Historic Detroit Videos

DETROIT: City on the Move (1965) (Part 1)



This public domain film narrated by then-mayor Jerome P. Cavanaugh was made in 1965 to promote Detroit. The city faced many urban problems and its population was in decline. These difficulties were amplified by the 1967 riots, which are seen by many as one of the most significant events which led the city into a forty year decline. Since the mid 50s, the population has dropped by half and the infrastructure has been destroyed or has decayed due to abuse and neglect.

This film is pretty funny for the mayor's unenthusiastic reading of the narration and the film's denial of the problems which went on to destroy the city, but it wasn't so funny for those who lived this slow-motion deconstruction.

Finally, though, since 2000, the central city truly has been showing signs of life again as investment and residents return to the core, renovations of streets and buildings take place, and new construction develops, but whether this encouraging development can spread out to the far-flung neighborhoods remains to be seen. Fortunately, Detroit has more cultural jewels remaining than those unfamiliar with it tend to credit it, and this greatly helps its prospects.