Over the last seven months, my husband and I have explored many different facets of metro Detroit. We’ve toured the RenCen and found Disneyland in Hamtramck. We drank in dive bars and watched the Red Wings not win the Stanley Cup.
But what about what’s on our doorstep? The places that are so familiar to us, the places we see everyday, sometimes get overlooked. Birmingham, for all intents and purposes, is my hometown, my downtown.
Birmingham 8 Movie TheaterI’ve spent so much time in Birmingham, both during my high school days and as an adult. I shopped at Cargo Hold, It’s The Ritz, and Caruso Caruso. I’ve had dinners at Peabody’s, 220, and Streetside. And of course, I’ve had a drink or two at Dick O’Dows. But I never really stopped to look around and find out where this place came from.
So that’s what I did.
If you’ve shopped, had dinner, or hung out in Birmingham the names Hunter, Willits, and Hamilton should ring a bell. These names adorn streets, eateries, and condominiums. The names weren’t picked out of thin air; John West Hunter, Elijah Willits, and John Hamilton were the first settlers of the area.
Greenwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Michigan.In fact, many of the prominent Birmingham names can also be seen in the Greenwood Cemetery, which was established in 1825. The park-like setting of the cemetery makes for a good walk and history lesson combined. Martha Baldwin, who the library is named after, John West Hunter, Elijah Willits, and George Mitchell are all laid to rest here.
John West Hunter is laid to rest here.The origins of the Greenwood Cemetery sounds like a myth or a story you would hear around a campfire. The Utter family, John, Polly, and their daughter Cynthia Ann, lived north of town. In 1825, the Utters boarder Imri Fish, who was mentally disabled, killed Polly and Cynthia Ann with an axe. After this tragic event, Dr. Ziba Swan provided some of his land to establish a community cemetery.
But where did the name Birmingham come from?
The area was first called Hamilton’s and then Piety Hill. I’ve heard stories that it was once called Bagley’s Corners but that was actually north of Birmingham at Woodward and Long Lake.
In about 1832 the civic boosters changed the name to Birmingham with hopes to rival Birmingham, England as an industrial center. After the turn of the century it was clear that Detroit and Pontiac would become the industrial centers of the region. Luckily, Birmingham had already become an upscale residential area.
Birmingham City HallIt’s funny to think it once was exactly a day’s journey from Detroit to Birmingham. And I’m quite jealous that in the early 1900’s locals had the Detroit United Railway, known as the interurban, to transport them from Palmer Park in Detroit to Birmingham. Later this service would reach to Pontiac. The waiting room for the interurban was where Olga’s Kitchen now stands.
So, why am I telling you all this?
Many people think of Birmingham as snooty, snobby, upscale, and expensive. But I’m not snooty or snobby. I'm certainly not rich and most of my clothes are from Old Navy and The Gap. And I hang out there! Birmingham is my hometown and I like it.