Detroit By Night
Henry Ford and the Automotive Revolution
Surge of the Middle Class
Boom town Detroit from 1910-1930 was erecting row upon row of small single family homes for the
newly prosperous auto workers—tens of thousands of them. Detroit long enjoyed the highest rate of
U.S. home ownership, between 70 and 80 percent. The Great Depression slowed further growth, but
intensive industrial development following World War II brought the boom times back.
Just as Detroit was peaking with over two million residents in the 1950s, the adjacent suburbs began
to boom. With downtown Detroit running low on space, new factories and businesses broke ground
in Warren, Livonia, Roseville, East Detroit, Madison Heights, Birmingham, Royal Oak, Garden City,
and Southfield. All these communities experienced their greatest growth from 1950 to 1960.
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