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111-602: The Cadillac Square Building (also known as the Real Estate Exchange Building ) was a building located at 17 Cadillac Square in Detroit , Michigan . It was constructed in 1918, and opened in 1919. It stood at 20 floors, with two basement floors, for a total of 22 stories. The high-rise was designed by architect Louis Kamper in the Neo-Gothic architectural style and shared similar characteristics and proportioning to

222-503: A Dream " speech in Washington, D.C., two months later. While the civil rights movement gained significant federal civil rights laws in 1964 and 1965, longstanding inequities resulted in confrontations between the police and inner-city black youth who wanted change. I have a dream this afternoon that my four little children, that my four little children will not come up in the same young days that I came up within, but they will be judged on

333-407: A cohesive community, who gradually were superseded as the dominant population after more Anglo-American settlers arrived in the early 19th century with American westward migration. Living along the shores of Lake St. Clair and south to Monroe and downriver suburbs, the ethnic French Canadians of Detroit, also known as Muskrat French in reference to the fur trade, remain a subculture in the region in

444-527: A day between the hours of 07:00 and 19:00 from June 15 to September 15. A list of organisations that serve the seaway in some fashion, such as chambers of commerce and municipal or port authorities, is available at the SLSDC website. A 56-page electronic "Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System" Directory is published by Harbor House Publishers. Map of the world Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway from 1959, depicting

555-639: A delegation of eight from the Great Lakes states to meet at the White House with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to obtain his support for the seaway concept. Beukema and St. Lawrence Seaway proponents were convinced a nautical link would lead to the development of the communities and economies of the Great Lakes region by permitting the passage of oceangoing ships. In this period, exports of grain, along with other commodities, to Europe were an important part of

666-464: A direct relationship between unfair housing practices and educational segregation, as the composition of students in the schools followed segregated neighborhoods. The District Court held all levels of government accountable for the segregation in its ruling. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed some of the decision, holding that it was the state's responsibility to integrate across the segregated metropolitan area. The U.S. Supreme Court took up

777-612: A federally subsidized, extensive highway and freeway system around Detroit, and pent-up demand for new housing stimulated suburbanization ; highways made commuting by car for higher-income residents easier. However, this construction had negative implications for many lower-income urban residents. Highways were constructed through and completely demolished neighborhoods of poor residents and black communities who had less political power to oppose them. The neighborhoods were mostly low income, considered blighted, or made up of older housing where investment had been lacking due to racial redlining, so

888-561: A major grain importer; large U.S. export shipments are now going to South America, Asia, and Africa. These destinations make Gulf and West Coast ports more critical to 21st-century grain exports. Referring to the seaway project, a retired Iowa State University economics professor who specialized in transportation issues said, "It probably did make sense, at about the time it (the Seaway) was constructed and conceived, but since then everything has changed." Certain seaway users have been concerned about

999-530: A majority of black people in Detroit resorted to living in all-black neighborhoods such as Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. At this time, white people still made up about 90.4% of the city's population. White residents attacked black homes: breaking windows, starting fires, and detonating bombs. In the 1940s the world's "first urban depressed freeway" ever built, the Davison , was constructed. During World War II ,

1110-536: A minimum lock size of 110 ft (34 m) long, 22 ft (6.7 m) wide, and 8 ft (2.4 m) deep, but it was generally too small to allow passage of larger oceangoing ships. The Welland Canal 's minimum lock size was increased to 150 ft (46 m) long, 26.5 ft (8.1 m) wide, and 9 ft (2.7 m) deep for the Second Welland Canal; to 270 ft (82 m) long, 45 ft (14 m) wide, and 14 ft (4.3 m) deep with

1221-530: A mixed-use office and retail complex, opened in 1977. This group of skyscrapers was an attempt to keep businesses in downtown. Young also gave city support to other large developments to attract middle and upper-class residents back to the city. Despite the Renaissance Center and other projects, the downtown area continued to lose businesses to the automobile-dependent suburbs. Major stores and hotels closed, and many large office buildings went vacant. Young

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1332-608: A reconfiguration of downtown's main intersection as a new park, was opened in 2004. The park has been cited as one of the best public spaces in the United States. In 2001, the first portion of the International Riverfront redevelopment was completed as a part of the city's 300th-anniversary celebration. St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence River portion of the seaway is not a continuous canal; rather, it consists of several stretches of navigable channels within

1443-555: A rented workshop on Mack Avenue. During this growth period, Detroit expanded its borders by annexing all or part of several surrounding villages and townships. In 1903, Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company . Ford's manufacturing—and those of automotive pioneers William C. Durant , Horace and John Dodge, James and William Packard, and Walter Chrysler —established the Big Three automakers and cemented Detroit's status in

1554-552: A riverfront revitalization project. Detroit is an increasingly popular tourist destination which caters to about 16 million visitors per year. In 2015, Detroit was given a name called " City of Design " by UNESCO , the first and only U.S. city to receive that designation. Detroit is named after the Detroit River , connecting Lake Huron with Lake Erie . The name comes from the French word détroit meaning ' strait ' as

1665-470: A state of urban decay which has continued to the present, as a result of industrial restructuring, the loss of jobs in the auto industry, and rapid suburbanization . Since reaching a peak of 1.85 million at the 1950 census , Detroit's population has declined by more than 65 percent. In 2013, Detroit became the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy , but successfully exited in December 2014. Detroit

1776-681: Is a port on the Detroit River, one of the four major straits that connect the Great Lakes system to the St. Lawrence Seaway . The city anchors the third-largest regional economy in the Midwest and the 16th-largest in the United States. It is also best known as the center of the U.S. automotive industry , and the " Big Three " auto manufacturers— General Motors , Ford , and Stellantis North America ( Chrysler )—are all headquartered in Metro Detroit. It houses

1887-480: Is available at. The NOAA -funded Great Lakes Water Level Dashboard compiles statistics on water depth at various points along the seaway. To create a navigable channel through the Long Sault rapids and to allow hydroelectric stations to be established immediately upriver from Cornwall, Ontario , and Massena, New York , Lake St. Lawrence was created behind a dam. This required the condemnation and acquisition by

1998-528: Is quoted as saying, "Thank God for Michigan!" George Armstrong Custer led the Michigan Brigade during the Civil War and called them the "Wolverines". The city's tensions over race, and nationally, the draft led to the Detroit race riot of 1863 , in which violence erupted, leaving some dead and over 200 Black residents homeless. This prompted the establishment of a full-time police force in 1865. During

2109-560: Is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan . It is the largest U.S. city on the Canadian border and the county seat of Wayne County . Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census , making it the 26th-most populous city in the United States. The Metro Detroit area, home to 4.3 million people, is the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area and

2220-513: Is the main route for Ontario grain exports to overseas markets. Its fees are publicly known, and were limited in 2013 to an increase of 3%. A trained pilot is required for any foreign trade vessel. A set of rules and regulations are available to help transit. Commercial vessel transit information is hosted on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation website. Since 1997, international cruise liners have been known to transit

2331-460: Is under consideration as well. If the expansion project goes ahead, feeder ships would take containers from the port of Oswego on Lake Ontario in upstate New York to Melford International Terminal in Nova Scotia for transfer to larger oceangoing ships. A website hosts measurements of wind, water, levels and water temperatures. A real-time interactive map of seaway locks, vessels, and ports

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2442-650: The Canadian Parliament authorized the founding of the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority on December 21 of that year. Fueled by this support, Saint Laurent's administration decided during 1951 and 1952 to construct the waterway alone, combined with the Moses-Saunders Power Dam . (This became the joint responsibility of Ontario and New York: as a hydropower dam would change the water levels, it required bilateral cooperation.) The International Joint Commission issued an order of approval for joint construction of

2553-561: The Chicago Tribune , it was the 3rd most costly riot in the United States. On August 18, 1970, the NAACP filed suit against Michigan state officials, including Governor William Milliken , charging de facto public school segregation. The NAACP argued that although schools were not legally segregated, the city of Detroit and its surrounding counties had enacted policies to maintain racial segregation in public schools. The NAACP also suggested

2664-576: The Detroit Metropolitan Airport , one of the most important hub airports in the United States. Detroit and its neighboring Canadian city Windsor constitute the second-busiest international crossing in North America, after San Diego–Tijuana . Detroit's culture is marked with diversity, having both local and international influences. Detroit gave rise to the music genres of Motown and techno , and also played an important role in

2775-427: The Great Lakes region . The city's population rose to be the fourth-largest in the nation by 1920, after New York City , Chicago , and Philadelphia , with the expansion of the automotive industry in the early 20th century. One of its main features, the Detroit River , became the busiest commercial hub in the world—carrying over 65 million tons of shipping commerce each year. In the mid-20th century, Detroit entered

2886-774: The Great March on Detroit ) Longstanding tensions in Detroit culminated in the Twelfth Street riot in July 1967. Governor George W. Romney ordered the Michigan National Guard into Detroit, and President Lyndon B. Johnson sent in U.S. Army troops. The result was 43 dead, 467 injured, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed, mostly in black residential and business areas. Thousands of small businesses closed permanently or relocated to safer neighborhoods. The affected district lay in ruins for decades. According to

2997-617: The International Joint Commission recommended the project. Although Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King was reluctant to proceed, in part because of opposition to the project in Quebec , in 1932 he and the U.S. representative signed a treaty of intent. This treaty was submitted to the U.S. Senate in November 1932 and hearings continued until a vote was taken on March 14, 1934. The majority voted in favor of

3108-593: The Potowatomi , Ojibwe and Huron, launched Pontiac's War in 1763 and laid siege to Fort Detroit but failed to capture it. In defeat, France ceded its territory in North America east of the Mississippi to Britain following the war. When Great Britain evicted France from Canada , it also removed one barrier to American colonists migrating west. British negotiations with the Iroquois would both prove critical and lead to

3219-760: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 , which limited settlements below the Great Lakes and west of the Alleghenies . Many colonists and pioneers in the Thirteen Colonies resented and then defied this restraint, later becoming supporters of the American Revolution . By 1773, after the addition of the Anglo-American settlers, the population of Detroit was 1,400. During the American Revolutionary War,

3330-721: The Soo Locks (at Sault Ste. Marie), which is 1,200 ft (365.8 m) long, 110 ft (33.5 m) wide and 32 ft (9.8 m) deep. A vessel's draft is another obstacle to passage on the seaway, particularly in connecting waterways such as the St. Lawrence River. The depth in the seaway's channels is 41 ft (12.5 m) ( Panamax -depth) downstream of Quebec City , 35 ft (10.7 m) between Quebec City and Deschaillons , 37 ft (11.3 m) to Montreal, and 27 ft (8.2 m) upstream of Montreal. Channel depths and limited lock sizes meant only 10% of current oceangoing ships, which have been built much larger than in

3441-450: The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation as the U.S. authority. The need for cheap haulage of Quebec- Labrador iron ore was one of the arguments that finally swung the balance in favor of the seaway. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Massena, New York , on August 10, 1954. That year Eisenhower appointed Beukema to the five-member St. Lawrence Seaway Advisory Board . In May 1957,

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3552-607: The royal yacht HMY  Britannia after addressing crowds in Saint-Lambert, Quebec . 22,000 workers were employed at one time or another on the project, a 3,700-kilometre-long (2,300 mi) superhighway for ocean freighters. Port of Milwaukee director Harry C. Brockel forecast just before the Seaway opened in 1959 that "The St. Lawrence Seaway will be the greatest single development of this century in its effects on Milwaukee's future growth and prosperity." Lester Olsen, president of

3663-566: The "Paris of the West" for its architecture, grand avenues in the Paris style, and for Washington Boulevard, recently electrified by Thomas Edison . The city had grown steadily from the 1830s with the rise of shipping, shipbuilding, and manufacturing industries. Strategically located along the Great Lakes waterway, Detroit emerged as a major port and transportation hub. In 1896, a thriving carriage trade prompted Henry Ford to build his first automobile in

3774-688: The "vice president" or "secretary", and Laura Smith Haviland the "superintendent". Numerous men from Detroit volunteered to fight for the Union during the Civil War, including the 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment . It was part of the Iron Brigade , which fought with distinction and suffered 82% casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. When the First Volunteer Infantry Regiment arrived to fortify Washington, D.C. , President Abraham Lincoln

3885-461: The 14th-largest in the United States. A significant cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music, art, architecture and design, in addition to its historical automotive background. In 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and Alphonse de Tonty founded Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit . During the late 19th and early 20th century, it became an important industrial hub at the center of

3996-482: The 155 people on board, as well as two people on the ground. In 1993, Young retired as Detroit's longest-serving mayor, deciding not to seek a sixth term, with Dennis Archer succeeding him. Archer prioritized downtown development, easing tensions with its suburban neighbors. A referendum to allow casino gambling in the city passed in 1996; several temporary casino facilities opened in 1999, and permanent downtown casinos with hotels opened in 2007–08. Campus Martius ,

4107-551: The 1920s the city had become a stronghold of the KKK", whose members primarily opposed Catholic and Jewish immigrants but also practiced discrimination against Black Americans. Even after the decline of the KKK in the late 1920s, the Black Legion , a secret vigilante group, was active in the Detroit area in the 1930s. One-third of its estimated 20,000 to 30,000 members in Michigan were based in

4218-432: The 1950s, can traverse the entire seaway. Proposals to expand the seaway, dating from as early as the 1960s, have been rejected since the late 20th century as too costly. In addition, researchers, policy makers, and the public are much more aware of the environmental issues that have accompanied seaway development and are reluctant to open the Great Lakes to more invasions of damaging species, as well as associated issues along

4329-455: The 21st century. The Great Fire of 1805 destroyed most of the Detroit settlement, which had primarily buildings made of wood. One stone fort, a river warehouse, and brick chimneys of former wooden homes were the sole structures to survive. Of the 600 Detroit residents in this area, none died in the fire. The legacy of the fire of 1805 lives on in many aspects of modern Detroit heritage. The cities motto, "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus"

4440-564: The American auto industry. Detroit manufacturers such as Packard and Hudson merged into other companies and eventually disappeared. At its peak population of 1,849,568, in the 1950 Census , the city was the fifth-largest in the United States. In this postwar era, the auto industry continued to create opportunities for many African Americans from the South, who continued with their Great Migration to Detroit and other northern and western cities to escape

4551-513: The American heartland. The seaway was heavily promoted by the Eisenhower administration, which had been concerned with a lack of US control. The seaway opened in 1959 and cost C$ 470 million, $ 336.2 million of which was paid by the Canadian government. Elizabeth II , Queen of Canada and American President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally opened the seaway on June 26, 1959 with a short cruise aboard

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4662-668: The Connecting Channels Project was begun by the United States Army Corps of Engineers . By 1959, Beukema was on board the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Maple for the first trip through the U.S. locks, which opened up the Great Lakes to oceangoing ships. On April 25, 1959, large, deep-draft ocean vessels began streaming to the heart of the North American continent through the seaway, a project supported by every administration from Woodrow Wilson through Eisenhower. In

4773-519: The Detroit River carried 67,292,504 tons of shipping commerce through Detroit to locations all over the world. For comparison, London shipped 18,727,230 tons, and New York shipped 20,390,953 tons. The river was dubbed "the Greatest Commercial Artery on Earth" by The Detroit News in 1908. The prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933 resulted in the Detroit River becoming a major conduit for smuggling of illegal Canadian spirits. With

4884-576: The Great Lakes following the opening of the seaway were built to the maximum size permissible by the locks, known informally as Seawaymax or Seaway-Max. Large vessels of the lake freighter fleet are built on the lakes and cannot travel downstream beyond the Welland Canal. On the remaining Great Lakes, these ships are constrained only by the largest lock on the Great Lakes Waterway , the Poe Lock at

4995-714: The Iroquois League, with whom they were at war in the 1630s. The Huron and Neutral people held the north side of Lake Erie until the 1650s, when the Iroquois pushed them and the Erie people away from the lake and its beaver -rich feeder streams in the Beaver Wars of 1649–1655. By the 1670s, the war-weakened Iroquois laid claim to as far south as the Ohio River valley in northern Kentucky as hunting grounds, and had absorbed many other Iroquoian peoples after defeating them in war. For

5106-653: The Milwaukee Association of Commerce, said, "The magnitude and potential of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the power project stir the imagination of the world." The seaway's opening is often credited with making the Erie Canal obsolete and causing the severe economic decline of several cities along the canal in Upstate New York . But by the turn of the 20th century, the Erie Canal had already been largely supplanted by

5217-610: The Old Power House near Lock 23 (near Morrisburg, Ontario) became an attractive site for scuba divers. The submerged stone building has become covered with barnacles and is home to an abundance of underwater life. The seaway passes through the St. Lawrence River, which provides a number of diveable shipwrecks within recreational scuba limits (shallower than 130 ft (40 m)). The region also offers technical diving, with some wrecks lying at 240 ft (73 m). The water temperature can be as warm as 75 °F (24 °C) during

5328-614: The South. Whites, including ethnic Europeans, feared black competition for jobs and scarce housing. The federal government prohibited discrimination in defense work, but when in June 1943 Packard promoted three black people to work next to whites on its assembly lines, 25,000 white workers walked off the job. The 1943 Detroit race riot took place in June, three weeks after the Packard plant protest, beginning with an altercation at Belle Isle . A total of 34 people were killed, 25 of them black and most at

5439-454: The South; they were outnumbered by southern whites who also migrated to the city. Immigration brought southern and eastern Europeans of Catholic and Jewish faith; these new groups competed with native-born whites for jobs and housing in the booming city. Detroit was one of the major Midwest cities that was a site for the dramatic urban revival of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) beginning in 1915. "By

5550-495: The Third Welland Canal; and to 766 ft (233 m) long, 80 ft (24 m) wide, and 30 ft (9.1 m) deep for the current (Fourth) Welland Canal. The first proposals for a binational comprehensive deep waterway along the St. Lawrence were made in the 1890s. In the following decades, developers proposed a hydropower project as inseparable from the seaway; the various governments and seaway supporters believed

5661-399: The U.S. annual total. The toll revenue obtained from ocean vessels is about 25–30% of cargo revenue. The Port of Duluth shipped just over 2.5 million tonnes of grain, which is less than the port typically moved in the decade before the seaway opened Lake Superior to deep-draft oceangoing vessels in 1959. International changes have affected shipping through the seaway. Europe is no longer

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5772-483: The United States, N. R. Danelian (who was the director of the 13-volume St. Lawrence Seaway Survey in the U.S. Department of Navigation (1932–63)), worked with the U.S. Secretary of State on Canadian-U.S. issues regarding the seaway, persevering through 15 years to gain passage by Congress of the Seaway Act . He later became president of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Association to promote seaway development to benefit

5883-414: The United States. In 2002, ships moved 222 million tonnes of cargo through the seaway. Overseas shipments, mostly of inbound steel and outbound grain, accounted for 15.4 million tonnes, or 6.9%, of the total cargo moved. In 2004, seaway grain exports accounted for about 3.6% of U.S. overseas grain shipments, according to the U.S. Grains Council. In a typical year, seaway steel imports account for around 6% of

5994-466: The basis of the content of their character, not the color of their skin ... I have a dream this evening that one day we will recognize the words of Jefferson that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." I have a dream ... —Martin Luther King Jr. (June 1963 Speech at

6105-430: The canals and river. Questions have been raised as to whether such infrastructure costs could ever be recovered. Lower water levels in the Great Lakes have also posed problems for some vessels in recent years, and pose greater issues to communities, industries, and agriculture in the region. While the seaway is (as of 2010) mostly used for shipping bulk cargo , the possibility of its use for large-scale container shipping

6216-563: The case February 27, 1974. The subsequent Milliken v. Bradley decision had nationwide influence. In a narrow decision, the Supreme Court found schools were a subject of local control, and suburbs could not be forced to aid with the desegregation of the city's school district. "Milliken was perhaps the greatest missed opportunity of that period", said Myron Orfield , professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School . "Had that gone

6327-466: The center of the flag of the city. From 1805 to 1847, Detroit was the capital of Michigan as a territory and as a state. William Hull , the United States commander at Detroit, surrendered without a fight to British troops and their Native American allies during the War of 1812 in the siege of Detroit , believing his forces were vastly outnumbered. The Battle of Frenchtown was part of a U.S. effort to retake

6438-702: The city was situated on a narrow passage of water linking the two lakes. The river was known as le détroit du Lac Érié in French, which means ' the strait of Lake Erie ' . In the historical context, the strait included the St. Clair River , Lake St. Clair , and the Detroit River. [REDACTED]   Kingdom of France 1701–1760 [REDACTED]   Kingdom of Great Britain 1760–1796 [REDACTED]   United States 1796–1812 [REDACTED]   United Kingdom 1812–1813 [REDACTED]   United States 1813–present Paleo-Indians inhabited areas near Detroit as early as 11,000 years ago including

6549-697: The city's access to the Canada–US border made it a key stop for refugee slaves gaining freedom in the North along the Underground Railroad . Many went across the Detroit River to Canada to escape pursuit by slave catchers. An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 African-American refugees settled in Canada. George DeBaptiste was considered to be the "president" of the Detroit Underground Railroad, William Lambert

6660-403: The city's population declined to less than 10 percent of the state's population. During the same time period, the sprawling metropolitan area grew to contain more than half of Michigan's population. The shift of population and jobs eroded Detroit's tax base. In June 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a major speech as part of a civil rights march in Detroit that foreshadowed his " I Have

6771-412: The city, and U.S. troops suffered their highest fatalities of any battle in the war. This battle is commemorated at River Raisin National Battlefield Park south of Detroit in Monroe County . Detroit was recaptured by the United States later that year. The settlement was incorporated as a city in 1815. As the city expanded, a radial geometric street plan developed by Chief Justice Augustus B. Woodward

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6882-486: The city. It was defeated after numerous prosecutions following the kidnapping and murder in 1936 of Charles Poole, a Catholic organizer with the federal Works Progress Administration . Some 49 men of the Black Legion were convicted of numerous crimes, with many sentenced to life in prison for murder. By 1940, 80% of Detroit deeds contained restrictive covenants prohibiting African Americans from buying houses they could afford. These discriminatory tactics were successful as

6993-426: The culture referred to as the Mound Builders . By the 17th century, the region was inhabited by Huron , Odawa , Potawatomi , and Iroquois peoples. The area is known by the Anishinaabe people as Waawiiyaataanong , translating to 'where the water curves around'. The first Europeans did not penetrate into the region and reach the straits of Detroit until French missionaries and traders worked their way around

7104-450: The dam in October 1952. U.S. Senate debate on the bill began on January 12, 1953, and the bill emerged from the House of Representatives Committee of Public Works on February 22, 1954. It received approval from the Senate and the House by May 1954. The first positive action to enlarge the seaway was taken on May 13, 1954, when U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Wiley-Dondero Seaway Act to authorize joint construction and establish

7215-402: The deeper water to be created by the hydro project was necessary to make the seaway channels feasible for oceangoing ships. U.S. proposals for development up to and including the First World War met with little interest from the Canadian federal government. But the two national governments submitted St. Lawrence plans to a group for study. By the early 1920s, both The Wooten-Bowden Report and

7326-464: The development of jazz , hip-hop , rock , and punk . A globally unique stock of architectural monuments and historic places was the result of the city's rapid growth in its boom years. Since the 2000s, conservation efforts have managed to save many architectural pieces and achieve several large-scale revitalizations , including the restoration of several historic theaters and entertainment venues, high-rise renovations, new sports stadiums, and

7437-449: The early 20th century as the world's automotive capital. The growth of the auto industry was reflected by changes in businesses throughout the Midwest and nation, with the development of garages to service vehicles and gas stations, as well as factories for parts and tires. Because of the booming auto industry, Detroit became the fourth-largest city in the nation by 1920, following New York City , Chicago , and Philadelphia . In 1907,

7548-416: The establishment of the United States as an independent country, Britain ceded Detroit and other territories in the region under the 1783 Treaty of Paris , which established the southern border with its remaining colonial provinces in British North America , later Upper Canada . However, the area remained under British control, and its forces did not withdraw until 1796, following the 1794 Jay Treaty . By

7659-412: The government encouraged retooling of the American automobile industry in support of the Allied powers , leading to Detroit's key role in the American Arsenal of Democracy . Jobs expanded so rapidly due to the defense buildup in World War II that 400,000 people migrated to the city from 1941 to 1943, including 50,000 blacks in the second wave of the Great Migration, and 350,000 whites, many of them from

7770-405: The government of all the properties of six villages and three hamlets in Ontario; these are now collectively known as The Lost Villages . The area was flooded beginning on July 1, 1958, creating the lake. There was also inundation on the New York side of the border, and the village of Louisville Landing was submerged. A notable adverse environmental effect of the operation of the seaway has been

7881-402: The hands of the white police force, while 433 were wounded (75% of them black), and property valued at $ 2 million (worth $ 30.4 million in 2020) was destroyed. Rioters moved through the city, and young whites traveled across town to attack more settled blacks in their neighborhood of Paradise Valley . Industrial mergers in the 1950s, especially in the automobile sector, increased oligopoly in

7992-489: The highways were presented as a kind of urban renewal. These neighborhoods (such as Black Bottom and Paradise Valley) were extremely important to the black communities of Detroit, providing spaces for independent black businesses and social/cultural organizations. Their destruction displaced residents with little consideration of the effects of breaking up functioning neighborhoods and businesses. In 1956, Detroit's last heavily used electric streetcar line , which traveled along

8103-571: The indigenous and loyalist raids of 1778 and the resultant 1779 decisive Sullivan Expedition reopened the Ohio Country to even more westward emigration, which began almost immediately. By 1778, its population reached 2,144 and it was the third-largest city in what was known as the Province of Quebec since the British takeover of former French colonial possessions. After the American Revolutionary War and

8214-496: The influence of union leaders in the city such as Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters and Walter Reuther of the UAW. Detroit, like many places in the United States, developed racial conflict and discrimination in the 20th century following the rapid demographic changes as hundreds of thousands of new workers were attracted to the industrial city. The Great Migration brought rural blacks from

8325-407: The influx of black Detroiters to white neighborhoods, believing that their presence would lead to neighborhood deterioration. This perpetuated a cyclical exclusionary process that marginalized the agency of black Detroiters by trapping them in the unhealthiest, least safe areas of the city. As in other major American cities in the postwar era, modernist planning ideology drove the construction of

8436-615: The introduction of numerous invasive species of aquatic animals into the Great Lakes Basin . The zebra mussel has been most damaging in the Great Lakes and through its invasion of related rivers, waterways, and city water facilities. Invasive species and artificial water level controls imposed by the seaway have had a negative impact on recreational fishing. The seaway, along with the St. Lawrence River it passes through, also provides opportunities for outdoor recreation, such as boating , camping , fishing , and scuba diving . Of note,

8547-580: The largest European settlement between Montreal and New Orleans , both also French settlements, in the former colonies of New France and La Louisiane , respectively. During the French and Indian War (1754–63)—the North American front of the Seven Years' War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of France —British troops gained control of the settlement in 1760 and shortened its name to Detroit. Several regional Native American tribes, such as

8658-521: The late 19th century, wealthy industry and shipping magnates commissioned the design and construction of several Gilded Age mansions east and west of the current downtown, along the major avenues of the Woodward plan. Most notable among them was the David Whitney House at 4421 Woodward Avenue , and the grand avenue became a favored address for mansions. During this period, some referred to Detroit as

8769-417: The length of Woodward Avenue, was removed and replaced with gas-powered buses. It was the last line of what had once been a 534-mile network of electric streetcars. In 1941, at peak times, a streetcar ran on Woodward Avenue every 60 seconds. All of these changes in the area's transportation system favored low-density, auto-oriented development rather than high-density urban development. Industry also moved to

8880-518: The low water levels of the Great Lakes that had been recorded between 2010 and 2016. The Panama Canal was completed in 1914 and also serves oceangoing traffic. In the 1950s, seaway designers chose not to build the locks to match the size of ships permitted by the 1914 locks at the Panama Canal (965 by 106 feet (294 by 32 m), known as the Panamax limit). Instead, the seaway locks were built to match

8991-565: The main channel. The Lake Erie level control lock sits in Port Colborne, Ontario . The size of vessels that can traverse the seaway is limited by the size of locks . Locks on the St. Lawrence and on the Welland Canal are 766 ft (233.5 m) long, 80 ft (24.4 m) wide, and 30 ft (9.14 m) deep. The maximum allowed vessel size is slightly smaller: 740 ft (225.6 m) long, 78 ft (23.8 m) wide, and 26.5 ft (8.1 m) deep. Many vessels designed for use on

9102-491: The majority of the black community: with overall lower incomes and facing the backlash of discriminatory housing policies, the black community was limited to lower cost, lower quality housing in the city. The surge in the black population augmented the strain on housing scarcity. The livable areas available to the black community were limited, and as a result, families often crowded together in unsanitary, unsafe, and illegal quarters. Such discrimination became increasingly evident in

9213-620: The mid- to late-summer months. The first 10 ft (3 m) of Lake Ontario is warmed and enters the St. Lawrence River, as the fast-moving water body has no thermocline circulation. On July 12, 2010, Richelieu (owned by Canada Steamship Lines ) ran aground after losing power near the Côte-Sainte-Catherine lock. The grounding punctured a fuel tank, spilling an estimated 200 tonnes (440 thousand pounds) of diesel fuel , covering approximately 500 square metres (5,400 sq ft). The seaway and lock were shut down to help contain

9324-408: The national economy. Negotiations on the treaty resumed in 1938, and by January 1940 substantial agreement was reached between Canada and the United States. By 1941, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Mackenzie King made an executive agreement to build the joint hydro and navigation works, but this failed to receive the assent of the U.S. Congress . Proposals for the seaway were met with resistance;

9435-582: The neighboring Cadillac Tower . The high-rise was built on the former site of a Salvation Army Hall, and was demolished between 1976 and early 1977. A parking lot took its place. 42°19′56″N 83°02′44″W  /  42.33212°N 83.04569°W  / 42.33212; -83.04569 This article related to a building or structure in Detroit is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Detroit Detroit ( / d ɪ ˈ t r ɔɪ t / dih- TROYT , locally also / ˈ d iː t r ɔɪ t / DEE -troyt )

9546-405: The next hundred years, virtually no British or French action was contemplated without consultation with the Iroquois or consideration of their likely response. On July 24, 1701, the French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac , with his lieutenant  Alphonse de Tonty and more than a hundred other settlers, began constructing a small fort on the north bank of the Detroit River. Cadillac named

9657-411: The other way, it would have opened the door to fixing nearly all of Detroit's current problems." John Mogk, a professor of law and an expert in urban planning at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, says, Everybody thinks that it was the riots [in 1967] that caused the white families to leave. Some people were leaving at that time but, really, it was after Milliken that you saw mass flight to

9768-484: The policies of redlining implemented by banks and federal housing groups, which almost completely restricted the ability of blacks to improve their housing and encouraged white people to guard the racial divide that defined their neighborhoods. As a result, black people were often denied bank loans to obtain better housing, and interest rates and rents were unfairly inflated to prevent their moving into white neighborhoods. White residents and political leaders largely opposed

9879-405: The power to be generated by hydroelectricity, Canada began to consider developing the project alone. This seized the imagination of Canadians, engendering a groundswell of nationalism around the St. Lawrence. On September 28, 1951, Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent advised U.S. President Harry S. Truman that Canada was unwilling to wait for the United States and would build a seaway alone;

9990-485: The primary opposition came from interests representing harbors on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and internal waterways and from the railroad associations. The railroads carried freight and goods between the coastal ports and the Great Lakes cities. After 1945, proposals to introduce tolls to the seaway were not sufficient to gain support for the project by the U.S. Congress. Growing impatient, and with Ontario desperate for

10101-577: The railroads, which had been constructed across New York and could carry freight more quickly and cheaply. Upstate New York's economic decline was precipitated by numerous factors, only some of which had to do with the St. Lawrence Seaway. Under the Canada Marine Act (1998), the Canadian portions of the seaway were set up with a non-profit corporate structure; this legislation also introduced changes to federal ports. Great Lakes and seaway shipping generates $ 3.4 billion in business revenue annually in

10212-586: The rapid growth of industrial workers in the auto factories, labor unions such as the American Federation of Labor and the United Auto Workers (UAW) fought to organize workers to gain them better working conditions and wages. They initiated strikes and other tactics in support of improvements such as the 8-hour day/40-hour work week , increased wages, greater benefits, and improved working conditions . The labor activism during those years increased

10323-485: The region losing the majority of funding for rapid transit. The city then moved forward with construction of the elevated downtown circulator portion of the system, which became known as the Detroit People Mover . The gasoline crises of 1973 and 1979 affected auto industry. Buyers chose smaller, more fuel-efficient cars made by foreign makers as the price of gas rose. Efforts to revive the city were stymied by

10434-537: The river from Montreal to the Atlantic is under Canadian jurisdiction, regulated by the offices of Transport Canada in the Port of Quebec . The St. Lawrence Seaway was preceded by several other canals. In 1871, locks on the St. Lawrence allowed transit of vessels 186 ft (57 m) long, 44 ft 6 in (13.56 m) wide, and 9 ft (2.7 m) deep. The First Welland Canal , constructed between 1824 and 1829, had

10545-411: The river, a number of locks , and canals along the banks of the St. Lawrence River to bypass several rapids and dams . A number of the locks are managed by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation in Canada, and others in the United States by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation ; the two bodies together advertise the seaway as part of "Highway H 2 O" . The section of

10656-520: The seaway. From downstream to upstream they are: Water Level Elevations: There are eight locks on the Welland Canal . From the north to the south, there is lock 1 at Port Weller, followed by Lock 2 and then Lock 3, a site with a visitors' information centre and museum in St. Catharines, Ontario . There are four locks in Thorold, Ontario , including twin-flight locks 4, 5 and 6, with Lock 7 leading up to

10767-445: The seaway. The Hapag-Lloyd Christopher Columbus carried 400 passengers to Duluth, Minnesota , that year. Since then, the number of annual seaway cruising passengers has increased to 14,000. Every year, more than 2,000 recreational boats, of more than 20 ft and one ton, transit the seaway. The tolls have been fixed for 2017 at $ 30 per lock. There is a $ 5 per lock discount for payment in advance. Lockages are scheduled 12 hours

10878-466: The settlement Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit , after Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain , Secretary of State of the Navy under Louis XIV . Sainte-Anne-de-Détroit was founded on July 26 and is the second-oldest continuously operating Roman Catholic parish in the United States. France offered free land to colonists to attract families to Detroit; when it reached a population of 800 in 1765, it became

10989-451: The smaller locks of Welland Canal , which opened in 1932. The seaway locks permit passage of a ship 740 feet (230 m) long by 78 feet (24 m) feet wide (the Seawaymax limit). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study to expand the St. Lawrence Seaway, but the plan was scrapped in 2011 because of tight budgets. There are seven locks in the St. Lawrence River portion of

11100-597: The spill. The seaway is important for American and Canadian international trade. It handles 40–50 million annual tonnes of cargo. About 50% of this cargo carried travels to and from international ports in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The rest comprises coastal trade, or short sea shipping , between various American and Canadian ports. Among international shippers are found: The St. Lawrence Seaway (along with ports in Quebec)

11211-498: The strict Jim Crow laws and racial discrimination policies of the South. Postwar Detroit was a prosperous industrial center of mass production. The auto industry comprised about 60% of all industry in the city, allowing space for a plethora of separate booming businesses including stove making, brewing, furniture building, oil refineries, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and more. The expansion of jobs created unique opportunities for black Americans, who saw novel high employment rates: there

11322-418: The struggles of the auto industry, as their sales and market share declined. Automakers laid off thousands of employees and closed plants in the city, further eroding the tax base. To counteract this, the city used eminent domain to build two large new auto assembly plants in the city. Young sought to revive the city by seeking to increase investment in the city's declining downtown. The Renaissance Center ,

11433-404: The suburbs, seeking large plots of land for single-story factories. By the 21st century, the metro Detroit area had developed as one of the most sprawling job markets in the United States; combined with poor public transport, this resulted in many new jobs being beyond the reach of urban low-income workers. In 1950, the city held about one-third of the state's population. Over the next 60 years,

11544-434: The suburbs. If the case had gone the other way, it is likely that Detroit would not have experienced the steep decline in its tax base that has occurred since then. In November 1973, the city elected Coleman Young as its first black mayor. After taking office, Young emphasized increasing racial diversity in the police department, which was predominantly white. Young also worked to improve Detroit's transportation system, but

11655-404: The tension between Young and his suburban counterparts over regional matters was problematic throughout his mayoral term. In 1976, the federal government offered $ 600 million (~$ 2.5 billion in 2023) for building a regional rapid transit system, under a single regional authority. But the inability of Detroit and its suburban neighbors to solve conflicts over transit planning resulted in

11766-600: The treaty, but it failed to gain the necessary two-thirds vote for ratification. Later attempts between the governments in the 1930s to forge an agreement came to naught due to opposition by the Ontario government of Mitchell Hepburn and the government of Quebec. In 1936, John C. Beukema, head of the Great Lakes Harbors Association and a member of the Great Lakes Tidewater Commission, was among

11877-403: The turn of the 19th century, white American settlers began pouring westwards. The region's then colonial economy was based on the lucrative fur trade , in which numerous Native American people had important roles as trappers and traders. Today the flag of Detroit reflects its both its French and English colonial heritage. Descendants of the earliest French and French-Canadian settlers formed

11988-677: Was a 103% increase in the number of blacks employed in postwar Detroit. Black Americans who immigrated to northern industrial cities from the south still faced intense racial discrimination in the employment sector. Racial discrimination kept the workforce and better jobs predominantly white, while many black Detroiters held lower-paying factory jobs. Despite changes in demographics as the city's black population expanded, Detroit's police force, fire department, and other city jobs continued to be held by predominantly white residents. This created an unbalanced racial power dynamic. Unequal opportunities in employment resulted in unequal housing opportunities for

12099-492: Was coined by Father Gabriel Richard as he looked out at the ruins of the city in the fire's aftermath. The city seal, designed by J.O. Lewis in 1827, directly depicts the Great Fire of 1805. Two women stand in the foreground while on the left, the city burns in the background and a woman weeps over the destruction. The woman on the right consoles her by gesturing to a new city that will rise in its place. The city seal also forms

12210-587: Was criticized for being too focused on downtown development and not doing enough to lower the city's high crime rate and improve city services to residents. High unemployment was compounded by middle-class flight to the suburbs, and some residents leaving the state to find work. The result for the city was a higher proportion of poor in its population, reduced tax base, depressed property values, abandoned buildings, abandoned neighborhoods, and high crime rates. On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed near Detroit Metro airport, killing all but one of

12321-685: Was followed, featuring grand boulevards as in Paris . In 1817, Woodward went on to establish the Catholepistemiad , or University of Michigania in the city. Intended to be a centralized system of schools, libraries, and other cultural and scientific institutions for the Michigan Territory, the Catholepistemiad evolved into the modern University of Michigan. Prior to the American Civil War ,

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