s on Paradise Valley, Black Bottom, and nearby areas comprised of Black-owned businesses and/or residences. He also presents his research, with programs ranging from 30 to 120 minutes in length.

Rod is also a professional photographer. He is a member of the Professional Photographers of America and has owned his photography business, Portraits By Rod, since 2000. Most of his work focuses on corporate headshots and corporate events, as well as city photography. Over 40 of his images appear in the 2024 documentary, The Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit. He has also worked as a photojournalist throughout his career, and he currently does freelance work for Grosse Pointe Magazine.

Resources

There are many great resources available to learn more about these topics. Here are some of my favorites:

Before Motown, by Lars Bjorn with Jim Gallert

Jazz from Detroit, by Mark Stryker

Redevelopment and Race: Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit by June Manning Thomas

The Making of Black Detroit in the Age of Henry Ford, by Beth Thompkins Bates

Million Dollars Worth of Nerve: Twenty-One People Who Helped to Power Black Bottom, Paradise Valley and Detroit’s Lower East Side, by Ken Coleman

Black Automobile Workers in Detroit 1910-1930 in Journal of Negro History, by Joyce Shaw Peterson

The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits, by Tiya Miles

Metropolitan Jews, by Lila Corwin Berman

When Detroit Played the Numbers, by Felicia B. George

The Origins of the Urban Crisis, by Thomas Sugrue