Willis Derry - Detroit Metro Area - Handy Persons

Detroit, Michigan was founded in 1701 by the Frenchman Antoine de Cadillac. Recently popularized by the 1989 Michael Moore movie, "Roger and Me"— Motor City is definitely on the upswing. GM, Ford and other supporting companies all call this town their home. Truly Detroit was once the world's automotive center but now runs second place to Japanese competitors. It still however plays an important role for its source of popular music and other cultural influences. Of course, the Detroit heyday was in the 1950's and it has gradually declined in importance since then. Detroit's population nears 1M and during the 50's it was the 4th largest city in the US. Remember, lots of cars were being pumped out of the steel mills in those days and Detroit was the center of it all. The name Detroit often is used to refer to the larger metro Detroit area, a sprawling land area with a population of roughly 4.5M. Popular neighborhoods include: Midtown, Sherwood Forest, Lafayette Park, Eastern Market, New Center, Palmer Woods, and Green Acres.