Historic Detroit
One interesting upside to the huge ups and downs of the Detroit economy has been the renovation of a historic arts district (theaters being the main building use). Detroit tends to feel the booms and busts of the world magnified. When the city experienced serious economic problems in the 1960s, companies left and closed down quickly, and it was a long time before the prospect of redevelopment could be considered (in other cities, these buildings were being knocked down with the purpose of replacing them with new development) (Woodford 2001, 237). Thus, when the economy was back on its feet, or residents began wanting to live in a downtown center again, these buildings we relatively intact and could be more easily renovated into a historic district. In 2003, a historic district was named in one of the prominent downtown areas – Washington Boulevard between Michigan Ave. and Clifford St. (Lords 2003). There are many more historic buildings in addition to this, some still waiting for redevelopment.
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