Paradise Lost....
Paradise Valley USED to be the social center of the African-American Community in Detroit, and Hastings Street was it's focal point. Originally occupied by Jewish Settlers, when the large auto plants opened in 1916 in Highland Park and Hamtramck ( this street is halfway between them ) , thousands of African-Americans moved into this area from The South. During the 20's and 30's, this was the only place in the city a black man was allowed to own a business. From the 1920's thru the early 50's , the music district here rivalled even Harlem, with Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Charlie Parker, and Duke Ellington ( among others ) frequently having shows at the many clubs along Hastings. John Lee Hooker was discovered here ( and sang about in his song Boogie Chillun' " When I first came to town people, I was walkin' down Hastings Street, Everybody was talkin' about, the Henry Swing Club " ) and Berry Gordy was first bitten by the music bug here, walking up and down the street and listening to all the live bands playing, later forming Motown a few miles away. Diana Ross grew up on this street.
The thing that killed off most of this area is the same thing that haunts Detroit to this day, "Urban Sprawl". Eisenhower's Highway Act of 1956 created the need to build I-75, the highway that streches from the top of Michigan all the way to the bottom of Florida, but how many lives and dreams were buried underneath it? Families were forced out of their neighborhoods and almost the entire street was bulldozed
( about 8 miles ) . Some of the houses were run down but a great many were not. Hastings is only a handful of street signs now , marking an area of dilapidated factories that were built to replace the African-American owned businesses that were bulldozed. Very few of the bars from this area still exist today. The Apex Bar on Oakland, where John Lee Hooker was first discovered is still open.
Urban Renewal? Ask the families that were forced out of their neighborhoods if they felt renewed.
Paradise Lost....
Paradise Valley USED to be the social center of the African-American Community in Detroit, and Hastings Street was it's focal point. Originally occupied by Jewish Settlers, when the large auto plants opened in 1916 in Highland Park and Hamtramck ( this street is halfway between them ) , thousands of African-Americans moved into this area from The South. During the 20's and 30's, this was the only place in the city a black man was allowed to own a business. From the 1920's thru the early 50's , the music district here rivalled even Harlem, with Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Charlie Parker, and Duke Ellington ( among others ) frequently having shows at the many clubs along Hastings. John Lee Hooker was discovered here ( and sang about in his song Boogie Chillun' " When I first came to town people, I was walkin' down Hastings Street, Everybody was talkin' about, the Henry Swing Club " ) and Berry Gordy was first bitten by the music bug here, walking up and down the street and listening to all the live bands playing, later forming Motown a few miles away. Diana Ross grew up on this street.
The thing that killed off most of this area is the same thing that haunts Detroit to this day, "Urban Sprawl". Eisenhower's Highway Act of 1956 created the need to build I-75, the highway that streches from the top of Michigan all the way to the bottom of Florida, but how many lives and dreams were buried underneath it? Families were forced out of their neighborhoods and almost the entire street was bulldozed
( about 8 miles ) . Some of the houses were run down but a great many were not. Hastings is only a handful of street signs now , marking an area of dilapidated factories that were built to replace the African-American owned businesses that were bulldozed. Very few of the bars from this area still exist today. The Apex Bar on Oakland, where John Lee Hooker was first discovered is still open.
Urban Renewal? Ask the families that were forced out of their neighborhoods if they felt renewed.