Black Bottom, Detroit
Encyclopedia
Black Bottom was a predominantly black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan
, that was demolished for redevelopment in the early 1960s. It was replaced with Lafayette Park. It was located on Detroit's near East side bounded by Gratiot Avenue, Brush Street, Vernor Highway, and the Grand Trunk
railroad tracks.
Hastings Street, which ran north-south through Black Bottom, had been an area populated by immigrants before World War I
. With ethnic succession, by the 1950s it became an African-American community of black-owned business, social institutions, and night clubs. It became nationally famous for its music scene: major blues
singers, big bands, and jazz
artists—such as Duke Ellington
, Billy Eckstine
, Pearl Bailey
, Ella Fitzgerald
, and Count Basie
—regularly performed in the bars and clubs of Paradise Valley entertainment district. Aretha Franklin
's father, the Reverend C. L. Franklin
first opened his New Bethel Baptist Church on Hastings Street.
Black Bottom endured the Great Depression
, with many of its residents working in factories. Following World War II
, the physical structures of Black Bottom were in need of replacement. In the early 1960s, the City of Detroit demolished the Black Bottom district as part of an urban renewal project. The area was replaced by the Chrysler Freeway (Interstate 75
) and Lafayette Park, a residential development designed by Mies van der Rohe and intended as a model neighborhood. It combined residential townhouses, apartments and high-rises with commercial areas. Many of the residents relocated to large public housing
projects such as the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects Homes and Jeffries Homes.
Other historical Detroit black neighborhoods include Conant Gardens, Russell Woods, and Elmwood Park.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, that was demolished for redevelopment in the early 1960s. It was replaced with Lafayette Park. It was located on Detroit's near East side bounded by Gratiot Avenue, Brush Street, Vernor Highway, and the Grand Trunk
Grand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
railroad tracks.
History
The area's main commercial avenues were Hastings and St. Antoine streets. An adjacent north-bordering neighborhood was known as Paradise Valley. The two were not considered to be the same neighborhood. Historically, this area was the source of the River Savoyard, which was buried as a sewer in 1836. Its "bottomland" and rich marsh soils are the source of the name "Black Bottom."Hastings Street, which ran north-south through Black Bottom, had been an area populated by immigrants before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. With ethnic succession, by the 1950s it became an African-American community of black-owned business, social institutions, and night clubs. It became nationally famous for its music scene: major blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singers, big bands, and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
artists—such as Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
, Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, and Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
—regularly performed in the bars and clubs of Paradise Valley entertainment district. Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
's father, the Reverend C. L. Franklin
C. L. Franklin
Clarence LaVaughn Franklin , was an American Baptist minister, a civil rights activist, and father of the legendary soul and gospel singer Aretha Franklin.-Background:...
first opened his New Bethel Baptist Church on Hastings Street.
Black Bottom endured the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, with many of its residents working in factories. Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the physical structures of Black Bottom were in need of replacement. In the early 1960s, the City of Detroit demolished the Black Bottom district as part of an urban renewal project. The area was replaced by the Chrysler Freeway (Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
) and Lafayette Park, a residential development designed by Mies van der Rohe and intended as a model neighborhood. It combined residential townhouses, apartments and high-rises with commercial areas. Many of the residents relocated to large public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
projects such as the Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects Homes and Jeffries Homes.
Other historical Detroit black neighborhoods include Conant Gardens, Russell Woods, and Elmwood Park.