When you walk around the central city of Detroit you have to be impressed with the many and varied buildings that are standing as a testement to the range of enterprises which have found a home in the city. From tall skyscrapers like the Guardian Building, the Penobscott Building and the Renaissance Center to the small shops and restaurants like the Lafayette Coney Island or the shops in Greektown you get a feeling that many individuals from a wide variety of places have come here to work and live. Indeed, over three hundred years of change are found in a short walk from the New Center Area at Woodward and Grand Boulavard to Hart Plaza at the riverfront. Consider that from the founding in 1701 to 1800 the community grew from 125 settlers to 2000 residents and then continued to grow through the 19th century to 200,000 residents in 1800. The population explosion from 1800 to 1920 saw the area grow by over 2 million additional reisdents and continue to over 5 million residents in the area today. Much of what you see around the Cultural Center today was farmland in the early part of the 19th century and a woodlot in the 18th century.

What is not as obvious is that the history of the area does not reflect a straight and steady growth. There have been many setbacks and crises such as a fire which destroyed the community in the first years of settlement and then again in the early years of the 19th century. And, there have been battles such as Pontiacs War and the War of 1812 as well as race and labor riots and conflicts. There were numerous epidemics throughout the 19th century especially cholera prior to the public health movement at the turn of the last century.

But, each setback has been followed by a spurt of substantial growth and expansion. In other words, the motto " from the ashes" adopted by Fr. Gabriel Richard after the fire in the early 19th century has served this community very well.