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. said the
Michigan Daily, "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 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. ==Notable people==