Hamtramck, Michigan

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Hamtramck is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,976. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion of the western border which touches the similarly surrounded city of Highland Park. Hamtramck is named for the soldier Jean Francois Hamtramck who was the first American commander of Fort Shelby, the fortification at Detroit.

Hamtramck was originally settled by German farmers, but Polish immigrants flooded into the area when the Dodge Brothers plant opened in 1914. Poles still make up a large proportion of the population. It is sometimes confused with Poletown, a traditional Polish neighborhood which lies mostly in the city of Detroit and includes a small part of Hamtramck.

Over the past thirty years, a large number of immigrants from the Middle East (especially Yemen) and South Asia (especially Bangladesh) have moved to the city.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Culture
5 Economy
6 Hamtramck Festivals
7 External links
8 References

[edit] History

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1910	3,559	—
1920	48,615	1,266%
1930	56,268	15.7%
1940	49,839	-11.4%
1950	43,555	-12.6%
1960	34,137	-21.6%
1970	26,783	-21.5%
1980	21,300	-20.5%
1990	18,372	-13.7%
2000	22,976	25.1%

1796 - Colonel Jean Francois Hamtramck took possession of Detroit after British troops evacuated.
1798 - The Township of Hamtramck was established.
1901 - Hamtramck was established as a village.
1908 - Saint Florian's parish is the first Catholic church in Hamtramck
1910 - Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company break ground for an automotive plant in Hamtramck; rapid influx of European immigrants begins.
1914 - Dodge Brothers plant begins operations.
1922 - Hamtramck is incorporated as a city to protect itself from annexation by Detroit; Peter C. Jezewski is the first mayor.
1926 - St. Florian's present church edifice is built.
2000 - Hamtramck goes into state receivership after running million dollar deficits and political in-fighting.

[edit] Geography

Hamtramck is mostly encircled by Detroit except a small portion that touches the city of Highland Park. Hamtramck lies about five miles (8 km) from the center of Detroit. The I-75 Freeway roughly runs along this city's western border and I-94 runs near its southern border.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.5 km² (2.1 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 22,976 people, 8,033 households, and 4,851 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,204.3/km² (10,900.5/mi²). There were 8,894 housing units at an average density of 1,627.5/km² (4,219.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.96% white (which includes people of Middle Eastern ancestry), 15.12% African American, 0.43% Native American, 10.37% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 1.14% from other races, and 11.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population.

There were 8,033 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.3% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.59.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 110.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,616, and the median income for a family was $30,496. Males had a median income of $29,368 versus $22,346 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,691. About 24.1% of families and 27.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.9% of those under age 18 and 18.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Culture

Hamtramck flourished from 1910 to 1920 as thousands of European immigrants, particularly German and Polish, were attracted by the growing automobile industry. The city has grown increasingly ethnically diverse but still bears many reminders of its Polish ancestry in family names, street names and businesses. A recent survey found 26 native languages spoken by Hamtramck schoolchildren. The city's motto is "A League of Nations".

At the time of the 2000 census, Hamtramck was again experiencing considerable growth, with over 8,000 households and a population of almost 23,000.

Hamtramck is noted for its pączki and produces a large quantity of these delicacies on Shrove Tuesday.

In 1997, the Utne Reader named Hamtramck one of "the 15 hippest neighborhoods in the U.S. and Canada" in part for its punk and alternative music scene, its Buddhist temple, its cultural diversity, and its laid back blue-collar neighborhoods. And in May of 2003, Maxim Blender selected Hamtramck as the second "Most Rock N' Roll City" in the U.S., behind Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY. Hamtramck is home of several of Michigan's most distinguished music venues.

In January 2004, members of the Al-Islah Islamic Center requested permission to use loudspeakers for the purpose of broadcasting the Islamic call to prayer. This request set off a contentious debate in the city, ostensibly about the noise that would be caused by the call to prayer, eventually garnering national attention. Ultimately, Hamtramck passed a noise ordinance in July 2004 regulating the volume level of all religious sounds.^[1]

[edit] Economy

The Polish Art Center, located in the middle of Jos. Campau, is one of the most popular shops in Hamtramck. In it, one can find many Polish works of art and art from other areas of Europe.

[edit] Hamtramck Festivals

[edit] Hamtramck Blowout

The Hamtramck Blowout is an annual music festival in Hamtramck. It is said to be the largest festival of its sort in the world. There's usually over 200 bands there and the festival lasts for 4 days all over bars in the neighborhood.