Greektown Casino - Greektown History

Greektown History
To the people of southeast Michigan, downtown Detroit's Greektown neighborhood means good times and great food. A place to gather with friends and family. Always has, always will.

Greektown Today
You'll find Michigan's most popular independent restaurant, Fishbone's Rhythm Kitchen Cafe. They dish out authentic Cajun grub. Crawfish, hellfire cheese and alligator voodoo to leave your palate spell-bound. In and near Greektown are dozens of restaurants, pubs, shops and nightclubs. Pegasus Taverna tops the list of authentic Greek eateries. You'll also find a bounty of other edibles, including pizza to die for, decadent pastries, Mexican, and more. Around the corner you'll find the cool jazz, four-star cuisine and martini bars of Harmonie Park. Just up the way is Detroit's Fox Town theater district and Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. That's the Greektown of today. Here's a brief history of the district.

Early Greek Immigration (1880s)
Significant numbers of Greeks began to arrive in Detroit, largely from the Peloponnesos area in southern mainland Greece. Most came to Detroit seeking economic opportunities. Even then, historical documents refer to "Greektown," a district just north and east of downtown Detroit that included such streets as Lafayette, Monroe, St. Antoine, Beaubien and Brush.

1900-1920s
Greektown became the economic and social epicenter for Detroit's Greek population. Greeks, independent and amazingly talented entrepreneurs, opened coffeehouses, grocery stores, butcher shops, confectioneries, and restaurants throughout the neighborhood. Greek men gathered in the coffee houses to play cards and backgammon, smoke "nargileh" (a water pipe), sip Turkish coffee, and talk about their homeland and dreams.

1930s-1950s
Most of the Greek immigration to Detroit ended in the 1930s. Though several finer restaurants were open now and attracting suburbanites and other ethnic groups to the district, Greektown of this era remained largely unchanged. The streets were dark at night (because there were few streetlights in the area), and merchants and residents appeared content to live in relative ethnic isolation.

1966
Everything changed. The Greektown of today began taking shape thanks to the vision and leadership of: Diane Edgecomb, an ethnic Greek who had joined the Detroit Central Business District Association (CBDA) to promote downtown Detroit, Detroit business and community leaders who were members of the CBDA, and Greektown merchants who were members of the Greektown Businessmen's Association (today known as the Greektown Merchants Association). In 1966, rumors rumbled that some Greektown merchants were going to close after decades of business. The CBDA dispatched Ms. Edgecomb to a meeting with about 30 merchants to determine what could be done to preserve and enhance Greektown. The Mayor's Office sent a trusted aide, Mary Ball, to the meeting. Together they crafted a plan, backed by the CBDA, to clean up, improve and market Greektown to all of southeastern Michigan.

Spit and Polish
CBDA members worked with an interior-exterior designer, an architect and a landscaper to recommend improvements to the district's streets and building exteriors. New coats of paint and colorful awnings went on the store-fronts. Feta cheese barrels were cleansed of their aroma (using vinegar), filled with flowers and plants, and set on the sidewalks. Walker Cisler, then Chairman of the Board of Detroit Edison, provided funding to purchase additional streetlights.

The Party
To rollout the new and improved Greektown to Metro Detroiters, the CBDA and the merchants decided to close the streets and throw a party during the 1966 July Fourth holiday weekend. Many doubted it would succeed, but more than 100,000 people turned out for the music, belly dancing and terrific food. Annually for some years to come, a Greektown party was held to coincide with Detroit's annual July Fourth celebration, called the Freedom Festival. Eventually the Greektown party became too big, and promotions were curtailed. However, Greektown's identity as a destination for great fun and fantastic food was firmly and forever established.