“There are cities that get by on their good looks, offer climate and scenery, views of mountains or oceans, rockbound or with palm trees.ĭespite its visual attractions, Detroit has always been gritty as well as glamorous. And there are cities like Detroit that have to work for a living,” said crime novelist Elmore Leonard.Īs Michigan-born Henry Ford grew his automobile dynasty in the early 20th Century, the Paris of the West gradually became Motor City. For decades, Detroit was the assembly line for most of the world’s automobiles. There were hundreds of car factories, including top plants by Ford, Hudson, Packard, Studebaker, Chrysler, and General Motors. Oscar-winning director Francis Ford Coppola was not only born in Henry Ford Hospital, he received his middle name as a tribute to the carmaker: Coppola’s flautist father, assistant orchestra director for The Ford Sunday Evening Hour radio show, wanted to honor a generous sponsor of classical music. Detroit’s blues heritageĭuring the Second World War, Detroit became a center for armaments manufacture. The Ford Motor Company made tank engines, army Jeeps, and nearly 7,000 B-24 Liberator Bombers.

One man who worked as a laborer at Ford’s Rouge Steel Mill during the conflict was blues musician John Lee Hooker, who moved to Detroit as a teenager, joining a fresh wave of migration at the start of the 40s. Hooker was attracted to the city by the prospect of steady employment, and the belief that there was less competition between blues singers in Detroit than in Chicago.

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