Is THIS the WORST City In America? Highland Park, Michigan

It's hard to argue that Highland Park isn't the worst city in America. The median household income is the lowest in the country for cities with a population of 5,000 or more. Highland Park has some fascinating history, as it's the birthplace of the assembly line which allowed automobiles to be built through mass production. It was technology that changed the world to what we know it as today. However, today Highland Park faces issues of extremely high crime rates, and most of the cities residents live in poverty.

Intro: 0:00 - 1:03
Highland Park: 1:03 - 16:40
Highland Park Was Once a Special Place: 16:40 - 23:00
Mostly Urban Ruins: 23:00 - 28:40
Stevens Subdivision Historic District: 28:40 - 32:32

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[ChrisHarden]

Intro: 0:00 - 1:03
Highland Park: 1:03 - 16:40
Highland Park Was Once a Special Place: 16:40 - 23:00
Mostly Urban Ruins: 23:00 - 28:40
Stevens Subdivision Historic District: 28:40 - 32:32


EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD:


WHAT I USE AT HOME:


SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO:

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!

[pzdfv]

A few years ago an EF-4 tornado went through Highland Park. It did $5 million worth of improvements.

[MrLaurak]

I tried to rent an apartment at Glendale and Hamilton back in 1985. I left a deposit; the next day the landlady called me to “come get( your) money, you don’t want to live here” o was a teenage single mother, a 100lb white girl, very naive. God bless that woman.

[ClaudiaMitchell-jnfw]

I was born in Highland Park in 1953. So sad to see the devastating shape it’s in. Breaks my heart.

[munsters]

People make death threats just because you filmed their city? There are some insane people out there.
Keep up the good work.

[ourson]

Heartbreaking, especially at 26:33 when you focus in on the "Best Academy / Former Hospital" at Highland Street and 3rd Ave. That used to be an 800-bed convalescent hospital that was run for a number of years by my grandmother in the 1940's and 50's. If she were still with us, she'd be so sad to see the ruin it's turned into. My mom was born there. Really heartbreakiing.

[michaelwills]

It’s always so bittersweet to see places that have fallen from their heyday. Seeing the rows of empty houses, forlorn yet still beautiful structures which once hosted the coursing energy of families and children, industry and hope for the future. Great vid bro.

[Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

Back when I was about 17, me and a few friends found the salt mine entrances in HP, and not knowing what they were, took interest. They look like subway entrances, and Detroit doesn’t have subways. I didn’t know about the gigantic network of salt mines beneath the city either.

As we were about to enter, an old lady around 70 or so comes flying out of her house screaming at us about how we were going to die if we went in. We decided to take her advice and stayed out.

[elizabeth]

Thank-you for this video! Absolutely loved that you went through this city to show all the abandoned buildings. You made the work easier for people who would want to revive this city and bring back life to abandoned properties for the good of humanity. I see so much potential for this city this is a great opportunity for future humanitarian projects.

[annehallock]

Over 40 years ago, my husband and I shared our first apartment in Highland Park. We lived on Elmhurst, just a few houses west of Woodward. We loved living there. We had good neighbors and had a lovely apartment. We finally left because of crime. I got beat up, after getting off a bus on Woodward. A man tried to steal my purse. We have fond memories of Highland Park. I enjoyed your video but like others, I am so sad to see what it has become. Thanks very much. Safe travels.

[johnfox]

Highland Park Memories.

My roots in the Detroit area go back to the late 1800's. My Great Grandmother was a teenager living with her sister, mother and father in Chicago when the Great Chicago Fire happened in 1871. They all made it out safely, but when the fire was over their house was gone. So they packed up and moved to New York where a few years later she met and married my Great Grandfather. The two of them didn't like New York very much, so they traveled West looking for somewhere to start their new lives.

When they got to Detroit they were both taken in by what they called a "most lovely city", which at the time it was, so they stayed. They bought a house on Bagley Avenue and raised their family, including my Grandfather. When he was a boy, Grandpa and his little friends used to play ball in the street. But sometimes the games were interrupted by a man they nicknamed "Crazy Henry" because Henry would come driving along in one of his latest inventions which was basically a four-wheel bicycle with a noisy gas motor attached. "Crazy Henry" would later go on to create the Ford Motor Company.

Later after Grandpa married Grandma they lived for years in a flat on Second Avenue in beautiful Highland Park where my father was born and grew up. After Dad married Mom they chose to stay in Highland Park, so they eventually bought a nice two story house at 39 Monterey between Woodward and Second. This is the house where I was born and lived in until I was seven. The street had many trees and well kept middle-class houses, and was a nice safe place for a kid like me to make friends and play.

One day when I was still a toddler in diapers, I slipped away unnoticed by my mother and headed off on an adventure. When I got to Second Avenue at the end of our block (which back then was a busy one way street), I watched as the cars starting slowing down and stopping. I remember thinking that was nice of them to stop for me, so I continued across Second and kept on going. Before I got too much farther, a neighbor recognized me and "rescued" me (although I didn't know I needed rescuing) and called my mom to come and get her wayward son. No wonder her hair started turning grey not long after!

In kindergarten and first grade I attended Ferris Elementary school, just two short blocks away up Woodward Avenue to Cortland Street. It was a large and very nice school that even had an indoor swimming pool. Mom and dad had no problem with me walking alone to and from school. After all, this was Highland Park, a beautiful and safe place to live. I fondly remember the McGregor Public Library close by on Woodward, which was a beautiful building and an interesting place for people of all ages to spend some quality time.

In 1958 my parents sold the house and we moved to the northern Detroit suburb of Pleasant Ridge where we lived until I was in college. It wasn't until many years later that I had the opportunity to drive down Monterey, and what I saw just broke my heart. This beautiful, clean, safe neighborhood where I started my life now quite literally looked like a war zone. I would love to think that someday Highland Park could return to its glory days, but until or unless some economic miracle happens, then I just don't see how. It's sad to say, but I'm afraid that eventually after people like me are gone who remember what a special place it once was, Highland Park may simply cease to exist.

John Fox

[michaelbreeland]

I was born in Highland Park in March of 1967. My dad & mom were forced to flee with me to the suburbs shortly afterward when the riots broke out. It's sad to see what's happened since then.

[davidmaynard]

I was a lifelong resident of Michigan, moving there in 11-50 and staying until 10-06. Also in the 80's we did a partnership with Grace Church as street ministers. There is nothing you said about the city that was in error. It wasn't as bad when we were there but that was 40 years ago. Thank you for your efforts and thank you for the update on the way the city has gone down. It saddens me.

[hoganfan]

I worked for Chrysler in HP from 88-91, and then would visit weekly from around ‘95-98 as we still had engine dynamometer labs still running there. It was a 💩 hole back then. A couple of Chrysler employees got murdered back then, one lady had a cinder block thrown through her windshield from an overpass, another had his convertible fire bombed as he pulled off the Davison onto Oakland Ave. A co-worker friend of mine was mugged and badly beaten as he made the mistake of stopping for gas there on his way home. Glad Chrysler moved out.

[joebutchko]

Hey chris- Gran Torino was filmed there also. Your little speech at the end was right on target. I enjoy all your videos.

[cbesthelper]

Henry Ford developed a significant portion of Highland Park. He made sure that homes were built that Ford executives could live in. You can see some of them at around the 14:04 mark. Ford was responsible for developing Oakman Boulevard, which runs from Hamilton Avenue all the way to Grand River. The homes on Oakman Boulevard were mansions.

[MikeinVirginia]

I was born in Detroit in 1952, my father was a tool & die man for Dodge. He preferred Chrysler cars his whole life. We left Michigan when I was 6, but I did kindergarten there and have always been interested in the auto industry and Detroit. So this video is special for me. To top it off, my grandfather was a friend of Will Rodgers, and Will Rodgers was a friend of Henry Ford. So when Will was in town he'd go see Henry and take my grandfather. So my grandfather knew Henry Ford! 😊

[Lagunainkspot]

I was born there. My mother was raped there as a teen in the late 1950’s. I was stolen as a baby out of a diner. It is so sad to see that kind of misery. If you are miserable get out. I put on a USMC uniform to escape my misery.

[derricklogan]

Chris? If someone is upset with you about THE TRUTH, there's NO TRUTH in them! Keep doing what you are doing! ✌️

[ericnortan]

I grew up in the Flint area. Worked all over SE Michigan as an electrician. It always was amazing to me looking at these old buildings and houses, I could see how great this town used to be. Huge homes, really cool architecture, the birthplaces of modern America, now just rotting away. I feel the same about Michigan, definitely loyal to a fault. Four deployments with the Marines to four continents and 27 different countries, yet I couldn't wait to get back to Flint. Makes me wonder what I was thinking. Moved up north years ago, now live in Alpena. Love it up here. I just hope these towns can turn it around.