Local Life and Lore in Detroit
By Jennie Phipps, FrontDoor.com | Published: 1/30/2009
The Detroit skyline can be seen from Windsor, Ontario, which is just across the Detroit River.
Are you an East Sider or a West Sider? Stake your claim. Woodward Avenue divides the city of Detroit. East Siders live east of Woodward and West Siders live west of it. It started as a city thing but has survived to include suburbanites. It's all a matter of attitude. East Siders see themselves as the bulwark of the nation -- hardworking, solid citizens on whom the world and the car industry depend. And West Siders? They're too busy making lots of money to worry about silly things like what side of the city they live on -- unless someone calls them on it. Then they're proud to say they can afford to live on the West Side.
The Mile Roads. Finding your way around Detroit is easy once you figure out Detroiters named the roads that run east and west after their distance from the city center, beginning with Five Mile Road. Eight Mile Road is the dividing line between the city of Detroit and the suburbs. By the time you've gotten to Twenty-Three Mile, you're a long way from downtown.
Hello Down There, Eh. Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It's north of Windsor, Ontario, just across the Detroit River.
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