Information About Detroit

     Detroit, Michigan's largest city, is located in the southeastern part of the state. Its population is 1,027,974 (1990 census). The population of the metropolitan area is 4,382,297 (1990 census). The word detroit is French and means "of the strait."  The city was so named because of its location on the west bank of the Detroit River, a strait connecting Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie. Detroit is the seat of Wayne County and covers a land area of about 365 sq km (140 sq mi). Its normal temperature ranges from a daily mean of 24 deg C (74 deg F) in July to -3 deg C (27 deg F) in January. Annual precipitation averages 785 mm (31 in).

     Detroit is known as the Motor City because 22% of the nation's cars and trucks are manufactured there. It is a steel-producing center that furnishes raw metal and finished products for the automotive industry. In addition to the machine-tool and metal-stamping industries closely allied to automobile manufacturing, the Detroit economy relies on industrial chemical plants, drug manufacturing, aircraft manufacturing, aluminum production, and food processing. The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway (1959) allowed Detroit to become a major port; dozens of steamship lines operate out of the city, shipping materials worldwide. Numerous railroads, airlines, and truck lines combine to make the city a transportation center. The city is connected to Windsor, Ontario, by the Ambassador International Bridge and by a tunnel.

     Among the institutions of higher learning are Wayne State University (1868), the University of Detroit (1877), and the Detroit Institute of Technology (1891). The Detroit Symphony is a major orchestra, and there are important art museums, including the DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS, the Historical Museum, The Museum of African American History, and the Cranbrook Academy of Art (in Bloomfield Hills). The Detroit Zoological Park is outstanding, and there are many municipal parks, bathing beaches, and marinas. Detroit has major league baseball, football, ice hockey, and basketball.

     Detroit was founded in 1701 as a frontier trading post and fort by Antoine de la Mothe CADILLAC. The British captured it in 1760 in the last of the FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS. In 1763, British control of Detroit was threatened by the Indian uprising known as PONTIAC'S REBELLION, but the British remained in control, even through and after the American Revolution. Detroit was ceded to the United States by JAY'S TREATY (1794). Fire destroyed the town in 1805, but it was quickly rebuilt. It was the capital of the Territory of Michigan from 1805 until statehood in 1837, and it continued as the seat of government until the state capital was moved to Lansing in 1847.

     Because of its strategic location, Detroit prospered during the great westward expansion of the first half of the 19th century. The coming of the railroad accelerated the city's growth, and it became a great shipbuilding, shipping, and industrial center.

     The automotive industry arrived with the 20th century. Led by such magnates as Henry FORD, William C. DURANT, Walter P. CHRYSLER, and Ransom E. Olds, the industry converted Detroit into the automotive capital of the world.   By 1960, Detroit was the fourth largest city in the country, but its population since then has declined. It ranked sixth in the 1980 census and seventh in the 1990 census..