Detroit's Tragic Downfall | The Rise and Fall of Detroit Michigan

Once one of America’s largest cities, Detroit was famously both a behemoth in automobile production and the birthplace of Motown. In recent years, however, it has been amid a financial and social decline—but it was not always this way. Today we will discover the rise and fall of Detroit.

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IT’S HISTORY - Weekly tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

Chapters:
00:54 The early history of Detroit
04:27 Detroit's Industrial Boom
08:04 The Rise of Motown and Detroit's music scene
10:04 Detroit's beginning of the end
13:21 The corruption that finished the city off
14:57 A city on the rise once again

» CONTACT

» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Imana Schoch
Editor - Karolina Szwata,
Host - Ryan Socash

» SOURCES

» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[mikecann]

As a trucker that does automotive runs close to the boarder, I frequent the Metro Detroit area. The city and the wonderful people that live there have come a long way since the bankruptcy. There are community efforts to clean up the neighborhoods and city streets. Some previously abandoned buildings are being cleaned up and put to good use. The citizenry is a very proud bunch, and they collectively are working towards the common goal of making Detroit better every day.

[DETSRC]

I live in downtown Detroit
And as of January 2023 there is, for the first time I can remember, a dozen crains in the air.
And a half dozen being used to build the soon to be international bridge between US & Canada known as
The Gordie Howe Bridge.

[cartermoberg]

I think a more appropriate title would be the rise, fall, and rise again of Detroit. It is truly astonishing to see just how fast the city is starting to bounce back. It’s a snowball effect. As for the cities Beauty, she’s gorgeous. One of her nickname is the Paris of the Midwest. Some of the best art deco architecture in the country!

[TheBaconKing]

I love my city and I'm not ashamed of it. Detroit is a piece of art with a soul. It is full of fight and slowly but surely coming back better than ever!

[freetolook]

For a while, Detroit gave title to abandoned properties to anyone willing to take care of them.
Properties were so cheap, people were buying whole blocks and consolidating them into a single property.

[mikezylstra]

Detroit was once coined "Paris of the West." a reference to its neighborhoods, boulevards, central business district, its artists, nightlife, etc. The first stage of destruction was Dutch Elm disease. The city was once literally draped in huge luxurious elm trees, including its residential streets. Those elms were placed decades ahead of expansion. Our house had twenty year old elms in front of it even though that neighborhood didn't even build up until the late 1940's. Think about that.

[Skydrag.V]

The title of this video should be the rise, fall, and rise again of Detroit. It may not be perfect here yet, but it’s getting better and better every year.

[sharonsart]

I hope the corrupt don't ruin Detroit's progress.

[Brew]

The history of Boblo Island amusement park in the Detroit River is really fascinating. Many structures still standing today

[darkpaw]

I work in a call center. Whenever I hear from Detroit it’s either people leaving or people stuck; never heard anyone genuinely happy to be there. It’s a very sad place.

[auaggoldbug]

Detroit was considered the Paris in America, due to it's similar building architectures

[Altema]

Correct title would be The Rise and Fall and Rise of Detroit Michigan. I saw the worst it had to offer, then watched it begin to recover and grow. The riverwalk is recognized as the best in the world, downtown is clean and feels safer than many other large cities. Although I live in the suburbs now, I drive to Detroit to go on bike group rides and hang out with friends almost weekly. One night I had a flat, and I walked three miles pushing a $2000 bike to my car on Cass Avenue in the dark, and I felt comfortable.

Thanks for covering Motown Records. I'm a studio engineer who was personally trained by Berry Gordy's mastering engineer, Bob Dennis, and it was an amazing experience.

[andrewtannenbaum]

Put the wind and solar farms in places like Detroit, rather than our pristine environments. It can become even a cottage industry. Along with organic farming. Centralize business districts. Preserve and repurpose historic buildings. These are significant sources of employment and revenue.

[AVUSA]

How can anyone even utter the words “Detroit” and “downfall” without mentioning Detroit’s longest serving, racist, and divisive mayor, Coleman Young? Or mentioning the complete exodus after the 1967 riots? Those are the reasons Detroit has never recovered while other cities have.

[glenncheatham]

They wanted the city, so they got it.

[stephenbeauman]

1992 it was 10s of miles of wasteland before you reached downtown.

[jamesschulziii]

I am originally from Detroit now in Port Huron and it's been a while since I have had a chance to spend the day and take it all in. ❤️💯

[shedrickwallace]

He said the growth is slow. I honestly believe slow and steady growth is better than unsustainable booms. I believe this city will return to iconic status.

[jackiepapers]

Downtown definitely has come back and hopefully it will trickle to the neighborhoods.

[cherylcarlson]

I am in Danville, IL and the city government is doing the exact same thing to destroy this once cute, artistic, town of possibility... instead they brought in casino, pot dispensaries and ignore the people who called for illegal fireworks because it would be a bother to write 47 citations for state law and city ordinance, so much better to harass about grass height and triple the mayor's salary when there is 29% poverty rate...