History Main / MotorCity

It is geographically notable for a few reasons. Despite being separated from Windsor, Ontario by the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, it features the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing -- the Ambassador Bridge. It is also the only place in the contiguous 48 States where Canada is ''south'' of the U.S., since Windsor juts out to the west just so. Detroit itself is surrounded by smaller independent municipalities, who form the Detroit Metro area, and whose people get kind of cheesed off when everyone just lumps them in. With both a Spanish {{Univision}} station in Detroit and a {{CBC}} tower in Windsor rebroadcasting the main French feed from {{Montreal}}, it was for many years the only area in North America where you can watch free-to-air TV in three languages. [[note]]Providence, Rhode Island now has English, Spanish, and Portuguese stations. And Los Angeles has English, Spanish and Japanese-language stations.[[/note]]

It is geographically notable for a few reasons. Despite being separated from Windsor, Ontario by the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, it features the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing -- the Ambassador Bridge. It is also the only place in the contiguous 48 States where Canada is ''south'' of the U.S., since Windsor juts out to the west just so. Detroit itself is surrounded by smaller independent municipalities, who form the Detroit Metro area, and whose people get kind of cheesed off when everyone just lumps them in. With both a Spanish {{Univision}} station in Detroit and a {{CBC}} tower in Windsor rebroadcasting the main French feed from {{Montreal}}, it was for many years the only area in North America where you can watch free-to-air TV in three languages. [[note]]Providence, Rhode Island now has English, Spanish, and Portuguese stations.[[/note]]

-->-'''-Michael Casserly''', executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools

Detroit, Michigan is the center of America's automotive industry. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have headquarters there. Its most recognizable structure is the GM Marriott Renaissance Hotel. In TheEighties there were parts of town where they would [[PlaceWorseThanDeath shoot at anyone]] [[NoTrueScotsman passing by in a Japanese car]]. Today the shooting is much less discriminate (for several years, it alternated back and forth with UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} for the distinction of the US city with the highest murder rate).

It is geographically notable for a few reasons. Despite being separated from Windsor, Ontario by the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, it features the busiest US-Canada border crossing -- the Ambassador Bridge. It is also the only place in the contiguous 48 States where Canada is ''south'' of the US, since Windsor juts out to the west just so. Detroit itself is surrounded by smaller independent municipalities, who form the Detroit Metro area, and whose people get kind of cheesed off when everyone just lumps them in. With both a Spanish-language {{Univision}} station in Detroit and a {{CBC}} tower in Windsor rebroadcasting the main French-language feed from {{Montreal}}, it was for many years the only area in North America where you can watch free-to-air TV in three languages. [[note]]Providence, Rhode Island now has English, Spanish, and Portuguese stations.[[/note]]

The metro Detroit area is home to a myriad of cultures and ethnicities, including one of the largest Arab populations in North America, centered in Dearborn (with a sizable [[UsefulNotes/{{Lebanon}} Lebanese]] outpost in West Bloomfield -- where they get along rather interestingly with the large Jewish population). It is also very economically-segregated but even more racially-segregated, with poorer minorities living in the city, the white working-class in the eastern suburbs, and the predominantly white and Asian-American upper-middle-class in the western suburbs and Grosse Pointe. The Detroit metro area ranks second in the nation in racial segregation, after Gary, Indiana.

Depending on who you ask, the city may be on the cusp of a rebirth, or completing the slide from DyingTown into GhostCity. The trend (unfortunately) seemed to move toward the latter, thanks mostly to the [[RefugeInAudacity almost surreal corruption]] of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and the federal bailout of General Motors and Chrysler which resulted in smaller companies, with the requisite job and wage cutbacks. The new mayor, David Bing, is infinitely more competent (although that's hardly saying much), Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder has shown at least a vague interest in getting the city going again (although the methods he proposes are [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement very, very controversial]]), and the Big Three have returned to profitability and (more importantly) actually make good cars again, so [[ThrowTheDogABone things might get better]]. [[TemptingFate Maybe]]. Perhaps.

AKA "Hockeytown" for the [[NationalHockeyLeague Detroit Red Wings]], a perennial StanleyCup contender.

* Anita Baker (born in Toledo, Ohio but raised in Detroit, started her music career there, and currently lives in Grosse Pointe)

* Creator/PsychopathicRecords artists Music/InsaneClownPosse, [[Music/AnybodyKilla ABK]], Music/BlazeYaDeadHomie and Music/{{Twiztid}}.

** His father, George Romney, was an executive at American Motors; the elder Romney was also a Republican Governor of Michigan in TheSixties (and was a vocal supporter of the CivilRightsMovement and of equality for blacks within the LDS Church) and [[GenerationXerox a candidate for President]] in 1968 (he was defeated in the primary by RichardNixon. One wonders how things might have been different).

* BruceCampbell (Royal Oak)

* Music/{{Esham}} (born in New York City; formed the Detroit-based rap label, ReelLifeProductions)

It is geographically notable for a few reasons. Despite being separated from Windsor, Ontario by the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, it features the busiest US-Canada border crossing -- the Ambassador Bridge. It is also the only place in the contiguous 48 States where Canada is ''south'' of the US, since Windsor juts out to the west just so. Detroit itself is surrounded by smaller independent municipalities, who form the Detroit Metro area, and whose people get kind of cheesed off when everyone just lumps them in. With both a Spanish-language {{Univision}} station in Detroit and a {{CBC}} tower in Windsor rebroadcasting the main French-language feed from {{Montreal}}, it was for many years the only area in North America where you can watch free-to-air TV in three languages. [[hottip:*:Providence, Rhode Island now has English, Spanish, and Portuguese stations.]]

* PsychopathicRecords artists Music/InsaneClownPosse, [[Music/AnybodyKilla ABK]], Music/BlazeYaDeadHomie and {{Music/Twiztid}}.

* Mitt Romney

-->''[[ItIsBeyondSaving "This city has no viable future."]]''
-->--Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools

* The {{Music/MC5}}

* Most of the {{Motown}} Records artists in the 1960s and '70s, including but not limited to the Four Tops, the Temptations, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.

* Iggy Pop and TheStooges

* ''{{RoboCop}}''

* ''TheCrow''

* ''EightSimpleRules''

* ''HomeImprovement'' (Royal Oak)

It is geographically notable for a few reasons. Despite being separated from Windsor, Ontario by the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, it features the busiest US-Canada border crossing -- the Ambassador Bridge. It is also the only place in the contiguous 48 States where Canada is ''south'' of the US, since Windsor juts out to the west just so. Detroit itself is surrounded by smaller independent municipalities, who form the Detroit Metro area, and whose people get kind of cheesed off when everyone just lumps them in. With both a Spanish-language {{Univision}} station in Detroit and a {{CBC}} tower in Windsor rebroadcasting the main French-language feed from {{Montreal}}, it's one of the only areas in North America where you can watch free-to-air TV in three languages, the other being Providence, Rhode Island (English, Spanish, and Portuguese).

AKA "Hockeytown" for the Detroit Red Wings, a perennial Stanley Cup contender.

Depending on who you ask, the city may be on the cusp of a rebirth, or completing the slide from DyingTown into GhostCity. The trend (unfortunately) seemed to move toward the latter, thanks mostly to the [[RefugeInAudacity almost surreal corruption]] of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and the federal bailout of General Motors and Chrysler which resulted in smaller companies, with the requisite job and wage cutbacks. The new mayor, David Bing, is infinitely more competent (although that's hardly saying much), Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder has shown at least a vague interest in getting the city going again (although the methods he proposes are [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement very, very controversial]]), and the Big Three have returned to profitability and (more importantly) actually make good cars again, so [[HopeSpot things might get better]]. [[TemptingFate Maybe]]. Perhaps.

Detroit, Michigan is the center of America's automotive industry. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have headquarters there. Its most recognizable structure is the GM Marriott Renaissance Hotel. In TheEighties there were parts of town where they would [[PlaceWorseThanDeath shoot at anyone]] [[SeriousBusiness passing by in a Japanese car]]. Today the shooting is much less discriminate (for several years, it alternated back and forth with UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} for the distinction of the US city with the highest murder rate).

Detroit, Michigan is the center of America's automotive industry. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have headquarters there. Its most recognizable structure is the GM Marriott Renaissance Hotel. In TheEighties there were parts of town where they would [[PlaceWorseThanDeath shoot at anyone]] passing by [[NoTrueScotsman in a Japanese car]]. Today the shooting is much less discriminate (for several years, it alternated back and forth with [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philadelphia]] for the distinction of the U.S. city with the highest murder rate).

It is geographically notable for a few reasons. Despite being separated from Windsor, Ontario by the Detroit River and lake St.Clair, it is the busiest border crossing between the United States and Canada -- the Ambassador Bridge. It is also the only place in the lower 48 states where Canada is ''south'' of the US, since Windsor juts out to the west just so. The city of Detroit itself is surrounded by smaller independent municipalities, who form the Detroit Metro area, and whose people get kind of cheesed off when everyone just lumps them in. With both a Spanish-language {{Univision}} station in Detroit and a {{CBC}} tower in Windsor rebroadcasting the main French-language feed from {{Montreal}}, it's one of the only areas in North America where you can watch free-to-air TV in three languages, the other being Providence, Rhode Island (English, Spanish, and Portuguese).

The metro Detroit area is home to a myriad of cultures and ethnicities, including one of the largest Arab populations in North America, centered in Dearborn (with a sizable [[UsefulNotes/{{Lebanon}} Lebanese]] outpost in West Bloomfield--where they get along rather interestingly with the large Jewish population). It is also very economically-segregated but even more racially-segregated, with poorer minorities living in the city, the White working-class in the eastern suburbs, and the predominantly White and Asian-American upper-middle-class in the western suburbs and Grosse Pointe. The Detroit metro area ranks second in the nation in racial segregation, after Gary, Indiana.

* Music/{{Eminem}} (Warren)

* Tom Hulce (Plymouth). Famous for playing [[AnimalHouse Pinto]], [[{{Amadeus}} Mozart]], and [[TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Quasimodo]].

Detroit, Michigan is the center of America's automotive industry. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have headquarters there. Its most recognizable structure is the GM Marriott Renaissance Hotel. In TheEighties there were parts of town where they would [[PlaceWorseThanDeath shoot at anyone]] passing by [[SeriousBusiness in a Japanese car]]. Today the shooting is much less discriminate (for several years, it alternated back and forth with [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philadelphia]] for the distinction of the U.S. city with the highest murder rate).

Detroit, Michigan is the center of America's automotive industry. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have headquarters there. Its most recognizable structure is the GM Marriott Renaissance Hotel. In TheEighties there were parts of town where they would [[PlaceWorseThanDeath shoot at anyone]] passing by [[SeriousBusiness in a Japanese car]]. Today the shooting is much more random (for several years, it alternated back and forth with [[UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} Philadelphia]] for the distinction of the U.S. city with the highest murder rate).

Depending on who you ask, the city may be on the cusp of a rebirth, or completing the slide from DyingTown into GhostCity. The trend (unfortunately) seemed to move toward the latter, thanks mostly to the [[RefugeInAudacity almost surreal corruption]] of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and the federal bailout of General Motors and Chrysler which resulted in smaller companies, with the requisite job and wage cutbacks. The new mayor, David Bing, is infinitely more competent (although that's hardly saying much), Michigan's Governor Rick Snyder has shown at least a vague interest in getting the city going again (although the methods he proposes are [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement very, very controversial]]), and the Big Three have returned to profitability and (more importantly) actually make good cars again, so [[TemptingFate things might get better]]. Maybe. Perhaps.

* Anita Baker (born in Toledo, Ohio, but raised in Detroit, started her music career there, and currently lives in Grosse Pointe)