Cass Corridor
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Cass Corridor, in Detroit, Michigan, is carved out of the shell regions of what was once a thriving downtown area. The corridor's main street is Cass Avenue, which runs parallel with Woodward Avenue, a main Detroit artery running North towards suburban neighborhoods. It runs from Congress Street, ending a few miles further North at West Grand Boulevard, located in the New Center area.
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[edit] History
Cass Corridor, the area bound by I-75 to the south, Wayne State University to the North, Woodward to the east and Third Street to the west, came to be known as Detroit's skid row by the early 1960s. It became the center of the most concentrated poverty in the State of Michigan, and ranked as one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the nation, with one of the largest concentrations of social service agencies in the country. Although most of the district still holds that stigma, the Cass Corridor is not without its fair share of important places. The Detroit Masonic Temple (the world’s largest), Cass Technical High School (billed as one of the city’s best) and the Metropolitan Institute for High Technology are all located along Cass. Culturally, the Cass Corridor is one of the most significant districts of the city. A few decades back stood the headquarters of Creem Magazine. The predecessor of Rolling Stone and the first rock journal, Creem featured some of the best-known rock critics ever, including Robert Christgau and Lester Bangs.The area is undergoing a facelift, with gentrification spreading south from the university, as dilapidated Victorian apartments and vacant commercial buildings are being renovated into lofts, and young people are moving back to the area for a taste of “urban” living. With the hope of changing the area's notorious image, the city renamed the area "Midtown." The locals, however, have not taken well to the generic name, and still refer to their neighborhood as the Cass Corridor.
[edit] Borders
Cass Corridor follows the path Cass Avenue and its adjoining streets, but may be considered to encompass a wider area. On its short journey, Cass Avenue passes through dilapidated neighborhoods and cuts through the campus of Wayne State University.
[edit] Bohemian population
The student population contributed to the bohemian atmosphere in Cass Corridor. There is a fusion of large interacting cultural cells or tribes, that have allowed these individuals to reap a benefit derived from a cross-fertilization within this greater whole. Many individuals have emerged with vision from this and have gone forth into the world as poets, painters and musicians.The artistic community is closely knit and has produced a plethora of significant artists (see the Tribes of the Cass Corridor site for a comprehensive listing). This includes some of the most significant musical endeavors to come out of the Motor City.
[edit] See also
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