Jos. Campau Historic District

Jos. Campau Historic District

Joseph Campau at Norwalk
Location Along Joseph Campau Street, roughly bounded by Holbrook, Pulaski, Casmere, and Lehman Sts. in Hamtramck, Michigan
Coordinates 42°23′55″N 83°3′32″W / 42.39861°N 83.05889°W / 42.39861; -83.05889Coordinates: 42°23′55″N 83°3′32″W / 42.39861°N 83.05889°W / 42.39861; -83.05889
NRHP Reference # 12000870[1]
Added to NRHP October 17, 2012

The Jos. Campau Historic District is a commercial historic district located along Joseph Campau Street in Hamtramck, Michigan. The district runs from roughly Holbrook and Lehman Streets on the south to Pulaski and Casmere Streets on the north. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.[1]

History

The township of Hamtramck was established in 1798; in 1901 a portion of the township centered around Joseph Campau Street was incorporated as a village.[2] In 1910, Hamtramck was home to 3500 people, and Dodge decided to build a new automotive plant, Dodge Main, at the southeast corner of the village. The plant was completed in 1914 and workers flooded into the area, many of them Polish.[3] By 1920, the population of Hamtramck had boomed to 48,000, an increase of over 13 times in ten years. The increase in population meant an increase in housing and commercial space, and in 1922 Hamtramck incorporated as a city.

Most of the stores along the main shopping street, Joseph Campau, opened in the 1920s.[2] The surrounding neighborhoods were densely packed single-family homes,[3] and this section of street quickly became the second busiest shopping district in southeast Michigan, after only downtown Detroit.[2]

Description

The Jos. Campau Historic District contains 131 structures built along Joseph Campau Street,[4] of which 80 contribute to the district's historic designation.[5] According to the Michigan State Housing Development Authority:

Joseph Campau Street is a unique collection of buildings in southeast Michigan reflecting early 20th century commercial architecture. It is entirely adjacent to a dense neighborhood of single-family homes having a strong, cultural community focus. This connection makes the district still viable today and it retains an atmosphere of a small town main street.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 10/15/12 Through 10/19/12". National Park Service. October 26, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Greg Kowalski (2010), Hamtramck: Then & Now, Arcadia Publishing, pp. 9, ISBN 0738577359
  3. 1 2 "About the City of Hamtramck: History". City of Hamtramck. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Michigan State Housing Development Authority (Oct 22, 2012). "Jos. Campau Historic District Listed in the National Register of Historic Places". Retrieved Nov 4, 2012.
  5. ↑ Ian Perrotta (November 2, 2012). "Main business district receives 'historic' designation". Hamtramck Review.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.