313 Day: Happy Anniversary Detroit

If you are a native and lover of Detroit like me, then you already know that today is 313 Day. However, the historian in me wanted to share, for those that are not aware, my city’s vast, influential, and diverse history on its 320th anniversary. Detroit is the largest city in the state of Michigan. Colonized as a New France fur trading post, it began to expand during the 19th century. By 1920, based on the booming auto industry and immigration, it became a world-class industrial powerhouse and the fourth-largest city in the United States.

Industrialism and innovations have always been what makes Detroit diverse and special. The city is unique because you can enter Canada from it on the north and south sides. This factor made it possible for various avenues in which individuals have been able to establish wealth within its borders. Since the beginning of the 17th century, tradesmen have been able to become tycoons transporting everything from lumber to fur down the Detroit River. But the Tycoon that really put Detroit on the map was Henry Ford.

Henry Ford’s assembly line innovation transformed mass production and lead to Detroit's growth in industry and popularity. Thanks to Henry Ford’s historical $5 a day wage, a surge of people from all over the world converged on Detroit. Greeks, Jews, Italians, Irish and Southern Americans, all relocated to the city of promise. The interesting thing is, they brought with them their culture and added it to the environment of the city. This is still evident today, within the various sections of the city. Hamtramck, Greek Town, Southwest, Corktown, and Dearborn, are just a few examples of the international citizens that became a part of the landscape of the city.

Everyone knows Detroit by its nickname, the Motor City. But Detroit, has two nicknames, and ironically enough, it was an auto factory worker that is responsible for the second one. Because of a visionary and business minded auto worker named Berry Gordy Jr., Detroit is also known as Motown. This is the name of the record company Gordy started in the city. The name comes from blending the words motor and town. It is said that Gordy took the assembly line motto and applied it to his style of record production. It worked. The label produced some of music’s most prolific artist from, Diana Ross to Stevie Wonder, and The Jacksons, to name just a few. 20 years later, another group of musical geniuses took the rhythm of the assembly lines and birth the sound of Detroit Techno music.

One of the originators of “Detroit Techno” Juan Akins once said that, “Detroit is the most advanced at transition away from industrialism. I wonder when he said that was J Dilla out there listening somewhere? If you have never heard of James Yancey aka J Dilla, just know he will go down in history as being one of the fathers of lo-fi hip-hop, and one of the most influential producers of all time. He is responsible for producing everyone from Erykah Badu to A Tribe Called Quest. The music history of Detroit is so vast an awesome that many people forget that Detroit is also an architectural hub.

Two of my favorite architects left their mark in Detroit, Albert Kahn and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Albert Kahn designed many buildings in the city of Detroit, but my favorites is the Fischer building. Its ornate beauty is something out of a fairy tale. If you never had the privilege of visiting it, just know the marble alone will awe you. Then there’s Ludwig Mies van doe Rohe. If you are a lover of mid-century modern or the Bauhaus movement, then you will instantly become a fan of Mies. He is responsible for the subtle, yet opulent neighborhood known as Lafayette Park. It’s clean lines and park like environment makes it still a sought-after location to live.

Detroit has a fascinating history. Next to New York, I don’t know of an American city that has garnered as much notoriety. There are also many subcultures within the city. To go into them all will make this a mini book and not a blog. In recent years, the city is having a resurgence of energy. New construction and historical renovations are giving the residence hope that it will eventually return to its former glory. In its 320 years of establishment, Detroit has definitely left its mark on history. From autos to Techno, I believe most people can agree that in one way or the other, Detroit has influenced the world.