Name	Fort Détroit
Location	Detroit, Michigan
Type	Fort
Built	1701
Used	1701-1796
Controlledby	New France; Great Britain; United States
Battles	}}

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan, an area bounded by Larned Street, Griswold Street, and the Civic Center.

Background and construction

Fort Detroit began on the Detroit River built to try to keep the British from moving west of New England and to monopolize the fur trade in North America. Before he built Fort Detroit, Cadillac was commandant of Fort de Buade, another French outpost in North America. Fort de Buade was abandoned in 1697 due to conflicts with religious leaders over the trading of alcohol to the Native Americans. Cadillac then persuaded his superiors to let him build a new settlement. He reached the Detroit River on July 23, 1701.

When he landed on the site he held a celebration to formally take control of the area. In honor of Louis Phélypeaux, Comte de Pontchartrain (or his son, Jerome), Minister of Marine to Louis XIV he named the new settlement Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit. The storehouse and the stockade were started immediately, but the first building completed was Ste. Anne's Church. The stockade came next and was made of logs rising about 12 feet into the sky with towers in each corner.

Military conflicts

The first major conflict of Fort Detroit occurred in March 1706 while Cadillac was away. The Ottawas heard a rumor about a Huron tribe ambush. The Ottawas then attacked and killed several members of the Miami tribe. The Miamis then went inside the fort and were defended by the soldiers. About 30 Ottawas were killed when they attacked the fort. After the battle the Miamies attacked an Ottawa village.

A priest and a French sergeant outside the walls were killed. This has been called Detroit's first murder.

The fort was commanded by Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont. Bourgmont was criticized for his handling of the incident. When Cadillac returned, Bourgmont and some soldiers from the fort deserted. The French captured one of the deserters who testified that the deserting party had shot and killed one of its own and cannibalized him.

Bourgmont remained on the lam living with the Native Americans and taking a Native American wife and having a child. In 1718 he was decorated with the Cross of St. Louis and given an order of nobility for being the first European to map the Missouri and Platte Rivers and for enlisting the Native Americans to side with the French against the Spanish.

In 1712, as Cadillac was removed under a cloud of greed and replaced by Dubuisson. The Fox heard of this and planned an attack on the fort (after some of Cadillac's supporters had left). They besieged the fort in late April, with a force of about 1,000 Fox, Sac and Mascoutens. The Ottawas and the Hurons were out on a raid and so could not help the French. Jean Baptiste Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes, commander of the French outpost at Kekionga (now Fort Wayne, Indiana) and seven fur traders came to the fort, sneaking through Fox lines. Dubuisson sent messengers, and the Ottawa and Huron Indians came to the fort's aid. When the warriors came, the Fox were then caught between the French and their Allies and were themselves besieged until the end of May. They fled to what is now Windmill Point, where the French and Huron Indians pursued them. After four days siege there, the Fox surrendered so their families would be spared. The French agreed, but after the Fox were disarmed, they attacked and killed all the Fox. This event is known in the Grosse Pointe area as the Fox Indian Massacre. This siege of Fort Detroit was the opening incident in the Fox Wars.

After a few years the British and the French conflict over North America came to a head in the French and Indian War. Detroit was far removed from the main areas of conflict and did not see combat. On November 29, 1760, Fort Detroit was turned over to the British Army's Rogers' Rangers, two months after the capitulation of the French at Montreal. British rule differed in several major ways from French rule. The British required greater taxes and confiscated weapons from "unfriendly" settlers while refusing to sell ammunition to them or to the natives. This limited their ability to trap and hunt, as well as rendering them less of a threat. The British did not emphasize maintaining good relationships with the Native Americans. After the French left the conflict, Chief Pontiac of the Ottawas rallied several tribes in Pontiac's Rebellion and attempted to capture Detroit from the British on May 7, 1763. They failed to capture the fort, as the British were forewarned of the attack, but did lay siege to it (see the Siege of Fort Detroit). The British force in the fort consisted of 130 soldiers with two 6-pound cannons, one 3-pound cannon, and three mortars. As well, the 6-gun schooner ''Huron'' was anchored in the Detroit River. Two months into the siege, on July 29, 1763, the British brought a large relief force into the area. Skirmishing in the area, including the Battle of Bloody Run, continued until mid-November when the Indians dispersed.

During the American Revolutionary War, Detroit was far to the west of the main area of action. The fort's main contribution was to arm American Indian raiding parties who attacked American settlements to the southeast. American revolutionaries, particularly George Rogers Clark, hoped to mount an expedition to Detroit in order to neutralize these operations, but could not raise enough men to make the attempt. Clark did manage to capture Henry Hamilton, the Lieutenant-Governor of Canada and senior officer at Fort Detroit. While Hamilton was a prisoner of war, in late 1778 Captain Richard B. Lernoult began construction on a new fortification a few hundred yards to the south of the original fortification. It was named Fort Lernoult on 3 October 1779.

Under terms negotiated in the Jay Treaty, Fort Detroit, Fort Lernoult and the surrounding settlement was surrendered by the British to the Americans on July 11, 1796, 13 years after the Treaty of Paris ended the war and gave the area to the United States.

It is claimed that only Fort Lernoult survived the 1805 fire which destroyed Detroit, so presumably no parts of the original Fort Detroit remained after this time. Fort Lernoult was renamed Fort Detroit in 1805, then renamed Fort Shelby in 1813.

During the course of the War of 1812, both the Americans and British launched invasions of each other's territory, all of which were unsuccessful or gained only temporary success. At the end of the war, the British held parts of Maine and some outposts in the sparsely populated West while the Americans held Canadian territory near Detroit, but these occupied territories were restored at the end of the war.

Notes

References

Dunnigan, Brian Leigh. "Fortress Detroit, 1701–1826" in David Curtis Skaggs and Larry L. Nelson, eds., ''The Sixty Years' War for the Great Lakes, 1754-1814'', pp .167–185. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2001.

Historydetroit.com, "Fort Detroit - British Rule - 1760-1796"

Further reading

Farmer, Silas. (1884) (Jul 1969) ''The history of Detroit and Michigan, or, The metropolis illustrated: a chronological cyclopaedia of the past and present: including a full record of territorial days in Michigan, and the annuals of Wayne County'', in various formats at Open Library.

Detroit Category:History of Detroit, Michigan Detroit Category:Michigan in the American Revolution Detroit Detroit

de:Fort Detroit fr:Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit it:Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit no:Fort Detroit pl:Fort Detroit ru:Форт Детройт

Official name	Detroit
native name lang	fr
Settlement type	City
Image seal	Detroit seal.jpg
Nickname	The Motor City, Motown, Renaissance City, The D, Hockeytown, Rock City
Motto	"Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus"(Latin for, "We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes")
Map caption	Location in Wayne County, Michigan
Coordinates display	yes
Coordinates footnotes
Pushpin map	USA2
Pushpin map caption	Location in the United States
Coordinates region	US-MI
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	:United States
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision name1	Michigan
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	Wayne
Established title	Founded
Established date	1701
Established title2	Incorporation
Established date2	1806
Government footnotes
Government type	Mayor-Council
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Dave Bing
Leader party	D
Leader title1	City Council
Leader name1
Area footnotes
Unit pref	US
Area magnitude	1 E8
Area total sq mi	143.0
Area land sq mi	138.8
Area water sq mi	4.2
Area urban sq mi	1295
Area metro sq mi	3913
Elevation footnotes
Elevation ft	600
Population as of	2010
Population total	713777
Population rank	18th in U.S.
Population urban	3863924
Population metro	4296250
Population blank1 title	CSA
Population blank1	5218852
Population density sq mi
Population demonym	Detroiter
Timezone	EST
Utc offset	-5
Timezone dst	EDT
Utc offset dst	-4
Area code	313
Blank name	FIPS code
Blank info	26-22000
Blank1 name	GNIS feature ID
Blank1 info	1617959
Blank2 name	Major airport
Blank2 info	Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
Website	DetroitMI.gov
Footnotes	}}

Detroit () is the largest city in the state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States. It was founded on July 24, 1701, by the French explorer, adventurer, and nobleman Antoine de la Mothe, sieur de Cadillac. Its name originates from the French word ''détroit'' () for strait, in reference to its location on the river connecting the Great Lakes.

Known as the world's traditional automotive center, "Detroit" is a metonym for the American automobile industry and an important source of popular music legacies celebrated by the city's two familiar nicknames, the ''Motor City'' and ''Motown''. Other nicknames emerged in the 20th century, including ''City of Champions'' beginning in the 1930s for its successes in individual and team sport, ''Arsenal of Democracy'' (during World War II), ''The D'', ''D-Town'', ''Hockeytown'' (a trademark owned by the city's NHL club, the Red Wings), ''Rock City'' (after the Kiss song "Detroit Rock City"), and ''The 3–1–3'' (its telephone area code). There have been six ships of the United States Navy named after the city, including USS Detroit (LCS-7).

In 2010, the city had a population of 713,777 and ranked as the 18th most populous city in the United States. At its peak in 1950, the city was the fifth-largest in the U.S.A., but has since seen a major shift in its population to the suburbs. Between 2000 and 2010, the city's population declined by 25%. Among major American cities during the decade, only New Orleans experienced a greater decrease by percentage.

The name ''Detroit'' sometimes refers to the Metro Detroit area, a sprawling region with a population of 4,296,250 for the Metropolitan Statistical Area, making it the U.S.A.'s eleventh-largest, and a population of 5,218,852 for the nine-county Combined Statistical Area as of the 2010 Census Bureau estimates. The Detroit–Windsor area, a critical commercial link straddling the Canada–U.S. border, has a total population of about 5,700,000.

History

The city name comes from the Detroit River (), meaning ''the strait of Lake Erie,'' linking Lake Huron and Lake Erie; in the historical context, the strait included Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. Traveling up the Detroit River on the ship ''Le Griffon'' (owned by Cavelier de La Salle), Father Louis Hennepin noted the north bank of the river as an ideal location for a settlement.

There, in 1701, the French officer Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac, along with fifty-one additional French-Canadians, founded a settlement called Fort Ponchartrain du ''Détroit'', naming it after the comte de Pontchartrain, Minister of Marine under Louis XIV. France offered free land to attract families to Detroit, which grew to 800 people in 1765, the largest city between Montreal and New Orleans. François Marie Picoté, sieur de Belestre (Montreal 1719–1793) was the last French military commander at Fort Detroit (1758–1760), surrendering the fort on November 29, 1760 to the British. The region's fur trade was an important economic activity. Detroit's city flag reflects this French heritage. (See Flag of Detroit, Michigan).

During the French and Indian War (1760), British troops gained control and shortened the name to ''Detroit''. Several tribes led by Chief Pontiac, an Ottawa leader, launched Pontiac's Rebellion (1763), including a siege of Fort Detroit. Partially in response to this, the British Royal Proclamation of 1763 included restrictions on white settlement in unceded Indian territories. Detroit passed to the United States under the Jay Treaty (1796). In 1805, fire destroyed most of the settlement. A river warehouse and brick chimneys of the wooden homes were the sole structures to survive.

From 1805 to 1847, Detroit was the capital of Michigan. As the city expanded, the street layout plan developed by Augustus B. Woodward, Chief Justice of the Michigan Territory was followed. Detroit fell to British troops during the War of 1812 in the Siege of Detroit, was recaptured by the United States in 1813 and incorporated as a city in 1815.

Prior to the American Civil War, the city's access to the Canadian border made it a key stop along the underground railroad. Then a Lieutenant, the future president Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in the city. His dwelling is still at the Michigan State Fairgrounds. Because of this local sentiment, many Detroiters volunteered to fight during the American Civil War, including the 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment (part of the legendary Iron Brigade) which fought with distinction and suffered 82% casualties at Gettysburg in 1863. Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying "Thank God for Michigan!" Following the death of President Abraham Lincoln, George Armstrong Custer delivered a eulogy to the thousands gathered near Campus Martius Park. Custer led the Michigan Brigade during the American Civil War and called them the ''Wolverines''.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many of the city's Gilded Age mansions and buildings arose. Detroit was referred to as the ''Paris of the West'' for its architecture, and for Washington Boulevard, recently electrified by Thomas Edison. Strategically located along the Great Lakes waterway, Detroit emerged as a transportation hub. The city had grown steadily from the 1830s with the rise of shipping, shipbuilding, and manufacturing industries. In 1896, a thriving carriage trade prompted Henry Ford to build his first automobile in a rented workshop on Mack Avenue.

In 1903 Ford founded the Ford Motor Company. Ford's manufacturing—and those of automotive pioneers William C. Durant, the Dodge brothers, Packard, and Walter Chrysler—reinforced Detroit's status as the world's automotive capital; it also served to encourage truck manufacturers such as Rapid and Grabowsky.

With the introduction of Prohibition, smugglers used the river as a major conduit for Canadian spirits, organized in large part by the notorious Purple Gang. Strained racial relations were evident in the 1920s trial of Dr. Ossian Sweet, a black Detroit physician acquitted of murder. A man died when shots were fired from Ossian's house into a threatening mob who gathered to try to force him out of a predominantly white neighborhood.

With the factories came high-profile labor unions in the 1930s such as the United Auto Workers which initiated disputes with manufacturers. The labor activism during those years increased influence of union leaders in the city such as Jimmy Hoffa of the Teamsters and Walter Reuther of the autoworkers. The 1940s saw the construction of the world's first urban freeway system below ground level, the Davison and the industrial growth during World War II that led to Detroit's nickname as the ''Arsenal of Democracy''.

Industry spurred growth during the first half of the 20th century as the city drew tens of thousands of new residents, particularly workers from the Southern United States, to become the United States' fourth largest. At the same time, tens of thousands of European immigrants located in the city. Social tensions rose with the rapid pace of growth. The ''color blind'' promotion policies of the auto plants resulted in racial tension that erupted into a full-scale riot in 1943.

Consolidation during the 1950s, especially in the automobile sector, streamlined the supply chain. An extensive freeway system constructed in the 1950s and 1960s had facilitated commuting. The Twelfth Street riot in 1967, as well as court-ordered busing accelerated white flight from the city. Commensurate with the shift of population and jobs to its suburbs, the city's tax base eroded. In the years following, Detroit's population fell from a peak of roughly 1.8 million in 1950 to less than half that number today. The gasoline crises of 1973 and 1979 impacted the U.S. auto industry as small cars from foreign makers made inroads. Heroin and crack cocaine use afflicted the city with the influence of Butch Jones, Maserati Rick, and the Chambers Brothers. ''Renaissance'' has been a perennial buzzword among city leaders, reinforced by the construction of the Renaissance Center in the late 1970s. This complex of skyscrapers, designed as a ''city within a city,'' together with other developments, slowed and eventually began to reverse the trend of businesses leaving Downtown Detroit by the late 1990s. In 1980, Detroit hosted the Republican National Convention which nominated Ronald Reagan to a successful bid for President of the United States. By then, nearly three decades of inadequate policies and crime had caused areas like the Elmhurst block to decay. During the 1980s, vacant structures were demolished to make way for redevelopment.

In the 1990s, the city began to receive a revival with much of it centered in the Downtown, Midtown, and New Center areas. One Detroit Center (1993) arose on the city skyline. In the ensuing years, three casinos opened in Detroit: MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Greektown Casino which debuted as resorts in 2007–08. New downtown stadiums were constructed for the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions in 2000 and 2002, respectively; this put the Lions' home stadium in the city proper for the first time since 1974. The city also saw the historic Book Cadillac Hotel and the Fort Shelby Hotel reopen for the first time in over 20 years. The city hosted the 2005 MLB All-Star Game, 2006 Super Bowl XL, 2006 World Series, WrestleMania 23 in 2007 and the NCAA Final Four in April 2009 all of which prompted many improvements to the downtown area.

The city's riverfront is the focus of much development following the example of Windsor, Ontario which began its waterfront parkland conversion in the 1990s. In 2001, the first portion (stretching from Joe Louis Arena through Hart Plaza) of the International Riverfront was completed as a part of the city's 300th anniversary celebration. In succeeding years, the waterfront gained miles of parks and fountains. In 2011, the Port Authority Passenger Terminal opened with the river walk connecting Hart Plaza to the Renaissance Center. This development is a mainstay in the city's plan to enhance its economy through tourism. Along the river, developers are constructing upscale condominiums such as Watermark Detroit. Some city limit signs, particularly on the Dearborn border say "Welcome to Detroit, The Renaissance City Founded 1701."

Geography

Topography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of ; of this, is land and is water. Detroit is the principal city of the Metro Detroit and Southeast Michigan regions.

The highest elevation in the city is in the University District neighborhood in northwestern Detroit, west of Palmer Park, sitting at a height of . Detroit's lowest elevation is along its riverfront, sitting at a height of . Detroit completely encircles the cities of Hamtramck and Highland Park. On its northeast border are the communities of Grosse Pointe. The Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge is the only international wildlife preserve in North America, uniquely located in the heart of a major metropolitan area. The Refuge includes islands, coastal wetlands, marshes, shoals, and waterfront lands along of the Detroit River and Western Lake Erie shoreline.

Three road systems cross the city: the original French template, radial avenues from a Washington, D.C.-inspired system, and true north–south roads from the Northwest Ordinance township system. The city is north of Windsor, Ontario. Detroit is the only major city along the U.S.–Canadian border in which one travels south in order to cross into Canada.

Detroit has four border crossings: the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel provide motor vehicle thoroughfares, with the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel providing railroad access to and from Canada. The fourth border crossing is the Detroit–Windsor Truck Ferry, located near the Windsor Salt Mine and Zug Island. Near Zug Island, the southwest part of the city sits atop a salt mine that is below the surface. The Detroit Salt Company mine has over of roads within.

Climate

Detroit and the rest of southeastern Michigan have a humid continental climate (Koppen ''Dfa'') which is influenced by the Great Lakes. Winters are cold, with moderate snowfall and temperatures at night dropping below around six times per year, while summers are warm to hot with temperatures exceeding on 15 days. Snowfall, which typically peaks from December to through February, averages per season. Monthly averages range from in January to in July. The highest recorded temperature was on July 24, 1934, while the lowest recorded temperature was on January 21, 1984.

Cityscape

Architecture

Seen in panorama, Detroit's waterfront shows a variety of architectural styles. The post modern neogothic spires of the One Detroit Center (1993) were designed to blend with the city’s Art Deco skyscrapers. Together with the Renaissance Center, they form a distinctive and recognizable skyline. Examples of the Art Deco style include the Guardian Building and Penobscot Building downtown, as well as the Fisher Building and Cadillac Place in the New Center area near Wayne State University. Among the city's prominent structures are U.S.A.'s largest Fox Theatre, the Detroit Opera House, and the Detroit Institute of Arts.

While the downtown and New Center areas contain high-rise buildings, the majority of the surrounding city consists of low-rise structures and single-family homes. Outside of the city's core, residential high-rises are found in neighborhoods such as the East Riverfront extending toward Grosse Pointe and the Palmer Park neighborhood just west of Woodward. The University Commons-Palmer Park district in northwest Detroit is near the University of Detroit Mercy and Marygrove College which anchors historic neighborhoods including Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest, and the University District.

The National Register of Historic Places lists several area neighborhoods and districts. Neighborhoods constructed prior to World War II feature the architecture of the times with wood frame and brick houses in the working class neighborhoods, larger brick homes in middle class neighborhoods, and ornate mansions in neighborhoods such as Brush Park, Woodbridge, Indian Village, Palmer Woods, Boston-Edison, and others.

The oldest neighborhoods are along the Woodward and East Jefferson corridors, while neighborhoods built in the 1950s are found in the far west and closer to 8 Mile Road. Some of the oldest extant neighborhoods include West Canfield and Brush Park. Both have seen multi-million dollar restorations and construction of new homes and condominiums. thumb|right|150px|Detroit Financial District viewed from the [[Detroit International Riverfront|International Riverfront.]] Many of the city's architecturally significant buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places and the city has one of U.S.A.'s largest surviving collections of late 19th and early 20th century buildings. There are a number of architecturally significant churches and cathedrals, including St. Joseph's, St. Mary's, and Ste. Anne de Detroit.

There is substantial activity in urban design, historic preservation and architecture. A number of downtown redevelopment projects—of which Campus Martius Park is one of the most notable—have revitalized parts of the city. Grand Circus Park stands near the city's theater district, Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, and Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. Other projects include the demolition of the Ford Auditorium off of Jefferson St.

The Detroit International Riverfront includes a partially completed three and one-half mile riverfront promenade with a combination of parks, residential buildings, and commercial areas from Hart Plaza to the MacArthur Bridge accessing Belle Isle (the largest island park in a U.S. city). The riverfront includes Tri-Centennial State Park and Harbor, Michigan's first urban state park. The second phase is a two mile (3 km) extension from Hart Plaza to the Ambassador Bridge for a total of five miles (8 km) of parkway from bridge to bridge. Civic planners envision that the riverfront properties condemned under eminent domain, with their pedestrian parks, will spur more residential development. Other major parks include Palmer (north of Highland Park), River Rouge (in the southwest side), and Chene Park (on the east river downtown).

Neighborhoods

Detroit has a variety of neighborhood types. The revitalized Downtown, Midtown, and New Center areas feature many historic buildings and are high density, while further out, particularly in the northeast and on the fringes, the city reported increased vacancies in 2009, for which a number of solutions have been proposed. In 2007, Downtown Detroit was named 18th (out of 35) best neighborhood in which to retire among the U.S.A.'s 30 largest metro areas by CNN Money Magazine editors. Lafayette Park is a revitalized neighorhood on the city's east side, part of the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe residential district. The urban renewal project was originally called the Gratiot Park Development. Planned by Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig Hilberseimer and Alfred Caldwell it includes a landscaped, park with no through traffic, in which these and other low-rise apartment buildings are situated. Immigrants have contributed to the city's neighborhood revitalization, especially in southwest Detroit. Southwest Detroit has experienced a thriving economy in recent years, as evidenced by new housing, increased business openings and the recently opened Mexicantown International Welcome Center. A 2009 parcel survey found 93% of the city's occupied housing to be in good condition, with 97% in good or fair condition. The 2009 survey found 33,527 or 10% of the city's housing to be unoccupied, but recommended that only one percent or 3,480 of the city's housing units be demolished. In 2010, the city began using federal funds on its quest to demolish 10,000 empty residential structures. About 3,000 of these of the residential structures were torn down in 2010. The city has cleared a section of land to initiate the ''Far Eastside Plan'' for new neighborhood construction. Detroit has numerous neighborhoods consisting of vacant properties resulting in low inhabited density, stretching city services and infrastructure. These neighborhoods are concentrated in the northeast and on the city's fringes. About one fourth of residential lots in the city were undeveloped in 2009, up from ten percent in 2000. A number of solutions have been proposed for dealing with the shrinkage, including resident relocation from more sparsely populated neighborhoods and converting unused space to agricultural use, though the city expects to be in the planning stages for up to another two years. In 2011, the Mayor Bing announced a plan to better focus municipal services to meet the needs in the more and less densely-populated areas.

In April 2008, the city announced a $300-million stimulus plan to create jobs and revitalize neighborhoods, financed by city bonds and paid for by earmarking about 15% of the wagering tax. The city's working plans for neighborhood revitalizations include 7-Mile/Livernois, Brightmoor, East English Village, Grand River/Greenfield, North-End, and Osborn. Private organizations have pledged substantial funding to the efforts.

Culture and contemporary life

Downtown Detroit is growing in its population of young professionals and retail is expanding. A number of luxury high rises have been built. The east river development plans include more luxury condominium developments. A desire to be closer to the urban scene has attracted young professionals to take up residence among the mansions of Grosse Pointe just outside the city. Detroit's proximity to Windsor, Ontario, provides for views and nightlife, along with Ontario's minimum drinking age of 19. A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Detroit 22nd most walkable of fifty largest U.S. cities.

Entertainment and performing arts

Live music has been a prominent feature of Detroit's nightlife since the late 1940s, bringing the city recognition under the nickname 'Motown'. The metropolitan area has many nationally prominent live music venues. Concerts hosted by Live Nation perform throughout the Detroit area. Large concerts are held at DTE Energy Music Theatre and The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Detroit Theatre District is the U.S.A.'s second largest and hosts Broadway performances. Major theaters include the Fox Theatre, Music Hall, the Gem Theatre, Masonic Temple Theatre, the Detroit Opera House, the Fisher Theatre, The Fillmore Detroit, St. Andrews Hall, the Majestic Theatre, and Orchestra Hall which hosts the renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The Nederlander Organization, the largest controller of Broadway productions in New York City, originated with the purchase of the Detroit Opera House in 1922 by the Nederlander family.

Motown Motion Picture Studios with produces movies in Detroit and the surrounding area based at the Pontiac Centerpoint Business Campus for a film industry expected to employ over 4,000 people in the metro area.

The city of Detroit has a rich musical heritage and has contributed to a number of different genres over the decades leading into the new millennium. Important music events in the city include: the Detroit International Jazz Festival, the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, the Motor City Music Conference (MC2), the Urban Organic Music Conference, the Concert of Colors, and the hip-hop Summer Jamz festival.

In the 1940s, blues artist John Lee Hooker became a long-term resident in the city's southwest Delray neighborhood. Hooker, among other important blues musicians migrated from his home in Mississippi bringing the Delta Blues to northern cities like Detroit. Hooker recorded for Fortune Records, the biggest pre-Motown blues/soul label. During the 1950s, the city became a center for jazz, with stars performing in the Black Bottom neighborhood. Prominent emerging Jazz musicians of the 1960s included: trumpet player Donald Byrd who attended Cass Tech and performed with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers early in his career and Saxophonist Pepper Adams who enjoyed a solo career and accompanied Byrd on several albums. The Graystone International Jazz Museum documents jazz in Detroit.

Other, prominent Motor City R&B; stars in the 1950s and early 1960s was Nolan Strong, Andre Williams and Nathaniel Mayer – who all scored local and national hits on the Fortune Records label. According to Smokey Robinson, Strong was a primary influence on his voice as a teenager. The Fortune label was a family-operated label located on Third Avenue in Detroit, and was owned by the husband and wife team of Jack Brown and Devora Brown. Fortune, which also released country, gospel and rockabilly LPs and 45s, laid the groundwork for Motown, which became Detroit's most legendary record label.

Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Motown Records which rose to prominence during the 1960s and early 1970s with acts such as Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Diana Ross & The Supremes, the Jackson 5, Martha and the Vandellas, The Spinners, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Marvin Gaye. Artists were backed by the Funk Brothers, the Motown house band that was featured in Paul Justman's 2002 documentary film Standing in the Shadows of Motown, based on Allan Slutsky's book of the same name. The Motown Sound played an important role in the crossover appeal with popular music, since it was the first African American owned record label to primarily feature African-American artists. Gordy moved Motown to Los Angeles in 1972 to pursue film production, but the company has since returned to Detroit. Aretha Franklin, another Detroit R&B; star, carried the Motown Sound; however, she did not record with Berry's Motown Label.

Local artists and bands rose to prominence in the 1960s and 70s including: the MC5, The Stooges, Bob Seger, Amboy Dukes featuring Ted Nugent, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, Rare Earth, Alice Cooper, and Suzi Quatro. The group Kiss emphasized the city's connection with rock in the song ''Detroit Rock City'' and the movie produced in 1999. In the 1980s, Detroit was an important center of the hardcore punk rock underground with many nationally known bands coming out of the city and its suburbs, such as The Necros, The Meatmen, and Negative Approach.

In 1990s and the new millennium, the city has produced a number of influential hip hop artists, including Eminem, the hip-hop artist with the highest cumulative sales, hip-hop producer J Dilla, rapper and producer Esham and hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. Detroit is cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson. The band Sponge toured and produced music, with artists such as Kid Rock and Uncle Kracker. The city also has an active garage rock genre that has generated national attention with acts such as: The White Stripes, The Von Bondies, The Dirtbombs, Electric Six, and The Hard Lessons.

Tourism

Many of the area's prominent museums are located in the historic cultural center neighborhood around Wayne State University and the College for Creative Studies. These museums include the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Historical Museum, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Science Center, as well as the main branch of the Detroit Public Library. Other cultural highlights in Detroit include Motown Historical Museum, the Pewabic Pottery studio and school, the Tuskegee Airmen Museum, Fort Wayne, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID), and the Belle Isle Conservatory. In 2010, the G.R. N'Namdi Gallery opened in a complex in Midtown. Important history of America and the Detroit area are exhibited at The Henry Ford, the U.S.A.'s largest indoor-outdoor museum complex. The Detroit Historical Society provides information about tours of area churches, skyscrapers, and mansions. Inside Detroit, meanwhile, hosts tours, educational programming, and a downtown welcome center. Other sites of interest are the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak, the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle, and Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills.

The city's Greektown and three downtown casino resort hotels serve as part of an entertainment hub. The Eastern Market farmer's distribution center is the largest open-air flowerbed market in the United States and has more than 150 foods and specialty businesses. On Saturdays, about 45,000 people shop the city's historic Eastern Market. The Midtown and the New Center area are centered on Wayne State University and Henry Ford Hospital. Midtown has about 50,000 residents and attracts millions of visitors each year to its museums and cultural centers; for example, the Detroit Festival of the Arts in Midtown draws about 350,000 people.

Annual summer events include the Electronic Music Festival, International Jazz Festival, the Woodward Dream Cruise, the African World Festival, the Detroit Hoedown, Noel Night, and Dally in the Alley. Within downtown, Campus Martius Park hosts large events, including the annual Motown Winter Blast. As the world's traditional automotive center, the city hosts the North American International Auto Show. Held since 1924, America's Thanksgiving Parade is one of the nation's largest. River Days, a five-day summer festival on the International Riverfront lead up to the Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival fireworks, which draw super sized-crowds ranging from hundreds of thousands to over three million people.

An important civic sculpture in Detroit is "Spirit of Detroit" by Marshall Fredericks at the Coleman Young Municipal Center. The image is often used as a symbol of Detroit and the statue itself is occasionally dressed in sports jerseys to celebrate when a Detroit team is doing well. A memorial to Joe Louis at the intersection of Jefferson and Woodward Avenues was dedicated on October 16, 1986. The sculpture, commissioned by ''Sports Illustrated'' and executed by Robert Graham, is a 24-foot (7.3 m) long arm with a fisted hand suspended by a pyramidal framework.

Artist Tyree Guyton created the controversial street art exhibit known as the Heidelberg Project in 1986, using found objects including cars, clothing and shoes found in the neighborhood near and on Heidelberg Street on the near East Side of Detroit. Guyton continues to work with neighborhood residents and tourists in constantly evolving the neighborhood-wide art installation.

Sports

Detroit is one of 12 American metropolitan areas that are home to professional teams representing the four major sports in North America. All these teams but one play within the city of Detroit itself (the NBA's Detroit Pistons play in suburban Auburn Hills at The Palace of Auburn Hills). There are three active major sports venues within the city: Comerica Park (home of the Major League Baseball team Detroit Tigers), Ford Field (home of the NFL's Detroit Lions), and Joe Louis Arena (home of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings). A 1996 marketing campaign promoted the nickname "Hockeytown".

In college sports, Detroit's central location within the Mid-American Conference has made it a frequent site for the league's championship events. While the MAC Basketball Tournament moved permanently to Cleveland starting in 2000, the MAC Football Championship Game has been played at Ford Field in Detroit since 2004, and annually attracts 25,000 to 30,000 fans. The University of Detroit Mercy has a NCAA Division I program, and Wayne State University has both NCAA Division I and II programs. The NCAA football Little Caesars Pizza Bowl is held at Ford Field each December.

Sailboat racing is a major sport in the Detroit area. Lake Saint Clair is home to many yacht clubs which host regattas. Bayview Yacht Club, the Detroit Yacht Club, Crescent Sail Yacht Club, Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, The Windsor Yacht Club, and the Edison Boat Club each participate in and are governed by the Detroit Regional Yacht-Racing Association or DRYA. Detroit is home to many One-Design fleets including, but not limited to, North American 40s, Cal 25s, Cuthbertson and Cassian 35s, Crescent Sailboats, Express 27s, J 120s, J 105, Flying Scots, and many more.

The Crescent Sailboat, NA-40, and the L boat were designed and built exclusively in Detroit. Detroit also has a very active and competitive junior sailing program.

Since 1916, the city has been home to Unlimited Hydroplane racing, held annually (with exceptions) on the Detroit River near Belle Isle. Often, the hydroplane boat race is for the APBA Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the Gold Cup (first awarded in 1904, created by Tiffany) which is the oldest active motorsport trophy in the world.

The city hosted the Detroit Indy Grand Prix on Belle Isle Park from 1989 to 2001 and again in 2007 and 2008. The event generated about $53 million in economic impact for the area. In 2007, open-wheel racing returned to Belle Isle with both Indy Racing League and American Le Mans Series Racing.

In the years following the mid-1930s, Detroit was referred to as the "City of Champions" after the Tigers, Lions, and Red Wings captured all three major professional sports championships in a seven-month period of time (the Tigers won the World Series in October, 1935; the Lions won the NFL championship in December, 1935; the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in April, 1936). Gar Wood (a native Detroiter) won the Harmsworth Trophy for unlimited powerboat racing on the Detroit River in 1931. In the next year, 1932, Eddie "The Midnight Express" Tolan, a black student from Detroit's Cass Technical High School, won the 100- and 200-meter races and two gold medals at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Joe Louis won the heavyweight championship of the world in 1937. Also, in 1935 the Detroit Lions won the NFL championship. The Detroit Tigers have won ten American League pennants (The most recent being in 2006) and four World Series titles. In 1984, the Detroit Tigers' World Series championship, after which crowds had left three dead and millions of dollars in property damage. The Detroit Red Wings have won 11 Stanley Cups (the most by an American NHL Franchise), the Detroit Pistons have won three NBA titles, and the Detroit Shock have won three WNBA titles.

Detroit has the distinction of being the city which has made the most bids to host the Summer Olympics without ever being awarded the games: seven unsuccessful bids for the 1944, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 and 1972 games. It came as high as second place in the balloting two times, losing the 1964 games to Tokyo and the 1968 games to Mexico City.

Detroit hosts many WWE events such as the 2007 WWE's WrestleMania 23 which attracted 80,103 fans to Ford Field; the event marking the 20th anniversary of WrestleMania III which drew a reported 93,173 to the Pontiac Silverdome in nearby Pontiac in 1987. The city hosted the Red Bull Air Race in 2008 on the International Riverfront.

Media

The ''Detroit Free Press'' and ''The Detroit News'' are the major daily newspapers, both broadsheet publications published together under a joint operating agreement. Media philanthropy includes the ''Detroit Free Press'' high school journalism program and the Old Newsboys' Goodfellow Fund of Detroit. In December, 2008, the Detroit Media Partnership announced that the two papers would reduce home delivery to three days a week, print reduced newsstand issues of the papers on non-delivery days and focus resources on Internet-based news delivery. These changes went into effect in March, 2009. Founded in 1980, the ''Metro Times'' is a weekly publication, covering news, arts & entertainment. Also founded in 1935 and based in Detroit the Michigan Chronicle is one of the oldest and most respected African-American weekly newspapers in America. Covering politics, entertainment, sports and community events. The Detroit television market is the 11th largest in the United States; according to estimates that do not include audiences located in large areas of Ontario, Canada (Windsor and its surrounding area on broadcast and cable TV, as well as several other cable markets in Ontario, such as the city of Ottawa) which receive and watch Detroit television stations.

Detroit has the 11th largest radio market in the United States, though this ranking does not take into account Canadian audiences.

Economy

Detroit and the surrounding region constitute a major manufacturing center, most notably as home to the 'Big Three' automobile companies, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. The city is an important center for global trade with large international law firms having their offices in both Detroit and Windsor. About 80,500 people work in downtown Detroit, comprising one-fifth of the city's employment base. Detroit's six county Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of about 4.3 million and a workforce of about 2.1 million. In May 2011, the Department of Labor reported metropolitan Detroit's unemployment rate at 11.6%, with the city's unemployment rate for May 2011 at 20%.

Firms in the region pursue emerging technologies including biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, and hydrogen fuel cell development. The city of Detroit has made efforts to lure the region's growth companies downtown with advantages such as a wireless Internet zone, business tax incentives, entertainment, an International Riverfront, and residential high rises. Compuware completed its world headquarters in downtown Detroit in 2003. OnStar, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and HP Enterprise Services have located at the Renaissance Center. PricewaterhouseCoopers Plaza offices are adjacent to Ford Field and Ernst & Young completed its office building at One Kennedy Square in 2006.

In 2011, Quicken Loans relocated its world headquarters, and 4,000 employees, to downtown Detroit, consolidating its suburban offices, a move considered of high importance to city planners to reestablish the historic downtown. Some Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Detroit include General Motors, auto parts maker American Axle & Manufacturing, and DTE Energy. Other major industries include advertising, law, finance, chemicals, and computer software. Medical research centers and service providers such as the Detroit Medical Center and Henry Ford Hospital are major employers in the city. Casino gaming plays an important economic role, with Detroit the largest city in the United States to offer casino resort hotels. Caesars Windsor, Canada's largest, complements the MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Greektown Casino in Detroit. The casino hotels contribute significant tax revenue along with thousands of jobs for residents. Gaming revenues have grown steadily, with Detroit ranked as the fifth largest gambling market in the U.S.A. for 2007. When Casino Windsor is included, Detroit's gambling market ranks third or fourth. In an effort to support spending within the city, certain business owners set up "mints" to distribute the Detroit Community Scrip. The scrip is used at local clubs and bars to ensure some dollars stay within the city by establishing a note that is only legal tender at certain places.

There are about four thousand factories in the area. The domestic auto industry is primarily headquartered in Metro Detroit. New vehicle production, sales, and jobs related to automobile use account for one of every ten jobs in the United States. The area is also an important source of engineering job opportunities. A 2004 Border Transportation Partnership study showed that 150,000 jobs in the Windsor-Detroit region and $13 billion in annual production depend on the City of Detroit's international border crossing. A rise in automated manufacturing using robotic technology has created related industries in the area; inexpensive labor in other parts of the world and increased competition have led to a steady transformation of certain types of manufacturing jobs in the region with the Detroit area gaining new lithium ion battery plants. In addition to property taxes, residents pay an income tax rate of 2.50%.

The city has cleared sections of land while retaining a number of historically significant vacant buildings in order to spur redevelopment; though the city has struggled with finances, it issued bonds in 2008 to provide funding for ongoing work to demolish blighted properties. In 2006, downtown Detroit reported $1.3 billion in restorations and new developments which increased the number of construction jobs in the city. In decade leading up to 2006, downtown Detroit gained more than $15 billion in new investment from private and public sectors.

The Detroit automakers and local manufacturing have made significant restructurings in response to market competition. GM began the initial public offering of stock in 2010. General Motors has invested heavily in all fuel cell equipped vehicles, while Chrysler has focused research and development into biodiesel. In August 2009, Michigan and Detroit's auto industry received $1.36 B in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries. For 2010, the domestic automakers reported significant profits indicating the beginning of rebound along with an economic recovery for the Detroit area.

Demographics

In 2010, the city had 713,777 residents. The name ''Detroit'' sometimes refers to Metro Detroit, a six-county area with a population of 4,296,250 for the Metropolitan Statistical Area, making it the U.S.A.'s eleventh-largest, and a population of 5,218,852 for the nine-county Combined Statistical Area as of the 2010 Census Bureau estimates. The Detroit-Windsor area, a critical commercial link straddling the Canada-U.S. border, has a total population of about 5,700,000. Immigration continues to play a role in the region's projected growth.

About 33.8% of city residents lived below the federal poverty level in 2007, the highest among large U.S. cities. In contrast, Metro Detroit suburbs are among the more affluent in the U.S.

The city's population increased more than sixfold during the first half of the 20th century, fed largely by an influx of European, Middle Eastern (Lebanese),(Assyrian/Chaldean), and Southern migrants to work in the burgeoning automobile industry. However, since 1950 the city has seen a major shift in its population to the suburbs. In 1910, fewer than 6,000 blacks called the city home; in 1930 more than 120,000 blacks lived in Detroit. The thousands of African Americans who came to Detroit were part of the Great Migration of the 20th century.

The city population dropped from its peak of 1,849,568 in 1950 to 713,777 in 2010, in part due to urban flight to the suburbs and a change in its jobs base. In the first decade of the 21st century, about two-thirds of the total black population in metropolitan area resided within the city limits of Detroit.

As of the 2010 Census, there were 713,777 people, 269,445 households, and 162,924 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,144.3 people per square mile (1,986.2/km²). There were 349,170 housing units at an average density of 2,516.5 units per square mile (971.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.7% Black, 10.6% White, 1.1% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.0% other races, 2.2% two or more races. In addition, 6.8% of the population self-identified as Hispanic or Latino, of any race.

There were 269,445 households out of which 34.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 21.5% were married couples living together, 31.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families, 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.9% had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.36.

There is a wide age distribution in the city, with 31.1% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

For the 2000 Census, median household income in the city was $29,526, and the median income for a family was $33,853. Males had a median income of $33,381 versus $26,749 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,717. 21.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 34.5% of those under the age of 18 and 18.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. A 2007 Social Compact report showed the city of Detroit's median household income at $34,512, a 12% increase over the Census estimate. About 50 percent of city residents are functionally illiterate; this means that they have difficulty performing basic everyday tasks, such as reading labels or filling out forms.

Law and government

thumb|right|150px|The historic Guardian Building is [[Wayne County, Michigan|Wayne County headquarters. The city government is run by a mayor and nine-member city council and clerk elected on an at-large nonpartisan ballot. Since voters approved the city's charter in 1974, Detroit has had a "strong mayoral" system, with the mayor approving departmental appointments. The council approves budgets but the mayor is not obligated to adhere to any earmarking. City ordinances and substantially large contracts must be approved by the council. The city clerk supervises elections and is formally charged with the maintenance of municipal records. Municipal elections for mayor, city council and city clerk are held at four-year intervals, in the year after presidential elections (so that there are Detroit elections scheduled in 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, etc.). Following a November 2009 referendum, seven council members will be elected from districts beginning in 2013 while two will continue to be elected at-large.

Detroit's courts are state-administered and elections are nonpartisan. The Probate Court for Wayne County is located in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in downtown Detroit. The Circuit Court is located across Gratiot Ave. in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, in downtown Detroit. The city is home to the 30 Sixth District Court, as well as the First District of the Michigan Court of Appeals and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Detroit has several sister cities, including Chongqing (People's Republic of China), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Kitwe (Zambia), Minsk (Belarus), Nassau, Bahamas, Toyota (Japan), and Turin (Italy).

Politics

Politically, the city consistently supports the Democratic Party in state and national elections (local elections are nonpartisan). According to a study released by the Bay Area Center for Voting Research, Detroit is the most liberal large city in America, measuring only the percentage of city residents who voted for the Democratic Party.

In 2000, the City requested an investigation by the United States Justice Department into the Detroit Police Department which was concluded in 2003 over allegations regarding its use of force and civil rights violations. The city proceeded with a major reorganization of the Detroit Police Department.

Urban development in Detroit has been an important issue. In 1973, the city elected its first black mayor, Coleman Young. Despite development efforts, his combative style during his five terms in office was not well received by many whites. Mayor Dennis Archer, a former Michigan Supreme Court Justice, refocused the city's attention on redevelopment with a plan to permit three casinos downtown.

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick resigned his office effective September 19, 2008, after pleading guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and no contest to one count of assaulting and obstructing a police officer. Kilpatrick was succeeded in office on an interim basis by City Council President Kenneth Cockrel, Jr.. Following a special election on May, 2009, businessman and former Detroit Pistons star Dave Bing became the Mayor and was subsequently re-elected to a full term of office.

Crime

Although crime has declined significantly since the 1970s, the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the U.S.A., while the chances are roughly 1 in 16 to be a victim of a property crime. The city had the sixth highest number of violent crimes among the 25 largest U.S. cities in 2007. The rate of violent crime dropped 11 percent in 2008. Neighborhoodscout.com reported a crime rate of 62.18 per 1000 residents for property crimes, and 16.73 per 1000 for violent crimes (compared to national figures of 32 per 1000 for property crimes and 5 per 1000 for violent crime in 2008).

The city's downtown typically has lower crime than national and state averages. According to a 2007 analysis, Detroit officials note that about 65 to 70 percent of homicides in the city were drug related, with the rate of unsolved murders roughly 70%.

Education

Colleges and universities

Detroit is home to several institutions of higher learning, including Wayne State University, a national research university with medical and law schools in the Midtown area. Other institutions in the city include the University of Detroit Mercy with its schools of Law, Dentistry, and Nursing, the College for Creative Studies, Lewis College of Business, Marygrove College and Wayne County Community College. In June 2009, the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine opened a satellite campus located at the Detroit Medical Center. The Detroit College of Law, now affiliated with Michigan State University, was founded in the city in 1891 and remained there until 1997, when it relocated to East Lansing. The University of Michigan was established in 1817 in Detroit and later moved to Ann Arbor in 1837. In 1959, University of Michigan–Dearborn was established in neighboring Dearborn.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools and charter schools

With about 84,000 public school students (2010–11), the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) district is the largest school district in Michigan. Detroit has an additional 54,000 charter school students for a combined enrollment of about 138,000 students.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, the Michigan Legislature removed the locally elected board of education amid allegations of mismanagement and replaced it with a reform board appointed by the mayor and governor. The elected board of education was re-established following a city referendum in 2005. The first election of the new 11-member board of education occurred on November 8, 2005. Due to growing Detroit Charter Schools enrollment, the city planned to close many public schools. State officials report a 68% graduation rate for Detroit's public schools adjusted for those who change schools. Detroit public school system students recently received the lowest test scores ever recorded by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

Private schools

Detroit is served by various private schools, as well as parochial Roman Catholic schools operated by the Archdiocese of Detroit. The Archdiocese of Detroit lists a number of primary and secondary schools in the city, along with those in the metro area as Catholic education has emigrated to the suburbs. There are 23 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Of the three Catholic high schools in the city, two are operated by the Society of Jesus and the third is co-sponsored by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Congregation of St. Basil.

Infrastructure

Health systems

Within the city of Detroit, there are over a dozen major hospitals which include the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), Henry Ford Health System, St. John Health System, and the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center. The DMC, a regional Level I trauma center, consists of Detroit Receiving Hospital and University Health Center, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Harper University Hospital, Hutzel Women's Hospital, Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Sinai-Grace Hospital, and the Karmanos Cancer Institute. The DMC has more than 2,000 licensed beds and 3,000 affiliated physicians. It is the largest private employer in the City of Detroit. The center is staffed by physicians from the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the largest single-campus medical school in the United States, and the U.S.A.'s fourth largest medical school overall. Detroit Medical Center formally became a part of Vanguard Health Systems on December 30, 2010 as a for profit corporation. Vanguard has agreed to invest nearly $1.5 B in the Detroit Medical Center complex which will include $417 M to retire debts, at least $350 M in capital expenditures and an additional $500 M for new capital investment. Vanguard has agreed to assume all debts and pension obligations. In 2010, Henry Ford Health System in the New Center also announced a $500 M expansion in Detroit with plans for a biomedical research center. The metro area has many other hospitals including William Beaumont Hospital, St. Joseph's, and University of Michigan Medical Center.

Transportation

With its proximity to Canada and its facilities, ports, major highways, rail connections and international airports, Detroit is an important transportation hub. The city has three international border crossings, the Ambassador Bridge, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and Michigan Central Railway Tunnel, linking Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. The Ambassador Bridge is the single busiest border crossing in North America, carrying 27% of the total trade between the U.S. and Canada.

Air

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), the area's principal airport, is located in nearby Romulus and is a primary hub for Delta Air Lines and a secondary hub for Spirit Airlines. Bishop International Airport (FNT) in Flint, Michigan is the second busiest commercial airport in the region. Coleman A. Young International Airport (DET), previously called Detroit City Airport, is on Detroit's northeast side. Although Southwest Airlines once flew from the airport, the airport now maintains only charter service and general aviation. Willow Run Airport, in far-western Wayne County near Ypsilanti, is a general aviation and cargo airport.

Mass transit

Mass transit in the region is provided by bus services. The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) provides service to the outer edges of the city. From there, the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) provides service to the suburbs. Cross border service between the downtown areas of Windsor and Detroit is provided by Transit Windsor via the Tunnel Bus. It is also possible for those who cross to Detroit on the tunnel bus to use a Transit Windsor transfer for transfers onto Detroit Smart buses, allowing for travel around Metro Detroit from a single fare.

An elevated rail system known as the People Mover, completed in 1987, provides daily service around a loop downtown. The Woodward Avenue Light Rail, beginning in 2013, will serve as a link between the Detroit People Mover and SEMCOG Commuter Rail which extends from Detroit's New Center area to The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Ypsilanti, and Ann Arbor Amtrak provides service to Detroit, operating its ''Wolverine'' service between Chicago and Pontiac. Baggage cannot be checked at this location; however, up to two suitcases in addition to any "personal items" such as briefcases, purses, laptop bags, and infant equipment are allowed on board as carry-ons. The Amtrak station is located in the New Center area north of downtown. The J.W. Westcott II, which delivers mail to lake freighters on the Detroit River, is the world's only floating post office.

Freeways

Metro Detroit has an extensive toll-free expressway system administered by the Michigan Department of Transportation. Four major Interstate Highways surround the city. Detroit is connected via Interstate 75 and Interstate 96 to Kings Highway 401 and to major Southern Ontario cities such as London, Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. I-75 (The Chrysler and Fisher Freeways) is the region's main north-south route, serving Flint, Pontiac, Troy, and Detroit, before continuing south (as the Detroit-Toledo and Seaway Freeways) to serve many of the communities along the shore of Lake Erie.

I-94 (The Edsel Ford Freeway) runs east-west through Detroit and serves Ann Arbor to the west (where it continues to Chicago) and Port Huron to the northeast. The stretch of the current I-94 freeway from Ypsilanti to Detroit was one of America's earlier limited-access highways. Henry Ford built it to link the factories at Willow Run and Dearborn during World War II. A portion was known as the Willow Run Expressway. I-96 runs northwest-southeast through Livingston, Oakland and Wayne Counties and (as the Jeffries Freeway through Wayne County) has its eastern terminus in downtown Detroit.

I-275 runs north-south from I-75 in the south to the junction of I-96 and I-696 in the north, providing a bypass through the western suburbs of Detroit. I-375 (The Chrysler Spur) is a short spur route in downtown Detroit, an extension of the Chrysler Freeway. I-696 (The Reuther Freeway) runs east-west from the junction of I-96 and I-275, providing a route through the northern suburbs of Detroit. Taken together, I-275 and I-696 form a semicircle around Detroit. Michigan State highways designated with the letter M serve to connect major freeways.

Sister cities

Toyota, Japan Dubai, United Arab Emirates Turin, Italy Kitwe, Zambia Minsk, Belarus Nassau, Bahamas Chongqing, P.R. China Coventry, United Kingdom

References

Further reading

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Farmer, Silas. (1884) (Jul 1969) ''The history of Detroit and Michigan, or, The metropolis illustrated: a chronological cyclopaedia of the past and present: including a full record of territorial days in Michigan, and the annuals of Wayne County'', in various formats at Open Library.

Powell, L. P (1901). "Detroit, the Queen City," ''Historic Towns of the Western States'' (New York).

External links

Municipal government and local Chamber of Commerce

City of Detroit official website

Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau

Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce

Visitor's Guide

Historical research and current events

Detroit Entertainment District

Detroit Historical Museums & Society

Detroit Riverfront Conservancy

Experience Detroit

Virtual Motor City Collection at Wayne State University Library, contains over 30,000 images of Detroit from 1890 to 1980

Category:Cities in Michigan Category:Populated places on the Great Lakes Category:County seats in Michigan Michigan Category:Metro Detroit Category:Michigan Neighborhood Enterprise Zone Category:Port settlements in the United States Category:Populated places established in 1701 Category:Underground Railroad locations Category:Populated places in Michigan with African American majority populations Category:Populated places in Wayne County, Michigan Category:Detroit River

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Name	Detroit People Mover
Locale	Downtown Detroit
Transit type	People mover
Began operation	1987
System length
Lines	1
Vehicles	12
Stations	13
Annual ridership	2,216,200 (2010) 2.4% from 2009
Headquarters	1420 Washington BoulevardDetroit, Michigan 48226
Operator	Detroit Transportation Corporation
Track gauge
El	Third rail
Map	}}

The Detroit People Mover is a automated people mover system which operates on a single set of tracks, and encircles downtown Detroit, Michigan.

The city's elevated light-rail system, the People Mover is operated by the Detroit Transportation Corporation of the City of Detroit. It is an important asset for business travelers, tourists, residents, and downtown workers.

The Woodward Avenue Light Rail, beginning in 2013, will serve as a link between the Detroit People Mover and SEMCOG Commuter Rail with access to DDOT and SMART buses as part of a comprehensive network of transportation in metropolitan Detroit.

It uses UTDC ICTS Mark I technology and the cars are driverless. A siding allows the system to be used in a two-way bypass manner when part of the circular track is closed.

History

The Detroit People Mover has its origins in 1966, with Congressional creation of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) to develop new types of transit. In 1975, following the failure to produce any large-scale results and increased pressure to show results, UMTA created the Downtown People Mover Program (DPM) and sponsored a nationwide competition that offered federal funds to cover much of the cost of planning and construction of such a system. Selecting proposals from four cities, the UMTA recommended that Detroit, Miami, and Baltimore be permitted to construct systems, but only if they could do so with existing grants. Though two of the four selected cities ultimately withdrew from the program, Miami and Detroit persevered to build theirs.

The People Mover was intended to be the downtown distributor for a proposed city and metro-wide light rail transit system for Detroit in the early 1980s; however, funding was scaled back. At the time of planning, the system was projected to have a ridership of 67,700 daily.

The system opened in 1987 using the same technology as Vancouver's SkyTrain and Toronto's Scarborough RT line. In the first year, an average of 11,000 riders used the People Mover each day; the one-day record was 54,648.

When the People Mover opened, it traditionally ran counter-clockwise. In August 2008, the system changed direction and is now running clockwise permanently, although it can run in both directions when necessary. The change to clockwise meant that trains were faster.

Capacity

The Detroit People Mover can accommodate a large influx of tourists to downtown. The system is designed to accommodate up to 15 million riders a year. In 2008, it served over 2 million riders. In fiscal year 1999-2000, the city spent $3.00 for every $0.50 rider fare, according to ''The Detroit News''. Among the busiest periods was the five days around the 2006 Super Bowl XL, when 215,910 patrons used the service. In 2008, the system moved about 7,500 people per day, about 2.5 percent of its daily peak capacity of 288,000. The Mover costs about $12 million annually.

Expansion

There have been proposals to extend the People Mover northward to the New Center and neighborhoods not within walking distance of the city's downtown. A proposal has been put forward by Marsden Burger, former manager of the People Mover, to double the length of the route by extending the People Mover along Woodward Avenue to West Grand Boulevard and into the New Center area. New stops would include the Amtrak station, Wayne State University and the cultural center, the Detroit Medical Center, and the Henry Ford Hospital. The plan would tentatively cost $150–200 million, and would be paid for by a combination of public and private financing.

Criticism

The People Mover has been criticized often for its constant breakdowns, plus its slowness, both in movement and in picking up passengers, as well as certain stops being too close to one another (like Bricktown to Greektown, which some residents joke, due to said slowness, they can walk from one stop to another faster then it would take a People Mover train to move between the two).

Ridership

! Year	! Riders	! Source
1996	2,048,900	Motown Tranzit
1997	1,711,000	Motown Tranzit
1998	1,989,100	Motown Tranzit
1999	763,000	Motown Tranzit
2000	1,485,900	Motown Tranzit
2001	2,370,000	Detroit News
2002	2,186,600	Motown Tranzit
2003	1,267,900	Motown Tranzit
2004	932,400
2005	1,792,900	APTA
2006	2,368,300	APTA
2007	2,320,600	APTA
2008	2,059,600	APTA
2009	2,161,300	APTA
2010	2,216,200	APTA

Stations

{| |} |} The DPM stops at 13 stations, eight of which were built into existing buildings. Each station has original artwork.

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Station !!class="unsortable"| Location |- | Broadway Station || Broadway and John R. Street (downtown YMCA) |- | Grand Circus Park Station || Park Street & Woodward Avenue (David Whitney Building) |- | Times Square Station || Grand River Avenue & Times Square |- | Michigan Avenue Station || Michigan Avenue & Cass Avenue |- | Fort/Cass Station || Fort Street & Cass Avenue |- | Cobo Center Station || Cass Street & Congress Street (Cobo Hall) |- | Joe Louis Arena Station || 3rd Street & Jefferson Avenue (Joe Louis Arena) |- | Financial District Station || Larned Street & Shelby Street (150 West Jefferson) |- | Millender Center Station || Millender Center Apartments |- | Renaissance Center Station || Renaissance Center |- | Bricktown Station || Beaubien Street & East Fort Street |- | Greektown Station || East Lafayette Street (Greektown Casino) |- | Cadillac Center Station || Gratiot Avenue & Library Street |}

Rolling stock

Manufacturer: Urban Transportation Development Corporation (now Bombardier Transportation)

Type: ICTS Mark I

# of cars: 12 cars

Maximum speed: 56 mph The system operates in 2 car pairs.

See also

List of rapid transit systems

List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership

Toronto's Scarborough RT line

Vancouver SkyTrain

Transportation in metropolitan Detroit

References

External links

Official site

Category:Rapid transit in Michigan Category:Culture of Detroit, Michigan Category:Economy of Detroit, Michigan Category:ART people movers Detroit People Mover Category:Urban people mover systems Category:Railway lines opened in 1987 Category:Railway loop lines

es:Detroit People Mover fa:دترویت پیپل موور fr:Detroit People Mover no:Detroit People Mover

A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.

The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated systems.

The term was originally applied to two different systems, developed roughly at the same time. One was Skybus, an automated mass transit system prototyped by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation beginning in 1964. The other, called PeopleMover or Goodyear PeopleMover, was an attraction sponsored by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company which opened at Disneyland in 1967. Now, however, the term "people mover" is generic, and may use technologies such as monorail, duorail, automated guideway transit or maglev. Propulsion may involve conventional on-board electric motors, linear motors or cable traction.

Generally speaking, larger APMs are referred to by other names. The most generic is "automated guideway transit", which encompasses any automated system regardless of size. Some complex APMs deploy fleets of small vehicles over a track network with off-line stations, and supply near non-stop service to passengers. These taxi-like systems are more usually referred to as personal rapid transit (PRT). Larger systems, with vehicles with 20 to 40 passengers, are sometimes referred to as "group rapid transit" (GRT), although this term is not particularly common. Other complex APMs have similar characteristics to mass transit systems, and there is no clear cut distinction between a complex APM of this type and an automated mass transit system.

History

Never-Stop Railway

One of the first automated systems for human transportation was the screw-driven 'Never-Stop-Railway', constructed for the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley, London in 1924. This railway consisted of 88 unmanned carriages, on a continuous double track along the northern and eastern sides of the exhibition, with reversing loops at either end.

The carriages ran on narrow gauge track, and were propelled by gripping a revolving screw thread running between the tracks; by adjusting the pitch of this thread at different points, the carriages could be sped up, or slowed down to a walking pace at stations, to allow passengers to join and leave. The railway ran reliably for the two years of the exhibition, and was then dismantled.

Small sections of this track bed, and a nearby heavy rail track bed, have been proposed for reuse.

Goodyear and Stephens-Adamson

Late 1949, Mike Kendall, Chief Engineer and Chairman of the Board of Stephens-Adamson Mfg. Co asked Al Neilson, an engineer in the Industrial Products Division of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., if Goodyear had ever considered working on People Movers. He felt that with Goodyear’s ability to move materials in large quantities on conveyor belts they should consider moving batches of people.

Four years of engineering design, development, and testing led to a joint patent being issued for three types of people movers which had been named Speedwalk, Speedramp, and Carveyor. Goodyear would sell the concept and Stephens-Adamson would manufacture and install the components.

A speedwalk consisted of a flat conveyor belt riding on a series of rollers, or a flat slippery surface, moving at . (approximately half the speed of walking) the passengers would walk onto the belt and could stand or walk to the exit point. They were supported by a moving handrail. Customers were expected to be airport terminals, ballparks, train stations, etc. Today several manufacturers produce similar units called moving walkways.

A Speedramp was very similar to a Speedwalk but it was used to change elevations; up or down a floor level. This could have been accomplished by an escalator, but the Speedramp would allow wheeled luggage, small handcarts etc. to ride the belt at an operating cost predicted to be much lower than escalators or elevators. The first successful installation of a Speedramp, spring of 1954, was in the Hudson and Manhattan RR Station in Jersey City to connect the Erie RR to the Hudson & Manhattan Tubes. This unit was long, rose up on a 15 degree grade and only cost $75,000.

A Carveyor consisted of many small cubicles or cars carrying ten people riding on a flat conveyor belt from point A to point B. The belt rode on a series of motorized rollers. The purpose of the motorized rollers was to facilitate the gradual acceleration and deceleration speeds on the conveyor belt and over come the tendency of all belts to stretch at start up and during shutdown. At point “A” passengers would enter a Speedwalk running parallel to the belts and cars of the Carveyor. The cars would be moving at the same speed as the Speedwalk; the passengers would enter the cars and be seated, while the motorized rollers would increase the speed of the cars up to the traveling speed (which would be preset depending on the distance to be covered). At point B Passengers could disembark and by means of a series of flat slower belts (Speedwalks) go to other Carveyors to other destinations or out to the street. The cars at point B would continue on rollers around a semicircle and then reverse the process carrying passengers back to point A. The target installation was to be the 42nd Street Shuttle in NYC between Times Square and Grand Central station.

Colonel Sydney H. Bingham, Chairman of the New York City Board of Transportation, had several meetings with a group of architects who were trying to revamp the whole New York City Subway system in the heart of town to connect Penn. Station, Madison Square Garden, Times Square, Grand Central and several new office complexes together. Several of these architects were involved in other programs and in later years many variations of the Carveyor people movers developed.

In November 1954 the New York City Transit Authority issued an order to Goodyear and Stephens-Adamson to build a complete Carveyor system between Times Square and Grand Central. A brief summary and confirmation can be found in ''Time'' magazine on November 15, 1954. under the heading “Subway of the Future”. The cost was to be under $4 million, but the order was never fulfilled due to political difficulties.

Chocolate World in Hershey Pa., Disneyland in California, and Disney World in Florida are among many other locations that have used variations of the Carveyor concept. If You Had Wings used the Omnimover.

Other developments

The term 'people mover' was used by Walt Disney, when he and his Imagineers were working on the new 1967 Tomorrowland at Disneyland. The name was used as a working title for a new attraction, the PeopleMover. According to Imagineer Bob Gurr, "the name got stuck," and it was no longer a working title.

Starting in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, people movers were the topic of intense development around the world. Worried about the growing congestion and pollution in downtown areas due to the spread of cars, many countries started studying mass transit systems that would lower capital costs to the point where any city could afford to deploy them. Most of these systems used elevated guideways, which were much less expensive to deploy than underground tunnels. However, elevating the track causes problems with noise, so traditional steel-wheel-on-rail solutions were rare as they squealed when rounding bends in the rails. Rubber tired solutions were common, but some systems used hovercraft techniques or various magnetic levitation systems.

Two major government funded APM projects are notable. In Germany, Mannesmann Demag and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm developed a system known as Cabinentaxi during the 1970s. Cabinetaxi featured small cars with from four to eight seats that were called to pickup passengers on-demand and drove directly to their destination. The stations were "offline", allowing the cabs to stop by moving off the main lines while other cars continued to their destinations. The system was designed so the cars could be adapted to run on top or bottom of the track (but not easily converted from one to the other), allowing dual-track movements from a single elevated guideway only slightly wider than the cars. A test track was completed in 1975 and ran until development was completed in 1979, but no deployments followed and the companies abandoned the system shortly thereafter.

In the U.S., a 1966 federal bill provided funding that led to the development of APM systems under the Downtown People Mover Program. Four systems were developed, Rohr's ROMAG, LTV's AirTrans, Ford's APT and Otis Elevator's hovercraft design. A major presentation of the systems was organized as TRANSPO'72 at Dulles Airport where the various systems were presented to delegations from numerous cities in the US. Prototype systems and test tracks were built during the 1970s. One notable example was Pittsburgh's Skybus, which was proposed by the Port Authority of Allegheny County to replace its streetcar system, which, having large stretches of private right of way, was not suited for bus conversion. A short demonstration line was set up in South Park and large tracts of land were secured for its facilities. However, opposition arose to the notion that it would replace the streetcar system. This, combined with the immaturity of the technology and other factors, led the Port Authority to abandon the project and pursue alternatives. By the start of the 1980s most politicians had lost interest in the concept and the project was repeatedly de-funded in the early 1980s. Only two APMs were developed as a part of the People Mover Program, the Metromover in Miami, and the Detroit People Mover.

Although these government-funded systems were generally considered failures, several APM systems developed by other groups have been much more successful. Notable among these systems are the Docklands Light Railway deployed in London, while the French Véhicule Automatique Léger and the Canadian Bombardier ART have both won developments around the world. The Vancouver SkyTrain system is the largest fully automated metro system in the world, with over 60 km of track. These systems are on the "heavy" end of the APM scale. Lighter systems with shorter tracks are widely deployed at airports; the world's first airport people mover was installed in 1971 at Tampa International Airport in the United States. APMs have now become common at large airports and hospitals in the United States.

Driver-less metros have become common in Europe and parts of Asia. The economics of automated trains tend to reduce the scale so tied to "mass" transit, so that small-scale installations are feasible. Thus cities normally thought of as too small to build a metro (e.g. Rennes, Lausanne, Brescia, etc.) are now doing so.

On September 30, 2006, the Peachliner in Komaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan became that nation's first people mover to cease operations.

Manufacturers

Heavy APMs

Ansaldo STS

Bombardier Advanced Rapid Transit

Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL)

Hyundai Rotem

Light APMs

Ansaldo STS

Bombardier Innovia APM 100 (formerly the CX-100)

Bombardier Innovia APM 200

DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car

Leitner Group

Poma Group

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Crystal Mover

Parry People Movers (PPM)

Hyundai Rotem

Examples

Urban transit

Canada

Toronto, Ontario: Scarborough RT (semi-automated)

Toronto, Ontario: LINK Train (fully automated)

Vancouver, British Columbia: SkyTrain (fully automated)

Vancouver, British Columbia: Canada Line (fully automated)

Denmark

Copenhagen Metro

United Kingdom

Gatwick airport Terminal transfer

London Stansted Airport Transit system

ULTra personal transit system, London Heathrow Airport

Docklands Light Railway

France

Laon (Poma 2000)

Lille (Lille Metro; VAL system)

Paris (Orlyval and CDGVAL; both VAL system)

Rennes (Rennes Metro; VAL system)

Toulouse (Toulouse Metro; VAL system)

Germany

Düsseldorf Airport

Dortmund H-Bahn

Düsseldorf Skytrain (H-Bahn)

Italy

Perugia, MiniMetro (fully automated)

Milan, MeLA Line 2 - S. Raffaele Hospital (fully automated)

Venice, Venice People Mover Isola del Tronchetto - Piazzale Roma.

Japan

Hiroshima: Astram Line

Kobe: Port Liner, Rokkō Liner

Komaki: Peach Liner (already discontinued)

Nagoya: Linimo, Nagoya Guideway Bus

Osaka: New Tram (Osaka Municipal Nankō Port Town Line)

Saitama: New Shuttle

Sakura: Yamaman Yūkarigaoka Line

Tama Toshi Monorail Line

Tokorozawa: Seibu Railway Yamaguchi Line (Leo Liner)

Tokyo: Yurikamome, Nippori-Toneri Liner

Yokohama: Seaside Line

Malaysia

Kelana Jaya Line (formerly PUTRA)

The Philippines

Manila Light Rail Transit System

Manila Metro Rail Transit System

Portugal

Oeiras: SATU

Singapore

Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit

Sengkang Light Rail Transit

Punggol Light Rail Transit

Changi Airport Skytrain

People's Republic of China

Zhujiang New Town Automated People Mover Systems in Guangzhou

SK (people mover) in Shanghai

Republic of China (Taiwan)

Wenshan Line, Neihu Line

USA

Detroit, Michigan: Detroit People Mover

Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana University Health People Mover

Jacksonville, Florida: JTA Skyway

Las Colinas, Irving, Texas: Las Colinas APT System

Las Vegas, Nevada: Mandalay Bay Tram

Miami, Florida: Metromover (Downtown People Mover)

Morgantown, West Virginia: Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit

Washington, District of Columbia: United States Capitol Subway System Dirksen/Hart Line

Airport

Many large international airports around the world feature people mover systems to transport passengers between terminals or within a terminal itself. Some people mover systems at airports connect with other public transportation systems to allow passengers to travel into the airport's city.

Rural and suburban transit

The Pillar-track Regional People Mover is a concept of a People Mover system, that is optimized for rural and suburban areas with lower population density. The aim of the system is to provide short intervals and appropriate riding and waiting times (including changing between lines) outside of urban areas too.

Other

The former PeopleMover attraction at Disneyland, which ran from 1967 to 1995. (This is a source of the name "people mover." It was not meant to be used on a permanent basis, but WED Enterprises could not come up with any other names for it.)

The Tomorrowland Transit Authority attraction, which was formerly called the WEDway PeopleMover, at Walt Disney World

West Virginia University (Morgantown, West Virginia) – a Group Rapid Transit system, similar to Personal rapid transit

The Huntsville Hospital Tram System connects different buildings of the Huntsville Hospital System.

Slope car, a small automated monorail found in various parts of Japan, can be considered as a simple form of people mover.

In addition to the Las Vegas Monorail, several people mover systems are in place in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, Nevada. Two connect the McCarran International Airport terminal 1 to its C- and D-gates. Another connects The Mirage to Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. Two people mover connects hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. The Mandalay Bay Tram connects Excalibur, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay. The City Center Tram connects Monte Carlo, The Crystals in City Center, and the Bellagio.

See also

Automated guideway transit

Intermodal passenger transport

Rapid transits using linear motor propulsion

Slidewalk

SK

References

External links

Detroit's people mover

Jon Bell's (Mostly) Rail Transit Pages

Information on electronically guided people mover systems

DCC Doppelmayr Cable Car

Leitner MiniMetro

Category:Green vehicles Category:Public transport by mode Category:English phrases

cs:People Mover de:Peoplemover es:Transporte hectométrico eu:Anezka tren fr:Transport hectométrique ko:신교통 시스템 it:Sistema ettometrico he:מסיעון nl:People mover ja:新交通システム no:People mover pl:Mała kolej automatyczna pt:Transporte hectométrico zh-yue:旅客捷運系統 zh:旅客捷運系統

Name	Black Francis
Landscape	yes
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV
Alias	Frank Black
Born	April 06, 1965Boston, Massachusetts
Genre	Alternative rock
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instrument	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1986–present
Label	4AD, American, Cooking Vinyl, spinART
Associated acts	Pixies, Frank Black and the Catholics, Grand Duchy, Paley & Francis
Website	blackfrancis.net
Notable instruments	Fender Telecaster }}

Black Francis (born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV on April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with 4AD, he left the label and formed a backing band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He reformed the Pixies in 2004 and continues to release solo records and tour as a solo artist, having re-adopted his current stage name in 2007.

His vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of the Pixies to a more measured and melodical style in his solo career. His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, incest and Biblical violence, along with science fiction and surf culture. His use of atypical meter signatures, loud-quiet dynamics and distinct preference for live-to-two-track recording in his career as a solo artist give him a distinct style within alternative rock.

As frontman of the Pixies, his songs (such as "Where Is My Mind?" and "Debaser") received praise and citations from contemporaries, including Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Cobain once said that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt at trying to "rip off the Pixies". However, in his solo work and records with the Catholics, he received fewer popular and critical accolades.

Biography

Youth and college

Charles Thompson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a bar owner, and Thompson first lived in Los Angeles, California as a baby because his father wanted to "learn more about the restaurant and bar business". Thompson was introduced to music at a young age, as his parents listened to 1960s folk rock. His first guitar was his mother's, a Yamaha classical guitar bought with money from his father's bar tips, which he started to play at age "11 or 12".

Thompson's family moved around, first with his father, and then his stepfather, a religious man who "pursued real estate on both coasts"; his parents had separated twice by the time he was in first grade. When Thompson was 12, his mother and stepfather joined a church that was tied to the evangelical Assemblies of God, a move that influenced many of his songs written with the Pixies, which often refer to the Bible.

He discovered the music of Christian rock singer-songwriter Larry Norman at 13 when Norman played at a religious summer camp that Thompson attended. Norman's music influenced Thompson to the extent that he named the Pixies' first EP and a lyric in the band's song "Levitate Me" after one of Norman's catchphrases, "come on, pilgrim!" Thompson later described the music he listened to during his youth:

Just before Thompson's senior year, his family moved to Westport, Massachusetts, where he received a ''Teenager of the Year'' award—the title of a later solo album. During this time, Thompson composed several songs that appeared in his later career, including "Here Comes Your Man" from ''Doolittle'', and "Velvety Instrumental Version".

After graduating from high school in 1983, he studied in the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in anthropology. Thompson shared a room with another roommate for a semester before moving in with future Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago. The two shared an interest in rock music, and Santiago introduced Thompson to 1970s punk and the music of David Bowie; they began to jam together. It was at this time that Thompson discovered The Cars, a band he described as "very influential on me and the Pixies".

In his second year of college, Thompson embarked on a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico as part of an exchange program. He spent six months in an apartment with a "weird, psycho roommate", who later served as a direct inspiration for the Pixies' song "Crackity Jones"; many of the band's early songs refer to Thompson's experiences in Puerto Rico. Thompson failed to grasp the Spanish language, and left his studies after debating whether he would go to New Zealand to view Halley's Comet (he later said it "seemed like the cool romantic thing to do at the time"), or start a rock band. He wrote a letter urging Santiago, with the words "we gotta do it, now is the time Joe", to join him in a band upon his return to Boston.

Pixies

Soon after returning to Massachusetts, Thompson dropped out of college, and moved to Boston with Santiago. He spent 1985 working in a warehouse, "managing buttons on teddy bears", composing songs on his acoustic guitar, and writing lyrics on the subway train. In January 1986, Thompson formed the Pixies with Santiago. Bassist Kim Deal was recruited a week later via a classified advertisement placed in a Boston paper, which requested a bassist "into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary." Drummer David Lovering was later hired on recommendation from Deal's husband. In 1987, the Pixies released an 18-track demo tape, commonly referred to as ''The Purple Tape''. Thompson's father assisted the band financially, loaning $1000 in order to record the demo tape; Thompson later said that his father "wasn't around for a lot of my younger years, so I think he was doing his best to make up for lost time". ''The Purple Tape'' led to a recording contract with the English independent record label 4AD. Thompson adopted the alias "Black Francis" for the release of the mini album ''Come On Pilgrim'', a name inspired by his father: “he had been saving that name in case he had another son”.

In 1988, the Pixies recorded their debut album ''Surfer Rosa''. Thompson wrote and sang on all the tracks, with the exception of the single "Gigantic", which was co-written and sung by Deal. To support the album, the band undertook a European tour, during which Thompson met Eric Drew Feldman, a later collaborator on Pixies and solo albums. ''Doolittle'', with Thompson-penned songs such as "Debaser" and "Monkey Gone To Heaven", was released the following year to widespread critical acclaim. However, by this time, tensions between Thompson and Deal combined with exhaustion, and led the band to announce a hiatus. Thompson has an aversion to flying, and spent this time driving across America with his girlfriend, Jean Walsh (whom he had met in the band's early days), performing solo shows in order to raise funds to buy furniture for his new Los Angeles apartment.

The band reconvened in 1990, and recorded two further albums: 1990's ''Bossanova'' and 1991's ''Trompe le Monde''; the latter was Thompson's first collaboration with Feldman. The later Pixies albums were characterized by Thompson's increasing influence on the band's output, as well as a focus on science fiction themes, including aliens and UFOs. These themes would continue to be explored throughout his early solo work. ''Trompe le Monde'' includes the song "U-Mass", which was written about the university he attended as a youth, and due to the keyboard part played by Feldman, signified a move away from the band's alternative rock sound. Although Deal had contributed on the songs "Gigantic" (from ''Surfer Rosa'') and "Silver" (from ''Doolittle''), from ''Bossanova'' on, Thompson wrote all the band's original material. This contributed to the increasing tension between him and Deal, and the Pixies broke up in 1992; this was not publicly announced until early 1993.

Early solo career

While the Pixies' 1991 album ''Trompe le Monde'' was being recorded, Thompson had discussions with the album's producer, Gil Norton, about a possible solo record. He told Norton he was keen to record again, even though he had no new material; as a result, the two decided on a cover album. However, by the time Thompson visited a recording studio again in 1992, he had "plenty of tunes and musical scraps."

He collaborated with Feldman to record new material; they began by trimming down the number of covers to one, The Beach Boys' "Hang On to Your Ego". Feldman became the album's producer, and played keyboard and bass guitar on several songs, with Santiago featuring on lead guitar and Nick Vincent on drums. Francis recorded the album during the hiatus and breakup of the Pixies in late 1992 and early 1993. He then adopted the stage name "Frank Black" (inverting his old persona "Black Francis") and released the results as ''Frank Black'' in March 1993. ''Frank Black'' was characterized by a focus on UFOs and science fiction, although he explored other eclectic subjects, such as in "I Heard Ramona Sing", a song about the Ramones. The album was similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' albums ''Bossanova'' and ''Trompe le Monde''. Feldman later said that the first record connected his solo career with ''Trompe le Monde'', "but at the same time it is an island, like nothing else he [Black] did."

The following year, Black released his second solo record, a 22-song double album entitled ''Teenager of the Year''. ''Teenager'' included the song "Headache" (), a moderate success on alternative rock playlists; critics described the song as "irresistible pop". The production of ''Teenager of the Year'' was markedly different from ''Frank Black''; in the previous album, MIDI templates were used when writing songs, but in ''Teenager'', Black showed individual parts to band members, the core of which included drummer Vincent and Lyle Workman on lead guitar. Feldman noted that Thompson's songwriting became "a lot more spontaneous" while recording the album. Thompson had begun to stray from his style with the Pixies, writing songs that covered a variety of genres and topics, and his new-found method of recording was closer to later albums than that of ''Frank Black'' and ''Trompe le Monde''.

Both ''Frank Black'' and ''Teenager of the Year'' were critically well-received and remain fan favorites, although they enjoyed little commercial success. In 1995, Thompson left his long-time labels 4AD and Elektra. He continued to write new material: In 1996, he released ''The Cult of Ray'' on Rick Rubin's American Recordings; the album marked a turn away from the elaborate production of his first solo works and was recorded primarily live with few overdubs. His band for this album featured sole ''Teenager'' holdover Lyle Workman on lead guitar, along with bassist David McCaffrey and Scott Boutier on drums. Though the album was neither critically nor commercially successful, its stripped-down approach would increasingly define Thompson's working methods for the next several years.

Frank Black and the Catholics

Thompson dubbed his new band "Frank Black and the Catholics", and recorded their eponymous first album in 1997. Recorded live-to-two-track initially as merely a demo, he was so pleased with the results that he decided to release the sessions with no further production. The album was delayed for over a year by conflicts at American, both internal and over its production, and was ultimately released in late 1998 by SpinArt Records in the US. Since leaving American, Black has avoided long-term contracts with labels, and has maintained ownership of his album masters, licensing each album individually for release.

''Frank Black and the Catholics'' became the first album to be posted to the eMusic service; they claim it is "the first album ever made legally available for commercial download". Critical reception to the album was mixed, with some writers noting Thompson's seemingly deliberate turn away from the "quirkiness" of the Pixies and his early solo work for a self-consciously straightforward approach, and the "disappointingly straightforward punk-pop" musical style present on the album.

He would continue to eschew multi-track recording for the live-to-two-track technique for all subsequent releases under the group name. Live-to-two-track recording precludes the use of overdubs to correct errors or add texture; all takes are recorded continuously, and mixing is done "on the fly". On later albums, he incorporated more musicians into the sessions to allow for more varied instrumental textures. Explaining his rationale behind the method, he commented:

Workman left the Catholics in 1998 to pursue session and sideman work; Rich Gilbert was added to the band to replace him. Frank Black and the Catholics released ''Pistolero'' in 1999, which critics cited as a return to Thompson's earlier form, and ''Dog in the Sand'' in 2001, considered a high point in his solo career. ''Dog in the Sand'' added Dave Philips on pedal steel guitar and lead guitar, and Santiago and Feldman began making occasional appearances with the group live and on record. Both ''Pistolero'' and ''Dog in the Sand'' were produced by Nick Vincent.

By this time, while dismissing the possibility of a Pixies reunion, Thompson had begun to incorporate an increasing number of the band's songs into Catholics concerts, as well as including Santiago in his solo work again. Black and the Catholics continued to release records; two separate albums, ''Black Letter Days'' and ''Devil's Workshop'', were released simultaneously in 2002. ''Devil's Workshop'' included the song "Velvety" (), a version of the Pixies' song "Velvety Instrumental Version" (written by Black as a teenager) with lyrics. The song was one of the first signs that he had acknowledged his past work with the Pixies in his solo output. A sixth album with the Catholics, ''Show Me Your Tears'', was released in 2003. ''Show Me Your Tears''' title and many of the songs in it were inspired by Thompson's recent divorce and entry into therapy.

Pixies reunion, Nashville and the Return of Black Francis

In late 2003, following long-standing rumors, an official announcement was made that the Pixies were practicing for a reunion tour. The band played publicly for the first time in 12 years in April 2004, and went on to tour extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe in the same year. They also recorded one of Deal's compositions, "Bam Thwok", which was released on the iTunes Music Store. ''Frank Black Francis'', a double album bridging the gap between his two personas, was released to coincide with the Pixies reunion tour. The first disc consisted of solo demos of Pixies songs recorded the day before ''The Purple Tape'' was recorded, and the second contained studio collaborations, again of Pixies songs, with Two Pale Boys.

Also in 2004, Thompson began to collaborate with a group of Nashville session men, including Steve Cropper, Spooner Oldham, Reggie Young, and Anton Fig, as well as producer Jon Tiven. In July 2005, the collective released ''Honeycomb'' under the Frank Black name, to generally favorable reviews. ''Entertainment Weekly'' described the album as "spare, graceful, [and] in the pocket", while ''Billboard'' noted it as "One of [Thompson's] finest hours". A second volume of Nashville sessions, a double album entitled ''Fast Man Raider Man'', was released in June 2006. Thompson appeared at a concert by Christian rock pioneer Larry Norman in June 2005 in Salem, Oregon. Norman and Thompson performed a duet on "Watch What You're Doing", which later appeared on Norman's album, ''Live at The Elsinore''.

Thompson continued to tour with the Pixies through 2005 and 2006. Though the Catholics were effectively defunct, they released two separate albums of B-sides and rarities, ''Snake Oil'' and ''One More Road for the Hit'', on iTunes, with an eye towards a future CD release. Thompson was also working on more new solo material with Feldman in the first part of 2006, some of which they performed live. In the fall of 2006, Thompson began his first solo tour since 2003, taking Feldman, Billy Block, and Duane Jarvis along as his backing band. In October 2006, Thompson announced plans for the Pixies to start rehearsing and recording a new album in January 2007, but it is believed that no recording took place because of the reluctance of another member of the Pixies to commit to the project. In December 2006, he released the compilation ''Christmass'' album; a collection of new studio tracks, hotel room sessions, and live acoustic recordings from a solo tour the previous summer.

A Frank Black "best of" compilation, ''Frank Black 93-03'', was released in June 2007. Concurrently with that release, Thompson undertook a European tour with a new band, featuring Salem's Guards of Metropolis members Jason Carter and Charles Normal, as well as bassist Ding Archer. For this tour, Thompson eschewed his usual rhythm guitar role and performed solely as a frontman and singer. In September 2007, a new album entitled ''Bluefinger'' was released under his former stage name of Black Francis. For this album, he was inspired by the life and works of Herman Brood, a Dutch musician and artist. He also released a new "mini-album" entitled ''Svn Fngrs'' as Black Francis in March 2008.

In February 2008, Thompson was taken away by Gardai in Dublin, Ireland after staging an impromptu "precore" acoustic solo gig at St. Stephen's Green. He was later released and performed that night in Vicar Street as planned. However, a similar event planned for London was prevented by police and had to be re-arranged for a small indoor venue.

Thompson currently lives in Portland, Oregon, and is married to Violet Clark, his second wife, with whom he has three children, along with her two children from previous relationships. The couple formerly lived in Eugene, Oregon, where they met. Thompson and Clark currently compose the band Grand Duchy. Their debut album, ''Petit Fours'', was released in February 2009.

In early 2009, Art Brut released their third album, ''Art Brut vs. Satan'', which Black produced throughout late 2008. Black has given several joint interviews with frontman Eddie Argos about the album, a move unusual for a producer. In 2009, Art Brut supported The Pixies at their Brixton Academy show. In 2010, Black worked with the group a second time on their album ''Brilliant! Tragic!''.

Black Francis released NonStopErotik in March 2010 and contributed the song "I Heard Ramona Sing" to the soundtrack for the film ''Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'' released in August 2010.

In the fall of 2010 in Nashville, Black Francis recorded an album of new songs written and performed with collaborator Reid Paley, as Paley & Francis. The debut Paley & Francis album (also titled Paley & Francis) was produced by Jon Tiven, and features Muscle Shoals legends Spooner Oldham on piano and David Hood on bass, and is to be released in September 2011.

Musical style

:''See also: Pixies' musical style''

Over the course of his career, Thompson's musical style has grown to encompass a large number of genres; however, he is considered to produce rock or alternative rock compositions. Whereas songs such as "Here Comes Your Man" (''Doolittle''), "Velvety" (''Devil's Workshop'') and "Headache" (''Teenager of the Year'') expose a more light rock side, others such as "Something Against You" (''Surfer Rosa'') and "Thalassocracy" (''Teenager of the Year'') hint to a more heavy rock influence in his material. A strong country music influence is also increasingly evident in his style, most notably in his Nashville albums, ''Honeycomb'' and ''Fast Man Raider Man''.

Thompson has said that he acquired his vocal style as a teenager, when a Thai neighbor asked him to sing "Oh! Darling" by The Beatles (from their album ''Abbey Road'') and to "Scream it like you hate that bitch!" Thompson's powerful screams were a signature of Pixies albums, along with the band's typical song structure of quietly paced verses followed by thundering chorus lines and repetitive guitar staccato.

Influences

Thompson has drawn influence from a number of musical genres. As a teenager, he mostly listened to 1960s folk and religious music, including the Christian singer-songwriter Larry Norman. Later in high school and in college, he discovered punk music (Black Flag), along with bands from other genres, such as the new wave band The Cars and the obscure Angst. While in Boston in 1984, before starting the Pixies, he listened to Hüsker Dü's ''Zen Arcade'', ''The Spotlight Kid'' by Captain Beefheart, and ''I'm Sick of You'', an Iggy Pop bootleg.

Thompson's lyrics have also featured references to the Bible, especially in his career with the Pixies; most notably in the incestuous tale of "Nimrod's Son", the stories of Uriah and Bathsheba in "Dead", Samson in "Gouge Away" and references to The Tower of Babel in songs such as "Build High" and "Old Black Dawning". He cited surrealist films ''Eraserhead'' and ''Un Chien Andalou'' (as mentioned in "Debaser") as major influences on his work with the Pixies; however, surrealism was less of an influence in his solo career. He commented on these influences (which he paid tribute to most in the Pixies' ''Doolittle''), saying he "didn't have the patience to sit around reading Surrealist novels", but found it easier to watch 20-minute films.

Songwriting and lyrics

During his stay in Puerto Rico, Thompson acquired a fairly fluent, although informal and at times incorrect, use of Spanish, which he has continued throughout his career. Several early Pixies songs, including "Isla de Encanta" and "Vamos", reference his experiences in San Juan, and the lyrics are often heavily seasoned with the island's slang. The island's influence in his work is most notable in the song "Isla De Encanta", named after the island's motto, "Isla Del Encanto". Other Pixies songs drawn from his experiences there include "Vamos" (''Come On Pilgrim''), "Oh My Golly!", "Where Is My Mind?" (''Surfer Rosa''), "Crackity Jones" (''Doolittle'') and the B-side "Bailey's Walk". Several of his songs contain Spanish lyrics, most notably in the Pixies' first album, ''Come On Pilgrim'', and a Spanish translation of "Evil Hearted You" by The Yardbirds. From his later works with the Pixies onwards, his use of Spanish drifted westward, reflecting places and aspects of the state of California and its culture.

Thompson's lyrics are noted for their obscure references to off-beat topics such as outer space, UFOs, and The Three Stooges—the last of these being the subject of "Two Reelers", a song from ''Teenager of the Year''. Lyrics with a focus on science fiction were particularly prominent on the later Pixies records, as well as his early solo albums. With the Catholics, his lyrics have tended towards historical topics; for example, the song "St. Francis Dam Disaster" (from ''Dog in the Sand'') details the catastrophic collapse of the St. Francis Dam near Los Angeles in March 1928, and the ''All My Ghosts'' EP featured an account of the "Humboldt County Massacre" of Wiyot Indians in 1860 near Eureka, California.

Television appearances and videos

:''See also: Pixies' television appearances and videos''

Thompson has appeared on a range of television shows solo and as part of the Pixies, ranging from ''120 Minutes'' and ''The Late Show'' in the United States, to ''The Word'' in the UK.

As part of the Pixies, he was reluctant to film music videos for singles. Elektra Records' Peter Lubin commented that "to get videos out of them was a major [...] undertaking and it only got worse over time", citing the fact that Thompson refused to lip-sync; the video for "Here Comes Your Man" features Thompson and Deal opening their mouths as the vocals are being heard, mocking the practice.

In his early solo career as Frank Black, his videos were more professional; he became more willing to take part in them. "Los Angeles" is an example; the video features Thompson riding across a desert on a hovercraft. They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh, who directed the "Los Angeles" video, later commented on the change in Black's attitude to music videos:

Thompson has released few music videos since leaving 4AD, one being a low-budget video in Germany for ''Dog in the Sand'''s "Robert Onion". The last widely-released video produced for his solo material was for "Men in Black", from ''Cult of Ray''.

Discography

Studio albums

''Frank Black'' (1993)

''Teenager of the Year'' (1994)

''The Cult of Ray'' (1996)

''Frank Black and the Catholics'' (1998)

''Pistolero'' (1999)

''Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day'' (2000, not released)

''Oddballs'' (2000, out of print)

''Dog in the Sand'' (2001)

''Black Letter Days'' (2002)

''Devil's Workshop'' (2002)

''Show Me Your Tears'' (2003)

''Frank Black Francis'' (2004)

''Honeycomb'' (2005)

''Fast Man Raider Man'' (2006)

''Christmass'' (2006)

''Bluefinger'' (2007)

''Svn Fngrs'' (2008)

''The Golem'' (2010)

''Non Stop Erotik'' (2010)

''Abbabubba'' (2010)

''Paley & Francis'' (2011)

References

Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn. (2005). ''Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies''. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-312-34007-9.

Sisario, Ben. (2006). ''Doolittle''. Continuum, 33⅓ series. ISBN 0-8264-1774-4.

Notes

External links

BlackFrancis.net - Official site

frankblack.net - Fan site

[ Frank Black's Allmusic entry]

4AD - Frank Black

Review of 2008 Live Show in Manchester

Category:1965 births Category:4AD artists Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:American rock guitarists Category:Songwriters from Massachusetts Category:Living people Category:Pixies (band) members Category:Pigface members Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts Category:Musicians from Massachusetts Category:People from Eugene, Oregon Category:Musicians from Portland, Oregon Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Category:American alternative rock musicians

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