Etcetera

Digging Up The Lost Detroit Neighborhood That Was Demolished For the Train Station

November 11, 2012, 11:00 AM

Students from Assistant Professor Krysta Ryzewski's Archaeological Field Methods course at Wayne State University are searching for the neighborhood that once stood where the ruins of the Michigan Central Depot looms today.

According to a Detroit News story by Bill Loomis, this small group is excavating a former thriving neighborhood that once occupied the park and adjacent areas; in all, about 20 blocks of streets and alleys that ran from 15th to 20th streets and from the train station to Michigan Avenue. 

"We are currently conducting excavations of a 19th century neighborhood in Detroit's Roosevelt Park, which was demolished to make the entrance for the train station in the 1910s," said Ryzewski. "We are trying to understand who these people were who lived here.

"Most of the residents are unrecorded; they are not in any record. Many were working class, although not all. There were some medical doctors in this neighborhood."

Michigan Central Railroad bought up about 300 homes, boarding houses, and other structures in the area. Many homes were torn down, and others were moved to new locations, such as Delray.


Read more:  Detroit News


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