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Defunct neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan

Black Bottom was a predominantly black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. The term has sometimes been used to apply to the entire neighborhood including Paradise Valley, but many consider the two neighborhoods to be separate. Together, Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were bounded by Brush Street to the west, the Grand Trunk railroad tracks to the east, south to the Detroit River, and bisected by Gratiot Avenue. The area north of Gratiot Avenue to Grand Boulevard was defined as Paradise Valley. Although the name "Black Bottom" is often erroneously believed to be a reference to the African American community that developed in the 20th century, the neighborhood was actually named by early French colonial settlers for the dark, fertile topsoil found in the area (known as river bottomland). During World War I, Black Bottom was home to many Eastern European Jewish immigrants, and the Great Migration influx of southern African Americans combined with redlining created a majority black neighborhood within Detroit.

Historically, the primary business district was in an area bounded by Vernor, John R., Madison, and Hastings, with Gratiot Avenue running through the district as a "spoke" on the "hub and spoke" road layout of Detroit. The business district included hotels, restaurants, music stores, bowling alleys, shops, policy offices, and grocery stores. There were 17 nightclubs in the business district. The sunken I 375 highway passes directly over where Hastings Avenue once was.

Historically, this geographical area was the source of the River Savoyard, which was buried as a sewer in 1827. The river's flooding produced rich bottomland soils, for which early French colonial settlers named the area "Black Bottom". Before World War I, European immigrants populated the area and built the frame houses. In the early 20th century, European immigrants and blacks lived together in an ad hoc integrated neighborhood. Surrounding neighborhoods passed restrictive covenants prohibiting blacks from purchasing or renting property in the adjacent areas, functionally confining residents to Black Bottom. The area's main commercial avenues were Hastings and St. Antoine streets. Paradise Valley contained night clubs where famous artists such as Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Billy Eckstine, Pearl Bailey, and Count Basie regularly performed. In 1941, Orchestra Hall was named Paradise Theatre. Reverend C. L. Franklin, father of singer Aretha Franklin, originally established his New Bethel Baptist Church on Hastings Street. Black Bottom was one of the poorest and densest sections of Detroit, with a third of black Detroiters living within Paradise Valley. The city of Detroit sent photographers out to document structures. The photographs are now housed in the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library. In 2000, the final three structures of Paradise Valley were razed. A Michigan Historical Site marker sign on the former intersection of Adams Avenue and St. Antoine St., currently near Ford Field, exists as the last physical marker of the neighborhood. Architect Emily Kutil plans to recreate the neighborhood virtually, using photos from the Detroit Public Library's Burton Historical Collection, through a website called Black Bottom Street View. The website will purportedly also feature oral histories from past residents. The University of Michigan and Bedrock Detroit previously announced a new project at 1400 S. Antoine St. (at the intersection of Gratiot Ave. and I 375) for a 190,000 square feet structure including "residential units, a hotel, a conference center and a business collaboration and incubation space." Project funders included Stephen M. Ross and Dan Gilbert. Professor Stephen Ward of the University of Michigan's Department of Afro American studies challenged the project; signing a Change. org petition entitled "#UMichRegentrifiers: Invest in Detroiters" which was created by a University of Michigan student opposing the project. This project was cancelled and moved to a different location downtown in 2021. The site remains empty with no concrete plans as of early 2024. In September 2022, the Federal Highway Administration awarded Detroit a $104 million grant for the I 375 project which would demolish the current 1.062 mile long sunken highway to construct a proposed lower speed boulevard at street level. This project is slated to start construction in 2025. This project will reconnect neighborhood streets cut off by the sunken highway for decades.