Early Detroit
Ribbon FarmsRibbon farms, long thin parcels that ran from 400-900 ft. on the short end by one-three miles on the long end, were important in Detroit’s early history (Waters 2005, 372). Farming was more necessary during this time as Detroit was still relatively isolated and needed to produce a significant amount of its own food. Ribbon farms are so called for their long, thing appearance, but are practical in that the small end lined up against the Detroit River, providing many property owners access to the important waterway.
These farms were a mainstay of the early Detroit landscape, and the parcel lines were the basis for much of the street network in Eastern Detroit, where blocks mimic the shape of the ribbon farms. |
Fire of 1805Fire was not an uncommon occurrence during the late 18th and early 19th century due to building practices and available materials, but the first of 1805 completely devastated the settlement. Within three hours everything was destroyed except for a warehouse down by the river and a blockhouse.
Detroit’s city motto actually comes from this event, “Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus” in Latin, or in English, “We hope for better things; it will rise from the ashes” (Woodford 2001, 38-39). While the inhabitants were happy to recreate their town based on the previous arrangement, and in fact many set up temporary shelters in the ruins of their previous homes, Judge Woodward presented a different plan that would create some very clear physical/spatial changes in the city (Farmer 1884, 26). Woodward had been heavily influenced by L’Enfant's plan for Washington D.C. There was an emphasis on wider streets, though of varying width, with Grand Boulevards and a central public space known as the Grand Circus. (Reps 1950, 245). Because Woodward understood the importance of the river for travel and economics, here he placed a gridded street network (Ibid. 247) Though the plan was not seen through to completion, the influence of this plan can still be in the heart of downtown Detroit in the wide, diagonal streets of Michigan Avenue, Grand River Avenue, and Gratiot Avenue, and especially in the existence of Grand Circus Park. There are more remnants of the Woodward plan that are less easily recognized. In Woodward's plan, lot sizes could be no smaller than 5,000 square feet, effectively eliminating dense development, even in the area that would become downtown. (Woodford 2001, 39). There were also no rowhomes in the plan, and there is still a distinguishing lack of rowhomes in Detroit today. These characteristics set the stage for Detroit's sprawling transportation system, prevalence of single-family homes, even in downtown areas (Ibid). Thus there were many areas that were turned quickly to vacant lots when population declined (as opposed to buildings that could be more easily repurposed). |