H A M T R A M C K, M I
Writ and photographed by Russ Marshall
All photographs copyrighted © All rights reserved
Conant Market
Winners Square Girls
Joseph Campau Ave
I've lived near this city within a city for
about 11 years. Hamtramck is about a 10
minute drive from my Gratiot Ave loft up
Grand Blvd to Mount Elliot, which forks into
Conant - which is second only to Joseph
Campau, the main drag for retail, bars,
restaurants, etc. I shop there 2 - 4 times a
week at the Polish Market. I have the most
excellant Chicken Gumbo at the Maine
Street Restaurant once a week, the Garlic
Chicken Plate at the Polish Village Cafe' a
couple times a month and an occassional
beer & a game of stick at my favorite bar
right now, The 7 Brothers Bar
A few sparse info notes;
Named after Jean Francois Hamtramck
(1756-1803) French-Canadian, an officer in
the American Revolutionary War.
Originally settled by German farmers,
Hamtramck became a township in 1798, a
village in 1901 and a city in 1922.
Poles and other Europeans came around
1914 for work at the new Dodge Main auto
plant. The wages were $3 a day. The city
population swelled to almost 48,000 by
1919.
2007 population estimates are around
22,000 - down from 56,000 in 1930. Poles
do not dominate the city population as they
once did. Arabs and Middle Easterners
have settled in and established a visible
and valuable presence.
Many artists and musicians have also
found Hamtramck a hip place to live, work
and hang out.
Hamtramck's 2.1 sq. mile area is almost
completely surrounded by Detroit.
about 11 years. Hamtramck is about a 10
minute drive from my Gratiot Ave loft up
Grand Blvd to Mount Elliot, which forks into
Conant - which is second only to Joseph
Campau, the main drag for retail, bars,
restaurants, etc. I shop there 2 - 4 times a
week at the Polish Market. I have the most
excellant Chicken Gumbo at the Maine
Street Restaurant once a week, the Garlic
Chicken Plate at the Polish Village Cafe' a
couple times a month and an occassional
beer & a game of stick at my favorite bar
right now, The 7 Brothers Bar
A few sparse info notes;
Named after Jean Francois Hamtramck
(1756-1803) French-Canadian, an officer in
the American Revolutionary War.
Originally settled by German farmers,
Hamtramck became a township in 1798, a
village in 1901 and a city in 1922.
Poles and other Europeans came around
1914 for work at the new Dodge Main auto
plant. The wages were $3 a day. The city
population swelled to almost 48,000 by
1919.
2007 population estimates are around
22,000 - down from 56,000 in 1930. Poles
do not dominate the city population as they
once did. Arabs and Middle Easterners
have settled in and established a visible
and valuable presence.
Many artists and musicians have also
found Hamtramck a hip place to live, work
and hang out.
Hamtramck's 2.1 sq. mile area is almost
completely surrounded by Detroit.
This page is not complete yet.
I'll be adding photos & more text.
Check back occassionally, thanks.
I'll be adding photos & more text.
Check back occassionally, thanks.
Adams Corner Bar
Pope Park
On Joseph Campau 3
The Neighborhood
Hamtramck has always been distinguished by it's pin-neat
neighborhoods, churches and corner bars. On some blocks, nearly
every house has identical porch railings. Familiar to the attentive
eye; people sweeping the street in front of their home and a
kitchen chair placed there saving the parking space from city
visitors on festival weekends.
neighborhoods, churches and corner bars. On some blocks, nearly
every house has identical porch railings. Familiar to the attentive
eye; people sweeping the street in front of their home and a
kitchen chair placed there saving the parking space from city
visitors on festival weekends.
These next 6 photographs were shot for a magazine story in 1968. Hamtramck
was bustling then but you could still find a quiet corner to play a game of cards
with old friends.
The Workman's Co-Op restaurant, now The Polonia, was a known Communist
Party hangout in the 1950's. The place has changed of course, but the food is
still tasty and the portrait of FDR is still up on the wall.
How 'bout them weiners! No doubt one of Jos Campau's Polish markets.
was bustling then but you could still find a quiet corner to play a game of cards
with old friends.
The Workman's Co-Op restaurant, now The Polonia, was a known Communist
Party hangout in the 1950's. The place has changed of course, but the food is
still tasty and the portrait of FDR is still up on the wall.
How 'bout them weiners! No doubt one of Jos Campau's Polish markets.
A Henri King art exhibit at the
Hamtramck Public Library.
A lone mourner at the Hamtramck
Memorial for the fallen veterans of
WW II and the Korean war.
Colonel Hamtramck rests in peace
here.
Reading news from the homeland.
Hamtramck Public Library.
A lone mourner at the Hamtramck
Memorial for the fallen veterans of
WW II and the Korean war.
Colonel Hamtramck rests in peace
here.
Reading news from the homeland.
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Joseph Campau Storefront
The Belmont Cafe'
Polish Village Cafe'
Polish Village Cafe'
The 1923 Cafe'
1923 Cafe' - Saturday Jazz