Мидтаун: тарихы, дамуы және Мэйн-Стейт университетінің ықпалы

The Midtown area is a general mixed use community area of neighborhoods containing successive waves of development that have transformed the area multiple times since it was first platted. The neighborhoods are dominated by the thoroughfare of Woodward Avenue, which runs north and south through the heart of Midtown. This neighborhood was previously known as Cass Corridor and many Detroiters continue to refer to it as such. Woodward Avenue, running north and south through the center of the neighborhood, is primarily inhabited by commercial businesses, public oriented/cultural institutions, and religious buildings. The heart of the cultural center (the Detroit Public Library and the Detroit Institute of Arts) is located directly on Woodward in the northern part of Midtown. The north part of Midtown west of Woodward Avenue is dominated by Wayne State University, whose campus subsumes nearly the entire northwest portion of Midtown north of Warren Avenue and west of Woodward. Wayne State University's campus covers in the northwestern section of Midtown. Wayne's campus is irregular, and parts extend south of Warren (notably Old Main) and north of I 94, out of Midtown and into the New Center neighborhood. Additionally, Wayne's athletic facilities are west of the Lodge Freeway. Wayne is one of Michigan's three research institutions and serves over 32,000 students. The school of education was begun in 1881. In 1896, Old Main was built as Detroit's Central High School. College classes were added in 1913, and these Liberal Arts classes evolved into Detroit Junior College in 1917. The school began offering four year degrees in 1923 and graduate courses were added in 1930. Three years later, the previously disparate colleges were united under one administration into Wayne University. In 1956, the school was renamed Wayne State University. The size of the campus has continued to expand, with the University constructing new buildings as well as repurposing older buildings located in the area. As of fall 2015, nearly 30,000 students were enrolled at Wayne State: over 18,000 undergraduate students and over 8,000 graduate students, with the remainder enrolled in professional programs. The Art Center (or Cultural Center) is centered on the Cultural Center Historic District: the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Horace H. Rackham Education Memorial Building. The district contains several cultural attractions. The library and art museum were built in the 1920s, heralding a City Beautiful movement in Detroit that aimed to establish the area along Woodward as the cultural center of the city. South of Wayne State University, the North Cass (or Cass Farm) area contains a substantial number of multi unit apartment houses, many mixed with earlier single family homes. This area has been heavily influenced by the expansion of Wayne State, with some of WSU's campus extending into the northern section of North Cass, and much of the residential housing stock taken up by Wayne students. There are also a number of commercial buildings, particularly along the Cass Corridor just west of Woodward. Many of these support commercial businesses, and an independent retail study by the University Cultural Center Association has shown that the number of independent retail outlets in Midtown Detroit is increasing. The north Cass section also has a smattering of industrial buildings dating from the automotive heyday of Detroit. Many of these, such as the Willys Overland building, With the addition of other hospitals, such as Detroit Receiving Hospital, the campus of the DMC and its adjacent partner institutions (the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the John D. Dingell Veteran's Administration Hospital Center) now takes up most of the area between Mack Avenue on the south, Warren Avenue on the north, John R. on the west, and Beaubien on the east. Harper Hospital was founded in 1863, receiving its first patients, Civil War soldiers, in 1864. Two years later it opened as a general hospital. In 1882 a new hospital building was constructed on what is now the campus of the DMC. Additional buildings were constructed in 1913 and 1928. Grace Hospital was founded in 1883, and Children's Hospital was founded three years later. Detroit Receiving was founded in 1915, and moved to its present location in 1980. In 2012, two major construction projects were begun in New Center, the Henry Ford Health System started the first phase of a $500 million, 300 acre revitalization project, with the construction of a new $30 million, 275,000 square foot, Medical Distribution Center for Cardinal Health, Inc. and Wayne State University started construction on a new $93 million, 207,000 square foot, Integrative Biosciences Center (IBio). As many as 500 researchers and staff will work out of the IBio Center. South of Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, the area of Midtown around Cass Park is at a substantial distance from both the downtown core and the influence of Wayne State. The area around Cass Park proper is anchored by Cass Technical High School and the Detroit Masonic Temple, but the portion near Woodward Avenue and the once fashionable Park Avenue district are awaiting redevelopment. The Brush Park district proper runs from Mack Avenue to the Fisher freeway, and extends east and west from Woodward Avenue to Beaubien Street. Brush Park was developed beginning in the 1850s as a residential neighborhood for Detroit's elite citizens. Construction peaked in the 1870s and 1880s; one of the last homes built was constructed in 1906 by architect Albert Kahn for his personal use. Early residents of Brush Park included lumber baron David Whitney Jr., his daughter Grace Whitney Evans, Joseph L. Hudson, founder of the eponymous department store, lumber baron Lucien Moore, banker Frederick Butler, and dry goods manufacturer Ransom Gillis. During the 19th century, around 300 homes were built in Brush Park, including 70 Victorian mansions. In the far southeastern corner of Midtown, to the east of Beaubien and Brush Park proper, the now demolished Brewster Douglass Housing Projects were located near the Chrysler Freeway. Midtown contains within its boundaries a number of historic districts and neighborhoods.

[[File:House on Edmund Detroit. jpg|thumb|Restoration in 2006 of the Lucien Moore House (1885) in Brush Park Land titles were granted to settle remaining uncertainty over the ownership of some parcels, which was in part due to the then fairly recent departure of British colonial forces. Askin's daughter Adelaide married Elijah Brush, the scion of the well known Brush family of Detroit; the farm passed on to the couple and eventually their son Edmund. Even into the 1840s, only a handful of buildings, presumably farm structures, were located in the area. In 2011, Midtown's apartment buildings were 94% occupied.

Midtown Detroit is home the Detroit Medical Center, the largest private employer in the city of Detroit with more than 12,000 employees. On March 19, 2010, Vanguard Health Systems announced plans to invest nearly $1.5 B in Detroit Medical Center, including $850 M for expansion and renovation, and $417 M to retire debts, pending approval of its acquisition. The newspaper Metro Times moved to the Arnold E. Frank Building in Midtown in 2017.

In 2016, an estimated 20,000 people lived in Midtown Detroit, a 7 percent increase since 2013. The neighborhood has one of the lowest crime rates in city, in part due to its relationship with the Wayne State University Police who patrol the neighborhood in addition to the Detroit Police. From 2008 to 2015, crime decreased 52 percent in Midtown compared to 18 percent in the city overall.

Wayne State University is located in Midtown. The College for Creative Studies is also located in Midtown and is one of the top art schools in the country. Additionally, the University of Michigan Detroit Center and Michigan State University Detroit Center are both located in the Midtown district.

Prior to its closure, Murray Wright High School served Midtown Detroit. At one point in the first decade of the 21st century a portion of Midtown was served by Dewey PK 8 for elementary school, while a portion was served by Edmonson Elementary. Two separate portions of Midtown were served by Golightly K 8 and Spain PK 8 for elementary school. At one point in the first decade of the 21st century a portion of Midtown was served by Dewey PK 8 for middle school, while another section was served by Sherrard PK 8 for middle school; during that time Spain PK 8 served the rest of Midtown. Previously Malcolm X K 8 in Midtown and Burton K 8 outside of Midtown served portions of Midtown. Prior to its 2012 closure, the Detroit Day School for the Deaf was located adjacent to Midtown.

Detroit Public Library operates the Main Library in Midtown. The current library facility opened on March 21, 1921. The extension wings of the facility opened on June 23, 1963.