Hamtramck
This “city” of just two square miles, totally surrounded by Detroit, was founded in 1914 as an almost
completely Polish enclave. Although the Polish immigrants and most of their descendants are gone,
you’ll see Polish bakeries, Polish meat shops, Polish bookstores, and Polish bars. At the corner of
Belmont and Joseph Campau is a large statue of Pope John Paul II.
The buildings are mostly blue collar relics from the 1920s and 1930s, with boarded up shops
scattered between the gritty but persistent businesses that remain. Behind the stores, Hamtramck
had the highest population density of any Michigan city. Row after row of square two-story houses
are packed together on 30-foot lots. Many of these are actually two-family flats, with one rental
party per floor. Although many of the houses are crumbling, rent is so low that some of them are
still double-occupied. As you can imagine, privacy is fleeting with so many neighbors within earshot.
Hamtramck stubbornly resisted annexation by Detroit when times were good, and now Detroit has
no more interest in aquiring it. The area has long been known as a center for drug gangs and other
street crimes. Several of its mayors went to prison for involvement in the underworld scene.
The tough environment produced some exceptional athletes and strong sports teams over the
years, and neighborhood teams can still be found playing basketball or “street tennis” at all hours
of the night.
The kindred make frequent use of the area’s easy feeding grounds but few make their havens here.
It is a place where outsiders stand out, and the charred remains of burned houses can be found on
every block.
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