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Detroit 1940s in HD
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2021
- Take a look back at 1940s Detroit, surrounding areas, events and lifestyles. You'll see a Ford plant, GM train of tomorrow, The Original Boblo Boat, Belle Isle, Detroit Institute of Arts, the Vernor's building, the Fox Theater, Detroit Zoo, Soo Locks and more.
Have memories of the Detroit area from the 1940s or any other year? Share them in the comments below.
This content is copyrighted. For any use please contact me.
I was born and raised in Detroit. I love seeing films of how it used to be. Brings back memories.
Same.
My family moved to the suburbs in '59. We lived near McNichols and Outer Drive. I'm an old guy now but I still remember Detroit fondly for the beautiful place it had been.
I grew up in the 50’s & 60’s, then going to school & working for my father in the early ‘70’s and remember downtown Detroit which was similar to what you have shown here. It was a different time then. After that time it began evolving/changing into something completely different. I loved going to the massive JL Hudsons downtown which wasn’t too far from my father’s work, it was like a complete city in itself with floors and floors of stuff and food, I could spend a whole day there and not see everything…..I still have dreams about it! 🥰. Verner’s Ginger Ale was something we always had to drink & I was startled to learn when I moved away that it was local….a Verner’s & vanilla ice cream float mmmmmm.
Anyway, thanks for the memories. ❤️
I'm having a Vernors right now.
A wonderful place in time. Before craziness took over. How I wish you could walk down Woodward Ave again and enjoy all the great things Detroit offered. Thanks for this video and memories of the good part of life.
Boy I think I was born in the wrong decade, wish I could go back in time to a simpler time and life, and everything was made here in the US.
Not bad unless you were a minority.
Those were not easy time though it may seem
Brian Saxby Try the 1800s. That might suit you.
It wasn’t that simple either, every era in history had its ups and down. However I also wish I could experience some of these historic times
umm the pollution was terrible.
I've lived here all my life, as have my parents, grandparents, and great grandparents.
Dang, I still love Detroit, this brought a tear to my eye. You can still see the old city thru the decay sometimes. Same with Saginaw, the beauty is still there, if you look for it.
A lot of it’s coming back the downtown part the new Hudson building hundreds of new vibrant restaurants
Born and raised just north of there.
Yea, we use to go there as kid and I know what you mean.
We stayed with my aunt in Detroit for a couple of days in July, 1967. She lived on or near Woodward Avenue. Saw Detroit how it was back then, a big, wonderful, beautiful city. We left for home and the next day the riots started.
the riots was the nail in detroit's coffin. anyone who could afford it left after that
@@migmadmarine There were problems before then-many leading to the riots. Factory jobs were steadily being lost after World War II, and the exodus of whites to the suburbs had begun. Freeways and housing loans to returning veterans made the suburbs more attractive. When slums like Black Bottom were torn down, the Poor moved elsewhere within the City.
How come Detroit didn't recover from the riots? 🤔
So tired of hearing that drum beat of any one that could leave did …. It took decades for this city’s population to decline…. Yes many did leave and it had started long b4 the riot ….. partially with the help of the government giving A GROUP of citizens low interest loans to move to the outlying area suburbs taking there business, tax dollars and political power with them . Leaving the other group behind. And even with that happening there are still to this day are people such as myself that would never consider living in these suburbs even with my 6 figure annual income…..how would you explain notable neighborhoods such as University District , which I grew up in Sherwood Forest , Green Acres ( where I live now ~ etc never falling into the state that other parts of the city usually lower income distressed areas have found themselves in that many pretend covers the entire city ?
Now when you visit Detroit you wonder what happened to this country. Thanks for sharing these wonderful photos.
Glad you enjoyed it
I think we all know what happened
Um. 😕😐
@@joeblowmha what happened was democrats ruined Detroit. Heck, the country!
I grew up in Metro Detroit and always been curious about the cities history. It seems to be a mixture of a lot of things. Corruption, even back in the early days around when these photos were taking, no surprise, all major cities are full of that before and after urban decay. Urban sprawl, which the auto industry, the federal, and local governments pushed hard on the construction of freeways, and stripping out light rail. There was a lot of red lining, the city was heavily segregated, which doesn't help the wealth disparity, and their access to quality services. The racial tension lead to the riots, the national guard certainly didn't help deescalate it. The city still could have bounced back from that, but there was already urban sprawl and white flight, this accelerated it.
So a mixture of government (federal/local and both political parties), auto industries support for car dependency, racial tensions further by both citizens and the system, and urban sprawl.
Thanks for the memories of when Detroit was beautiful and peaceful. The Ford plant my grandfather worked in, Fisher Building, Vernors….This tearful native waxing nostalgic at the BobLo boat thanks you for the beautiful memories. So sad how far we have fallen. Oh, for the good ol days. 🇺🇸
Thanks, for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.
I was born in the late 50s and grew up in a town about 35 to 40 miles away. I now own and live in the home I grew up in I remember as a kid traveling there a few times as a child it was breathtaking. I remember seeing before you got there a big smog cloud covering the city high above from all the industry. Being taking in school trips through River Rouge ford assembly plant. The hustle and bustle. People of all races and walks of life working together. Industries of all kinds. The automobile connected this country and cities and people together and Detroit they say was responsible for a great part of this. My grandpa my mom's father. His parents came here from Hungary. My mother would point out the big home of I- 75 were she spent much time with them. The many stories she had. The ballgames , concerts , car, bike , snowmobile , shows Boblo Detroit zoo. Henry Ford Museum I even seen Evil Kneivel there It's been said pay close attention to what happens to Detroit it will take place in large cities like this across the country. Looking at these pictures today and seeing what its is now and what has been lost and all the neighborhoods the house's still there crumbling ( beautiful homes) Makes me sad. Even now ! I spent a afternoon there with my father for a task he had to do for his job during the riots. The streets were empty. Maybe that was the beginning of the decline along with jobs being outsourced. I don't know. I know I just feel true sorrow for this once great Nation and this City. God bless Detroit and all the hard working good and honest people there that are trying. Unite America. While there's still time. Come on people now smile on your brother everybody get together try and love one another right now ! (The Young bloods.) We are all we have.
You really should write those stories your grandmother told you, and any others you've seen. This generation (and future generations) would love to read them. I know I'd love to read them now, being from the area, but not born until the 80s.
Very emotional for me...thank you..GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
Me too.
My Mom was born n raised right by where the old Tiger Stadium used to be. On Pine Street. Her home n many of the others were demolished, now though. My Mom loved growing up in her lil neighborhood in Detroit n has told so many great stories about many stores n places all around Detroit. It is her old stomping grounds after all.
I loved seeing some of the old pictures of Detroit, and tried to image my mother growing up there at that time. She even sang on the Boblo boat at that time as it shuttled people back and forth to the island.
I wish some of the footage of animals at the zoo could have been used for more pictures of the city and people in it.
I wish I could've experienced the 60s. It sucks.
These videos and stills, which of course are all over now, are so relaxing to take in. I get the instant inner feeling that I was born, or have lived in said times. And it's a heavy longing feeling for better times, simple people and above all...respect for others. Total shame most of society is in love with themselves and one sees that everywhere! In my car, stores, work, online, the beach, on a boat, in a room, by a pool, walking a dog...etc.
The calm music fits the nostalgic photos perfectly.
A little before my time but when I was a child Detroit looked like that... Thanks for the memories!!
This makes me a bit sad. My mom was born in Detroit in 1941. She lived there until 1959 and then moved to Ohio for college. She would have loved to have seen this video but she got old before her time. The lord giveth, and the lord taketh away. She will be at peace soon, bless her heart.
I wish she could have seen it.
Why we as a country seem absolutely unable to get any of this back is just sad . Buy - made in America !
we need more folks with this sentiment
Live in Detroit late 80s early 90s. Stark contrast to the 40s. Nice video/ photography and music. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it
I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia in the 50s and 60s. We experienced the same decay of our downtown and neighborhoods. Just like Detroit, we had very corrupt mayors and politicians. They destroyed most of our communities along with our history in the process. Historical places in Atlanta were torn down for new and boring building. They have no meaning for anyone. The good people don't live there, they all left. I am afraid the old Detroit like my old Atlanta, are only memories now. Both cities cannot pull themselves out of their political corruption.
1940 Detroit. The year I was born. I'm going on 82. It was a great place to grow up. . Lived there 27 years and left and have never been back. I left right after the riots. My skin color was not welcome any longer.
Rough. See what demographic shift and corporations betraying workers by moving production overseas does. Shame Detroit seemed like such a beautiful place.
I live in Detroit and this was such a pleasure to watch, thank you.
I grew up in hazel park in the 80s, it’s definitely changed. Now I’m in Virginia
Glad you enjoyed it!
Detroit was pretty close to utopia for a lot of people before the street cars came up. Many of the places in these pictures looks about as good today as they have since though. Detroit is having a better time in 2021 than a lot of places. You can only credit that to all the people who live and work there and make it work. Most of all the thanks are due to the people who never left and never gave up on their home.
It's hideous today, this is in black and white and your comparing it...
👏🏿 love your comment Sir , could not have said it better myself !
I was born and raised during the mid 1950's in the SW side of Detroit - Delray exactly. Lived in the house my Father was born in - the living room when Doctor's made house calls, even when delivering babies into the world. Detroit back in the 1950's thru the 1960's, and even into the early 1970's was a cool and great city to live, explore, and enjoy. But I could see the city decline every year since the 1967 riot. It didn't make sense to me that people would burn down their own neighborhood just because the police raided a blind pig operating their neighborhood. Yes the Detroit Police were racist and the department was 100 percent white, and even white people got hassled by the police, because they could get away with it, but after being arrested, you make small bail, and get out of jail in a few short hours, then you're back home and on the streets again. Really no big deal getting arrested back then, even now. No reason to burn down the entire neighborhood where the blind pig operated. It still would have been operating as usual if the assholes didn't burn down the area. Taking away its customers. Detroit has never recovered since then, and NEVER will. Oh, you got some fairy tale minded Detroit citizens still thinking Detroit is coming back. Even bonehead Mayor Mike Duggan drinking the psychedelic cool aid, keeps saying and believing that Detroit is going to look like the days this video shows how Detroit once looked. BULLSHIT.All the good store's downtown are long gone. Hudson's, Gimble's, Crowley's, Saunders, Sam's Drugs, the Vernor's pop factory, Greenfield's Restaurant and so on are all gone, and nothing of marketing value came back. All you now have is sport's stadiums and office buildings purchased by multimillionaire families of Ford, Gilbert, and Illitch. A woman used to buy wigs on Woodward Ave. Can't do that anymore. Nope, Detroit will NEVER be the Detroit it used to be. All the surrounding neighborhoods are open farm land now. Even stray dogs don't exist in Detroit today. Now you see wild pheasants, and wild turkeys roaming the wide open spaces of where homes, apartments, and businesses USED TO BE. Hell, even Barry Gordie took Motown and moved out of Detroit decade's ago.
All that's left of Motown is the shell of a museum. A building that was alive with musical talent walking in and out of it's front and back doors. Recording music there completely stopped after the 67 riot. Many Black people got the hell out if Detroit, and moved to the suburbs. Only poor and ignorant people of all racial backgrounds still wanna live in a shit hole toilet city called Detroit. Where you pay the highest property taxes for next to nothing city services. I remember when Detroit USED to have street cleaners driving down the neighborhood street's at least once a month. Garbage pickup was very efficient. Police would come within minutes when you called about a break in, or other problems. Now today, a Detroit citizen is lucky if the cops come at all. Despite all the homes and businesses gone, there are still area's of Detroit that the police are AFRAID of going into. AND THEY GOT GUNS ON THEIR HIPS. So don't bullshit people by saying Detroit is coming back, and the remaining citizens living in Detroit gotta stop believing the Mike Duggan fairy tale, and stop drinking the psychedelic cool aid that Detroit is coming back. Buy some kick ass weed, and watch videos like this one and relive the good old days of Detroit's past, and stop dreaming of its never ever future. It ain't gonna happen. Even God threw up His hands and said: "F**K it. I can't make a miracle like THAT happen for Detroit.
This is a very late reply. Many of us are frustrated but it is getting better. It's going to take time. As you've stated we suffered huge blows and still haven't recovered from them but there are lights of hope. New homes are being built in neighborhoods that were once crack havens. Many dilapidated houses are being torn down. Neighborhoods are becoming more diverse which is a beautiful thing when everyone gets along. I was a teen in the 80s and witnessed Detroit at its lowest point which was the crack era. The number of killings back then were unparalleled. My neighborhood went from a thriving working class community filled with schools and businesses, to a slum! Detroit was once a mega metropolis indeed. Corruption, crime, hatred and ignorance nearly destroyed it. Fast forward to today, it's still bad but not like before. Seeing new homes and businesses give us hope.
Very well done sir. Born and raised in Pontiac in the 60's.
Thank you.
Thank you fir allowing me to go back to a simpler time.
Simpler? We was at war.
I’m happy you enjoyed it!
I would enjoy seeing more presentations like this focusing focusing on particular eras, for example, Detroit & nearby suburbs (Redford, Dearborn Heights, Hazel Park, River Rouge, Oak Park, Harper Woods, etc) in the early 1960s, or the middle 1960s including good clear pics of the side streets and parks and people just living. Of course this would be a huge undertaking for you even if you concentrated on only the mid 1960s! Maybe you could get computer scans from people's pics from back then (indicating the locations such as the side street). This is what I did years ago of our old Polaroid & Kodak pics from the 40's, 50s and 60s, so I could view them on the PC. It came out great.
Thank you for this wonderful trip down memory lane. I was born in Port Huron in the late 1940s but my grandparents lived in Detroit all during that decade and into the 1960s until my grandfather retired from GM in 1966. I remember well visiting them in the 1950s where they lived on Alter Road off E. Jefferson in the Windmill Point Apartments which I think are still there. In the summertime my grandpa and I would take a walk down Jefferson to a corner store where he'd buy a newspaper and cigarettes. Detroit was a beautiful city back then, bustling with business and traffic and lots of things to do. My parents moved to Florida in 1959, but I've made many trips back and the city just isn't the same anymore. It hasn't been for decades.
Alter Road off E. Jefferson, I lived around that intersection in the late 60's early 70's.
Love that whole era people stood up for country not party greatest generation
Small, neighborhood grocers right in the middle of your block. You knew the owner and he would give you credit until payday. Detroit was a big city but full of tight knit little community neighborhoods back then.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
This is what growing up in Detroit looked like in the 70’s and 80’s except the cars were different! Most of this was still there aging and abandoned. Long live one of the oldest cities in America! “Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus”! …We hope for better things; It shall rise from the ashes.
I think a lot of the old buildings were still around in the 70s and early 80s. It's only been the past 30 years they've demolished them all. That's what happened in the town I live in.
My grandparents were in their late 20s early 30s busy raising my parents in the 40s. My dad‘s mom lived on Devonshire near Mack Avenue. My other set of grandparents lived on E. Outer Dr. Unfortunately my grandparents passed away when I was really young except for one grandmother. I was fortunate to get to listen to her stories about when the city of Detroit was very grand! I would drive her to her doctors appointments downtown at Kresge Eye Institute and she would tell stories about the neighborhoods we would drive through to get there. She would always tell me that the city had gone to hell! It was depressing for a teenager to hear. But also interesting!
Lived there from 1952 to 1963. A day spent on Boblo Island will always be remembered. You could see the Penobscot building from our house and hear the tugs on the River. And, if you listened carefully, you could hear the gigantic fans On Zug Island blowing the pollution from Detroit to Windsor, late at night. Urban legend, maybe.
We went to Boblo Island with friends, and I remember telling myself at about the age of 10, how it was the best day of my life. I thought I was on The Titanic or something.
Where did your family move to after 1963?
Detriot will forever be a beautiful city
I liked this video, it was nice to see what it was like once upon a time. I also like the subtle little colour changes and moving objects.
I remember when I was 13 in 1966 visiting the Henry Ford museum and the Hudson’s Department Store on a trip from southern Ohio and it was very impressive. I believe the Hudson’s Store is no longer downtown.
I'm afraid, JL Hudson closed its doors around 1981 or 1982 😢
And a NEW 49 story structure is rising in its space.
Grew up in the on the East side near the river in the 60's and 70's and Tiger Stadium, Boblo Island, Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum along with visiting JL Hudsons during the holidays are some of my most vivid memories of that city.
Thanks for the Memories!
That was wonderful. Thank you so much for making this. People sure dressed with class back then.
You’re welcome! Thanks for watching.
Very nice, took a trip dowm memory lane. Thank you.🙂
Thank you for watching!
ah, nostalgia. but remember, today is tomorrow's yesterday. enjoy now.
Yeah but there hasn't been any decent nostalgic time for the last 30+ years. The early 80s was pretty much it for nostalgia. Everything got boring after that.
Saw a sign that said, 15-cent to park all day. 😄
Love seeing the history, thanks for making this. Would be neat to see a side by side of then and now also.
Thanks, yes a side by side would be interesting. I’m sure it would be a big change.
Probably be to dangerous nowdays
I was born in Detroit in December 1948. Lived on Driggs until 1963. My Dad passed in 1961 & Mom remarried in 1963 to a man who lived in a very small town in Northwest Ohio. What a culture shock to the system. LOL!!
There were a few things I wanted to see: the Vernors logo, (which was shown)the Belle Isle tunnel, and the Uniroyal Plant on Jefferson near the Belle Isle entrance.
I believe that was the Davison E-way.
Not sure.
Great Video.
Even in 2021 I still love DETROIT!
Then the thieves and the crooks moved in and drained that city dry
Don't. be ignorant- the automakers left and half the town lost their jobs and business..
@@stevefischer9336 combo of that and communist mayors
313 here, 80’s baby. From California to Detroit in 89
Wonderful. The only thing I’d suggest is a caption of the name of a building or street.
Detroit.... how we miss you
Yes.
Detroit is indeed interesting. Looking at the old photos and contrasting it to Google Maps' street view today is amazing. The urban prairie concept shows some promise. Farming and wildlife preserves are possible. And I read that many of the downtown historic buildings have been restored and the middle class has returned to downtown loft living to a small degree. Seems like Detroit could possibly morph into a small, charming city one day. Obviously, it will never return to the size and influence it once had, but there's still potential for something good.
Love the Detroit Leland. Back then it was a hotel. Now it's a run down apartment building with an awesome night club. @ 1:32
like the way you made things move. the music was very appropriate as well👍
Thanks 👍
You would have to be blind not to recognise the slow collapse of a once-great country.
Its Mike Duggan and the people who put him in office is the reason that the Detroit that you use to know is coming back, if you are not happy about what's going on in Detroit ,throw your hat in the ring, no one or nothing is what it use to be, stick around and see the change.Detroit still has potential, it will take more then one person. A beautiful look back from the 1940's thanks I really enjoyed it.
Wonderful Pictures. Very professional. Thank you from Germany !!!
Thank you very much!
Wonderful pictures of the city that I grew up in. It saddens me to know what a cesspool that it has become. Bad government at work.
great video... amazing pictures of a time gone by
Very well done and quite touching, I might add. Thanks so much.
Thank you for sharing this with us I Greatly enjoyed it
Very nice, thank you for sharing this.
The backbone of America.
Thanks for the memories 🤠🐴🇺🇸. You- tube!
Despite the UAW helping put the auto industry under, our government really did the trick. People can say all they want that Japan had better cars, but in the early days, that was not true.
2:12, 4:05... many of these.. montages.. are very interesting. kudos!
When watching this one can understand why Detroit on the 2020's is one of the most depressing sights in Amerika.
Are you from Detroit? Downtown Detroit is beautiful. Speak on what you know.
I was born in the "D" in 1931. We lived on Danbury St. near 7 and Woodward. SSIIIGGGHHH!!!!
Must of been some sight to see back then.
Thank you for sharing☺
Crazy how Michigan’s own racist and corrupt politicians with the big 3 motor company’s brought a whole city to shit and kept it like that while they only invested in the suburbs
I'd like to contact you. I have some amazing footage of Mack avenue Business association from the 40's (or so) They would all go up to my grandfathers farm and play games, hunt and picnic. He took footage of all of the guests walking past the camera four abreast. I'm sure most of the people are deceased now. Some of the younger ones may be in their 70's and 80's now. I've always wanted to try to connect this footage to those descendents having a business on Mack Ave. that could perhaps see themselves or loved ones. I've got a hand made 36" scale model of the Tashmoo that my family rode up the St. Clair River.
I hope you can connect with him
That was nice and I enjoyed it, but I kept expecting to see, but never did see, THE SEVEN SISTERS!! You missed a MAJOR EAST SIDE LANDMARK.
The Seven Sisters and Two Brothers I grew up near there on Eastlawn and E. Jefferson.
I am so glad I left Detroit 45 years ago.
I swear that ferry at 6:28 is still there. I saw it a few days ago fishing on the Detroit river. It looks like they are dismantling it now though.
Even in the late 1950s, the planes flew slow and low! most of the time!
Amazing, wonderful, knowledgeable and unforgettable
Many many thanks
Can only blame one person for the decline of Detroit “Colman young “ what a beautiful city it was!
"what a beautiful city it was!" And it's becoming a beautiful city again! The worst days are over. It's thriving and growing again, and I love seeing that!
Exactly the communist
DemonRats ruined the city
@@FranzKaernBiederstedt that's gonn take a while though
Why did it decline though?
This was back when "America was Great"!
The heartbeat of the auto industry, what happened?
Childhood memories, well done.
Watching while sitting right at Detroit downtown.
... very nicely done ...
It was such a big exciting place when I was a teen. Streets filled with traffic. Now it looks like a ghost town in most neighborhoods ! Sad
I remember those days myself growing up in the university district from 69 to mid 80s back then people in general had larger families/more kids now it’s only a couple not to mention broken families and higher divorce rates
They had (have?) some amazing art deco buildings. And didn't they have the world's tallest train terminal building at one point?
The Michigan Central Station. Ford Motor Company bought it from the neglectful Maroun family in 2018 and are spending over $1 billion to restore it and turn it into a technology center for Ford. It’s expected to be operational early next year.
how was colman young able to stay mayor for 20 years? would he have not had plenty of competition?
And now who's running it
And some people think this country is heading in the right direction SMDH
They showed The Davison Freeway, th first one built. The housing already looks old there.
Has anyone tried to do time machine pics with these, you know, lining up photo with today. Then & Now slow dissolves would be amazing!
I’d give anything to live in past, knowing how present day is. I guess society lost its moral compass.
Cool video keep them coming
The music might make you think these were simpler, wonderful times, but you would be wrong. It could have been before anti-biotics; during World War Two; before birth control; abortions were done illegally in the most barbaric way; bigotry, hate and segregation was normal. Nothing is ever as we say it is, however it is what it is. Become the best person you can be in the time you live, and don’t believe the lies other peoples tell you, or the lies you tell yourself. It’s all about Love anyway, Love makes it all good😊
You are true I seen it growing up in Detroit that was a long time ago
This was touching
Thank you for watching.
Love the pictures. However, I think the photos at willow run airport were from the early 50s. I could be mistaken though.
Yea, a couple of those planes were not 1940, but still a great look back. 👌
Thank you
You did a GREAT job.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
All great empires fall
Aside from the domestic kitsch, to me the interesting snippets were shots of the residential housing stock ... modest wood framed structures that wouldn't last say another 30 years before their useful lifespan would have ended.
In the absence of reinvestment because of out-migration, that would explain why vast swaths of neighborhoods have gone back to seed.
The residences’s “useful lifespan” was destroyed by the rioters that burned them down, causing the vast swaths of neighborhoods that have gone back to deed. And the domestic kitsch? Just people living their lives.
Before the demographics changed!
Why all this is lost?!
When it was majority White.
A question for people who have lived in Detroit for a long time.
What is the single greatest cause for the decline of Detroit?
White flight and too much dependency on a single industry, that's two
Democrats corruption and lies!!!
I think the first two replies here sum it up pretty well.
Poor marginalized black people and white people giving up and leaving . I was there ! Saw it happen and I’m black
The freeway. When I-75 was built in the late 50s and early 60s that's when the city really started to depopulate. The outlying areas north of the city are really nice with lots of lakes and woods. These outlying areas to the north used to be where the people from the city went to vacation. When the freeway was put in it became possible to live where you used to vacation. Today these outlying areas to the north are considered suburbs of Detroit. Why live in the city, when you can live on a lake and commute into the city, a drive of maybe 40 minutes. Before the freeway, such a drive would take probably an hour and a half. Too long for a daily commute for most people. This coincided with thousands of troops coming home from WW2 and Korea with money in their pockets looking to purchase new homes for their young and growing families. (The baby boom) This started the mentality in the area that moving out to a new home in the suburbs on a lake, was "making it in life." There were many contributing factors that came later, but this is how the depopulation of the city started. The 67' riot and the decentralization/decline/automation of the auto industry certainly accelerated things. Bad city (democrat) government policies made for an environment that wasn't business friendly. When the auto industry started automating/declining/decentralizing, this created crime and less tax income for the government. Less/poorer quality government services and crime were the final nail in the coffin. These causes came later on, (late 60s, 70s, 80s, and onward) As I stated however, it had already been "cool" to move out of the city starting back in the 50s. This is observed in the population of the city peaking around 1950 and declining afterwards. The freeway was put in around 1957.