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Lower Town: A Diverse Working Class Neighborhood
Lower Town was settled in 1824. During its first forty years, it functioned as a separate neighborhood with its own schools. In 1861, however, Lower Town was annexed by Ann Arbor, and was designated the Fifth Ward of the city. This census table gives the ethnic background of people living on Wall Street in Lower Town in 1900. The community is German, English, Irish, Canadian, and African American. It also lists the jobs of the residents of Wall Street in 1900, illustrating the working class nature of the community.
Lower Town began as a working class neighborhood because of the industry that located along the river and the modest salaries of local business owners. People of many cultures moved in and established a healthy and long-lasting diversity. There was a large African American population because Lower Town, like the Old Fourth Ward, did not impose the deed restrictions that other parts of the city did. Throughout much of the 20th century, African Americans made up the majority of residents. Their presence has since declined, however, because of loss of housing stock for the construction of University of Michigan buildings, and because of the elimination of restrictive deeds in other parts of the city.
Twentieth Century Lower TownThe neighborhood remained primarily working class when the industries left because a lack of new development helped to keep property prices low. Furthermore, the university built accessory units to its medical school in Lower Town, tearing down rows of houses, and fragmenting the neighborhood streetscape and cohesion. Many parcels were cleared for the new buildings, but some of them remained underdeveloped. Yet happily, parts of Lower Town, such as upper Broadway and the Pontiac Trail area retained their traditional housing patterns. Recently, there has been renewed development interest in Lower Town and its potential to once again be a densely populated, thriving neighborhood. Coinciding with this interest is an active movement to improve and expand the Huron River Greenway and make it an integral part of Lower Town's character and amenities.
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