Sunday, June 17, 2001

David Coates / The Detroit News Harry Shiovitz visits his old house at 1956 Elmhurst. He moved his family out in the 1950s as the street’s racial makeup changed.

Life of one street mirrors city’s fall
Racial fears trigger white flight in ’50s

2: Life on Elmhurst in 1951 would never be better

3: Real estate agents push: ‘Now is the time to sell’

4: House by house, the faces of Elmhurst changed

5: Block by block, pattern repeats throughout city

A snapshot of Elmhurst

Freeways bring change

Roadways carved up city and facilitated white flight

Why did whites leave so quickly?

Realtors’ tactics shaped exodus

Understanding history aids Detroit's future

Monday, June 18, 2001

David Coates / The Detroit News First the looters came, says the Rev. Edith Johnson, who has lived on Elmhurst for 40 years. “They came down the street here singing, ‘Hey, hey, it’s Christmas day,’ and their carts were full of everything they could get.”

1967 riot sent street into wrenching spiral
Once-stable block withers as property owners desert

2: Detroit a synonym for industrial greatness

3: Jewish exodus brings instability to Elmhurst

4: Racial tensions simmer with unemployment

5: July 23, 1967: The riot spills over to Elmhurst

6: Commercial district dies as vacancies gut street

A snapshot of Elmhurst: 1970

Sisters made a home from riot’s aftermath

Lowered property values allowed them to purchase houses

Tuesday, June 19, 2001

David Coates / The Detroit News Irene Chow, of 1939 Elmhurst, put up barbed wire to try to keep criminals off her property.

Crime invasion desolates block
City neighborhood hurt by empty buildings

2: Shrinking tax base saps city budget

3: Drug abuse, crime, poverty on the rise

4: Federal tax laws fuel city's decline

5: 'Don't we understand what's going on here?'

6: Derelict buildings become common sight

Neighbors: Family brought sense of community

Siblings followed oldest sister to city to find jobs

Blight: Wrecking homes standard practice

Failure to pay mortgage put houses on demolition list

A snapshot of Elmhurst: 1984

Wednesday, June 20, 2001

David Coates / The Detroit News The abandoned Shirley Apartments building still looms over the remaining homes on Elmhurst.

Vacant buildings haunt city street

Government ill-prepared to handle problem

2: Government struggles with vacant buildings

3: Building becomes magnet for lowlifes

4: Some residents manage to keep their property up

5: Archer vows to get rid of abandoned buildings

A snapshot of Elmhurst -- 1994

3-day arson spree hurt city’s image

Yearly ‘Devil’s Night’ fires fueled Detroit’s decline

Thursday, June 21, 2001

David Coates / The Detroit News The view looking east from atop the abandoned apartments at 1977 Elmhurst in Detroit shows the block after five decades of white flight, abandonment, crime, absentee landlords and lax bureaucracy.

Homes give way to urban prairie

Few residents remain on once-thriving block

2. Despite many gains, neighborhoods struggle

3. Memories all that is left of a once-vibrant street

4. Archer fails to boost block, stop decline

5. Residents tire of fight to live a normal life

6. As block fades, so do lives of some residents

A snapshot of Elmhurst, 2001

Detroiters struggle with memories

City residents seek reasons, answer for fall of communities