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{{short description|State highway in Michigan, United States}}{{featured article}}{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2017}}

factoids

|map_custom=yes|map_notes=M-1 highlighted in red|map_alt=M-1 and Woodward Avenue runs north-northwesterly away from the Detroit River between Detroit and Pontiac in southeastern Michigan|length_mi= 21.488|length_ref=|history=Woodward Avenue platted in 1805 and a state highway since 1913DATE = JUNE 13, 1999 URL = HTTP://APPS.DETNEWS.COM/APPS/HISTORY/INDEX.PHP?ID=205 THE DETROIT NEWS >ACCESS-DATE = JUNE 6, 2012 OCLC = 137348716 ARCHIVE-DATE = JANUARY 4, 2009, |tourist=

• (File:MUTCD D6-4.svg|24px|alt=|link=) Automotive Heritage Trail All-American Road
• (File:Michigan Recreational Heritage Route.svg|24px|alt=|link=) Woodward Avenue Recreational Heritage Route
• (File:US-NationalParkService-ShadedLogo.svg|24px|alt=|link=) MotorCities National Heritage Area

YEAR = 2023 URL = HTTPS://WWW.MCGI.STATE.MI.US/NFC/#, July 18, 2023, |direction_a=South|terminus_a=Adams Avenue in Detroit|junction=

• {{jct|state=MI|I|94}} in Detroit
• {{jct|state=MI|M|8}} in Highland Park
• {{jct|state=MI|M|102}} at Detroit–Ferndale
• {{jct|state=MI|I|696}} in Royal Oak|direction_b=North

state=MI7524dab2=Pontiac}} near PontiacWayne County, Michigan>Wayne, Oakland|previous_type=I|previous_route=696|next_type=US|next_route=2}}M-1, also known as Woodward Avenue, is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan. The highway, called “Detroit’s Main Street”, runs from Detroit north-northwesterly to Pontiac. It is one of the five principal avenues of Detroit, along with Michigan, Grand River, Gratiot, and Jefferson avenues. These streets were platted in 1805 by Judge Augustus B. Woodward, namesake to Woodward Avenue. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has listed the highway as the Automotive Heritage Trail, an All-American Road in the National Scenic Byways Program. It has also been designated a Pure Michigan Byway by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and was also included in the MotorCities National Heritage Area designated by the US Congress in 1998.The trunkline is the dividing line between Detroit’s East and West sides and connects to some of the city’s major freeways like Interstate 94 (I-94, Edsel Ford Freeway) and M-8 (Davison Freeway). Woodward Avenue exits Detroit at M-102 (8 Mile Road) and runs through the city’s northern suburbs in Oakland County on its way to Pontiac. In between, Woodward Avenue passes through several historic districts in Detroit and provides access to many businesses in the area. The name Woodward Avenue has become synonymous with Detroit, cruising culture and the automotive industry.Woodward Avenue was created after the Great Fire of 1805 in Detroit. The thoroughfare followed the route of the Saginaw Trail, an Indian trail that linked Detroit with Pontiac, Flint, and Saginaw. The Saginaw Trail connected to the Mackinaw Trail, which ran north to the Straits of Mackinac at the tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. In the age of the auto trails, Woodward Avenue was part of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway that connected Portland, Maine, with Portland, Oregon, through Ontario in Canada. It was also part of the Dixie Highway, which connected Michigan with Florida. Woodward Avenue was the location of the first mile (1.6 km) of concrete-paved roadway in the country. When Michigan created the State Trunkline Highway System in 1913, the roadway was included, numbered as part of M-10 in 1919. Later, it was part of US Highway 10 (US 10) following the creation of the United States Numbered Highway System. Since 1970, it has borne the M-1 designation. The roadway carried streetcar lines from the 1860s until the 1950s; a new streetcar line known as the QLine opened along part of M-1 in 2017.

Route description

Like other state highways in Michigan, the section of Woodward Avenue designated M-1 is maintained by MDOT. In 2021, the department’s traffic surveys showed that on average, 68,359 vehicles used the highway daily south of 14 Mile Road in w:Royal Oak, Michigan|Royal Oak]] and 15,909 vehicles did so each day in north of Chicago Boulevard in w:Detroit|Detroit]], the highest and lowest counts along the highway, respectively.MAP, Michigan Department of Transportation, 2023,mdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=50dd462048fd4971998567699698f285, Traffic AADT Map, Michigan Department of Transportation, July 18, 2023, All of M-1 is listed on the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country’s economy, defense, and mobility.WEB, Stefan, Natzke, Mike, Neathery, Kevin, Adderly, amp, June 20, 2012,www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/, What is the National Highway System?, National Highway System, Federal Highway Administration, July 1, 2012,web.archive.org/web/20120704194551/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/, July 4, 2012, live, As well as the sections of Woodward Avenue in Pontiac that are part of Business Loop I-75 (BL I-75) and Business US 24 (Bus. US 24), all of M-1 is a Pure Michigan Byway and an All-American Road. Woodward Avenue is considered to be the divider between the East and West sides of the city of Detroit.NEWS, Susan, Whitall, March 12, 2007, Woodward Avenue: Michigan’s Main Street,www.detroitnews.com/article/20070312/METRO/703120330/Woodward-Avenue--Michigan-s-Main-Street, The Detroit News, 1A, 8A, 1055-2715, 137348716, July 16, 2012,www.detroitnews.com/article/20070312/METRO/703120330/Woodward-Avenue--Michigan-s-Main-Street," title="web.archive.org/web/20150102140458www.detroitnews.com/article/20070312/METRO/703120330/Woodward-Avenue--Michigan-s-Main-Street,">web.archive.org/web/20150102140458www.detroitnews.com/article/20070312/METRO/703120330/Woodward-Avenue--Michigan-s-Main-Street, January 2, 2015,

Detroit and Highland Park

File:DetroitWoodwardAvespringsummerday.jpg|left|thumb|Merchants Row on Woodward between Grand Circus Park and Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit, just south of the alt=Photograph ofWoodward Avenue starts at an intersection with Jefferson Avenue next to Hart Plaza about {{convert|750|ft|m}} from the Detroit River. The plaza is regarded as the birthplace of the Ford Motor Company,SIGN, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, n.d.,www.flickr.com/photos/30711379@N07/4800953286/, Ford Motor Company, Michigan State Historical Marker, Hart Plaza, Detroit, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, December 8, 2012, Flickr, live,www.flickr.com/photos/30711379%40N07/4800953286/," title="web.archive.org/web/20131221104519www.flickr.com/photos/30711379%40N07/4800953286/,">web.archive.org/web/20131221104519www.flickr.com/photos/30711379%40N07/4800953286/, December 21, 2013, and it is located near Huntington Plaza and the Renaissance Center, headquarters for General Motors (GM).NEWS, Todd, Nissen, May 17, 1996,nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF99421B6BF901&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D, GM Buys Renaissance Center for its World Headquarters, The Buffalo News, Reuters, 0745-2691, {{oclc, 61311995, 867310047, |access-date= December 8, 2012 |via= NewsBank |url-access= subscription |archive-date= December 15, 2013 |archive-url=nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF99421B6BF901&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D" title="web.archive.org/web/20131215113905nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF99421B6BF901&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D">web.archive.org/web/20131215113905nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF99421B6BF901&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |url-status= live }} The first block of Woodward Avenue, between Jefferson Avenue and Larned Street, is a pedestrian plaza, the Spirit of Detroit Plaza, home of the namesake statue used to symbolize the city.NEWS, Gross, Allie, Detroit City Council Votes to Keep Spirit of Detroit Plaza Downtown, Detroit Free Press, July 23, 2019,www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2019/07/23/spirit-plaza-permanent-downtown-detroit-park/1809857001/, August 11, 2022, Woodward Avenue runs north-northwesterly away from the river through the heart of downtown Detroit and the Financial District. Along the way, it passes several important and historic sites, including notable buildings like One Woodward Avenue, the Guardian Building, and The Qube. Further north, Woodward Avenue runs around Campus Martius Park and enters the Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District, a retail, commercial, and residential district listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). After that historic district, the avenue travels through the middle of Grand Circus Park; the northern edge of the park is bounded by Adams Avenue, where state maintenance begins.MDOT MAP, 2016, B9–F11, Detroit, {{google maps |url =www.google.com/maps/dir/42.337036,-83.0509/42.60356,-83.26393/@42.4704669,-83.29784,61331m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m21!4m20!1m16!3m4!1m2!1d-83.069359!2d42.3643737!3s0x8824d299cf1564df:0x727355733e815b59!3m4!1m2!1d-83.09926!2d42.40876!3s0x8824cde9be28a6cf:0xc2a8551a8968b60d!3m4!1m2!1d-83.1872!2d42.51908!3s0x8824c63d8c3e709b:0xca3fd299b226bd2d!4e1!1m1!4e1!3e0?hl=en |title = Overview Map of M-1 |access-date = May 21, 2017 }}North of Adams Avenue, Woodward Avenue is a state trunkline designated M-1. The highway crosses to the west of Comerica Park and Ford Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Detroit Tigers and the National Football League’s Detroit Lions, respectively. Woodward passes the historic Fox Theatre before it crosses over I-75 (Fisher Freeway) without an interchange; access between the two highways is through the service drives that connect to adjacent interchanges. North of the freeway, M-1 passes Little Caesars Arena, home of the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings and the National Basketball Association’s Detroit Pistons. A six-lane street, the highway travels through mixed residential and commercial areas of Midtown including the Midtown Woodward Historic District, another district listed on the NRHP. South of I-94, Woodward heads through the Cultural Center Historic District, which includes the campus of Wayne State University, the Detroit Public Library, and the Detroit Institute of Arts; the institute and the nearby Detroit Historical Museum showcase the city’s automotive history.WEB, Federal Highway Administration, n.d.,byways.org/explore/byways/13754/itinerary/70729, Woodward Avenue Auto History Tour, America’s Byways, Federal Highway Administration, December 8, 2012,byways.org/explore/byways/13754/itinerary/70729," title="web.archive.org/web/20100209033457byways.org/explore/byways/13754/itinerary/70729,">web.archive.org/web/20100209033457byways.org/explore/byways/13754/itinerary/70729, February 9, 2010, File:Wayne State U-Woodward Avenue.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph showing theNorth of I-94, Woodward passes through New Center; this district is home to Cadillac Place, the former headquarters of GM. The neighborhoods on either side of the highway transition in composition north of New Center; this area is mostly residential in nature. Between the intersections with Webb Street/Woodland Street and Tuxedo Street/Tennyson Street, Woodward Avenue leaves the city of Detroit for the first time and crosses into Highland Park, an enclave within Detroit. It is within Highland Park that M-1 intersects M-8, the Davison Freeway. Woodward passes over the Davison, which was the first urban, depressed freeway in the US,WEB, Michigan Department of Transportation,www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9620_11154-129682--,00.html, National Firsts, n.d., May 21, 2017, Michigan Department of Transportation,www.michigan.gov/mdot/0%2C4616%2C7-151-9623_11154-129682--%2C00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20170121224113www.michigan.gov/mdot/0%2C4616%2C7-151-9623_11154-129682--%2C00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20170121224113www.michigan.gov/mdot/0%2C4616%2C7-151-9623_11154-129682--%2C00.html, January 21, 2017, live, at an interchange south of Highland Park’s downtown business district. M-1 crosses that district and runs next to the historic Highland Park Ford Plant, home of the original moving assembly line used to produce Model Ts;WEB, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, June 22, 2012, Highland Park Ford Plant,www.michigan.gov/mshda/0,4641,7-141-54317_19320_61909-54592--,00.html, Historic Sites Online, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, December 12, 2012, live,web.archive.org/web/20121223172711/https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/0%2C4641%2C7-141-54317_19320_61909-54592--%2C00.html, December 23, 2012, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, WEB, National Park Service, n.d.,www.nps.gov/nr/travel/detroit/d32.htm, Highland Park Ford Plant, Detroit: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary, National Park Service, December 12, 2012, live,www.nps.gov/nr/travel/detroit/d32.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20121220095822www.nps.gov/nr/travel/detroit/d32.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20121220095822www.nps.gov/nr/travel/detroit/d32.htm, December 20, 2012, National Park Service, opened in 1910, the plant’s assembly line dropped the time needed to build a car from 12 hours to 93 minutes and allowed Ford to meet demand for the car.M-1 crosses back into Detroit at the intersection with McNichols Road; the latter street occupies the 6 Mile location in Detroit’s Mile Road System.BOOK, Gavrilovich, Peter, McGraw, Bill, 2000, The Detroit Almanac: 300 Years of Life in the Motor City, Detroit, Detroit Free Press, 20–1, 978-0-937247-34-1, 45227386, amp, North of this intersection, Woodward Avenue widens into a boulevard, a divided street with a median; left turns along this section of roadway are made by performing a Michigan left maneuver using the U-turn crossovers in the median. Between McNichols and 7 Mile Road, Woodward Avenue travels to the east of the Detroit Golf Club in the Palmer Park area. North of 7 Mile, the highway runs to the west of the Michigan State Fairgrounds and to the east of the Palmer Woods Historic District. The northern edge of the fairgrounds is at M-102 (8 Mile Road), which is also where Woodward Avenue exits Detroit for the second time; the two boulevards cross in a large interchange.

Oakland County

(File:M-1 at I-696.jpg|thumb|left|M-1 southbound approaching I-696|alt=Photograph of)Crossing the border into the suburb of Ferndale in Oakland County, the highway runs through residential neighborhoods but is lined with adjacent businesses. The intersection with 9 Mile Road marks the suburb’s downtown area. Further north in Pleasant Ridge, the north-northwesterly path of Woodward Avenue changes as the road turns to the northwest. After the curve, M-1 meets I-696 (Reuther Freeway); immediately north of this interchange in Huntington Woods is the Detroit Zoo. North of 11 Mile Road, Woodward Avenue forms the border between Berkley to the west and Royal Oak to the east. The highway passes the Roseland Park Cemetery north of 12 Mile Road before crossing fully into Royal Oak. Near 13 Mile Road, the trunkline passes through a commercial district anchored by a shopping center and Beaumont Hospital. North of 14 Mile Road in Birmingham, M-1 and Woodward Avenue leaves the original route, which is named Old Woodward Avenue, and runs to the east of it to bypass that suburb’s downtown area. The highway crosses the River Rouge and returns to its original routing north of Maple (15 Mile) Road.(File:M-1 in Bloomfield Hills.png|thumb|Looking south along M-1 in Bloomfield Hills|alt=Photograph of)North of Birmingham, Woodward crosses through part of Bloomfield Township for the first time before entering Bloomfield Hills. That suburb’s downtown is centered on the intersection with Long Lake Road; Woodward passes between a pair of golf courses north of there. The highway enters the south side of Pontiac’s residential neighborhoods after crossing back into Bloomfield Township. At the intersection with Square Lake Road, M-1 terminates. Woodward Avenue continues northwesterly into Pontiac carrying the BL I-75 and Bus. US 24 designations; it terminates after the two directions of the boulevard diverge and form a one-way loop around the city’s business district.

Cultural significance

Scenic and historic designations

(File:Woodwardsign.jpg|thumb|80px|All-American Road signs installed in 2011|alt=Custom road sign)Many historical sites are located along Woodward Avenue, which was included in the MotorCities National Heritage Area when it was created on November 6, 1998.WEB, History (U.S. TV channel), The History Channel, n.d., Nov 6, 1998: President Clinton designates ‘Automobile National Heritage Area’ in Detroit,www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-clinton-designates-automobile-national-heritage-area-in-detroit, This Day in History, The History Channel, April 23, 2012,www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-clinton-designates-automobile-national-heritage-area-in-detroit," title="web.archive.org/web/20121104094925www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-clinton-designates-automobile-national-heritage-area-in-detroit,">web.archive.org/web/20121104094925www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-clinton-designates-automobile-national-heritage-area-in-detroit, November 4, 2012, live, The road was designated what is now called a Pure Michigan Byway by MDOT in 1999,NEWS, Brian, Ballou, August 4, 1999, Woodward Winner: Storied Avenue Labeled a Michigan Heritage Road; Plans In Works for Continuous Identity from Detroit to Pontiac,www.newspapers.com/clip/21829009/woodward_winner/, Detroit Free Press, Oakland Final, 1B, 1055-2758, {{oclc, 10345127, 137343179, |access-date = July 13, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }} and a National Scenic Byway by the FHWA National Scenic Byways Program on June 13, 2002,NEWS, Dietderich, Andrew, Woodward Group to Add Members South of Eight Mile, Crain’s Detroit Business, April 19, 2004, July 1, 2017,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20040419/SUB/404190861/woodward-group-to-add-members-south-of-eight-mile, subscription, July 2, 2017,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20040419/SUB/404190861/woodward-group-to-add-members-south-of-eight-mile," title="web.archive.org/web/20170702014810www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20040419/SUB/404190861/woodward-group-to-add-members-south-of-eight-mile,">web.archive.org/web/20170702014810www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20040419/SUB/404190861/woodward-group-to-add-members-south-of-eight-mile, live, the only urban road at the time with that classification. It was later upgraded to All-American Road status on October 16, 2009;NEWS, Andrea, Tamboer, October 28, 2009, Woodward Avenue (M-1) Gets All-American Road Designation,www.mlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2009/10/woodward_avenue_m-1_gets_all-a.html, MLive, Detroit, Booth Newspapers, July 14, 2012,www.mlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2009/10/woodward_avenue_m-1_gets_all-a.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140723062233www.mlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2009/10/woodward_avenue_m-1_gets_all-a.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140723062233www.mlive.com/travel/index.ssf/2009/10/woodward_avenue_m-1_gets_all-a.html, July 23, 2014, live, such roads have highly unique features and are significant enough to be tourist destinations unto themselves.WEB, Federal Highway Administration, August 17, 2011, America’s Byways Fact Sheet,byways.org/press/pdf/fact_sheet.pdf, America’s Byways, Federal Highway Administration, September 22, 2012,byways.org/press/pdf/fact_sheet.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20120911064443byways.org/press/pdf/fact_sheet.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20120911064443byways.org/press/pdf/fact_sheet.pdf, September 11, 2012, In announcing the byway status in 2002, Norman Mineta, then United States Secretary of Transportation, said that “Woodward Avenue put the world on wheels, and America’s automobile heritage is represented along this corridor.“(File:Woodward tribute.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Lighted tribute in Royal Oak at 13 Mile Road|alt=Nighttime photograph of the)The Woodward Avenue Action Association (WA3), the local agency that acts as the stewards and advocates for the All-American Road and Pure Michigan Byway designations as well as adjacent historical sites,NEWS, Lombard, Stefan, Spring 2014, Saving the Model T Plant, Hagerty Classic Cars, 68, 2162-8033, 746155690, obtained a grant for $45,000 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US-GDP|45000|2011|r=-3}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}) from the FHWA in 2011 to install a set of 50 custom road signs along M-1 between Detroit and Pontiac.NEWS, Kim North, Shine, February 23, 2011,www.oaklandcountyprosper.com/devnews/0210woodwardavesigns022111.aspx, Woodward Avenue Gets 50 New Signs, All-American Road Designation, Prosper, Pontiac, Michigan, Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County, July 24, 2012,www.oaklandcountyprosper.com/devnews/0210woodwardavesigns022111.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20140225232017www.oaklandcountyprosper.com/devnews/0210woodwardavesigns022111.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20140225232017www.oaklandcountyprosper.com/devnews/0210woodwardavesigns022111.aspx, February 25, 2014, live, WA3 sells replicas of these signs to discourage theft.NEWS, Sherri, Welch, June 23, 2011, Capitalizing on the Theft of ‘All-American Road’ Signs on Woodward,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20110623/BLOG009/110629921/capitalizing-on-the-theft-of-all-american-road-signs-on-woodward, Crain’s Detroit Business Staff Blogs, July 1, 2017,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20110623/BLOG009/110629921/capitalizing-on-the-theft-of-all-american-road-signs-on-woodward," title="web.archive.org/web/20151117113030www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20110623/BLOG009/110629921/capitalizing-on-the-theft-of-all-american-road-signs-on-woodward,">web.archive.org/web/20151117113030www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20110623/BLOG009/110629921/capitalizing-on-the-theft-of-all-american-road-signs-on-woodward, November 17, 2015, live, {{#tag:ref|Another highway, M-22 in Northern Michigan has also been the subject of sign theft with different methods used to deter sign removal.NEWS, Mark, Johnson, August 23, 2016, Modifying M-22: MDOT Changing Signs to Discourage Theft,www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/modifying-m/article_57f04059-0bb4-56f8-b9f1-8daa4e976cca.html, Traverse City Record-Eagle, August 25, 2016,archive.today/20210801172446/https://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/modifying-m/article_57f04059-0bb4-56f8-b9f1-8daa4e976cca.html, August 1, 2021, live, |group=lower-alpha}} Profits are also being used along with money from clothing and other merchandise to support the Woodward Avenue Beautification Fund,NEWS, Jonathan, Oosting, December 15, 2011, Woodward on a Onesie: New Merch Celebrates, Benefits Metro Detroit’s ‘All-American Road’,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/12/woodward_on_a_onesie_new_merch.html, MLive, Detroit, Booth Newspapers, July 28, 2012,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/12/woodward_on_a_onesie_new_merch.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140223004600www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/12/woodward_on_a_onesie_new_merch.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140223004600www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/12/woodward_on_a_onesie_new_merch.html, February 23, 2014, live, a special endowment created in 2010 to aid the 11 communities along the highway with maintenance and to defray costs associated with special events on the avenue.NEWS, Sherri, Welch, February 26, 2010, Woodward Avenue Action Association Creates Fund to Help Municipalities,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20100226/FREE/100229863, Crain’s Detroit Business, August 1, 2013, live,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20100226/FREE/100229863," title="web.archive.org/web/20100304135416www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20100226/FREE/100229863,">web.archive.org/web/20100304135416www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20100226/FREE/100229863, March 4, 2010, subscription, As well as the custom signage, WA3 has received FHWA grant funding to erect a series of lighted “tributes”: solar-powered, lighted pillars that contain artwork related to the roadway. The $150,000 glass and concrete sculptures are being placed in the median along Woodward Avenue to serve as landmarks along the route of the roadway and to brand it for tourists. A total of 10 to 12 installations are planned for the length of the highway in Wayne and Oakland counties.NEWS, Catherine, Kavanaugh, April 18, 2012, Royal Oak Auto Designer Pays Tribute to Woodward Avenue,www.dailytribune.com/article/20120418/NEWS01/120419719/royal-oak-auto-designer-pays-tribute-to-woodward-avenue&pager=full_story, The Daily Tribune, Mount Clemens, Michigan, July 24, 2012,www.dailytribune.com/article/20120418/NEWS01/120419719/royal-oak-auto-designer-pays-tribute-to-woodward-avenue%26pager%3Dfull_story," title="web.archive.org/web/20150610214602www.dailytribune.com/article/20120418/NEWS01/120419719/royal-oak-auto-designer-pays-tribute-to-woodward-avenue%26pager%3Dfull_story,">web.archive.org/web/20150610214602www.dailytribune.com/article/20120418/NEWS01/120419719/royal-oak-auto-designer-pays-tribute-to-woodward-avenue%26pager%3Dfull_story, June 10, 2015, The art project received a 2011 National Scenic Byway Award for the Byways interpretation category.WEB, Heather, Carmona, n.d., Woodward Avenue Tribute Program,www.woodwardavenue.org/uploaded_pics/pdf/pdf-20120314173435.pdf, Woodard Avenue Action Association, July 24, 2012,www.woodwardavenue.org/uploaded_pics/pdf/pdf-20120314173435.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20150707010242www.woodwardavenue.org/uploaded_pics/pdf/pdf-20120314173435.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20150707010242www.woodwardavenue.org/uploaded_pics/pdf/pdf-20120314173435.pdf, July 7, 2015, PDF,

Religion, entertainment, and cars

File:Fox theatre Central United Methodist church.jpg|thumb|upright|Marquee of the Fox Theatre with the Central United Methodist ChurchCentral United Methodist ChurchThe area around Woodward was once nicknamed “Piety Hill”. There are 22 churches on the NRHP along the street in Detroit and Highland Park.WEB, National Park Service, January 23, 2007, National Register Information System,nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, July 17, 2012,nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20101204052104nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html,">web.archive.org/web/20101204052104nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html, December 4, 2010, According to The Detroit News, the sounds of church bells and horse hooves were some of the most distinctive sounds on Sundays along Woodward Avenue in the early 20th century. The street was home to jazz clubs starting in the 1910s and 1920s, starting a period of transition. During the 1940s, ministers lobbied for a law to prevent the issuance of additional liquor licenses in their neighborhood; the law was later overturned in 1950. Nightclubs along Woodward hosted a burgeoning music scene in the early days of rock ‘n roll, and the area also had plenty of bars and burlesque shows as late as the 1970s. One local journalist called the mix of churches, clubs, and bars along Woodward Avenue “a precarious balance between the sacred and the profane”.As well as music clubs, many of Detroit’s other major entertainment venues are located on or near Woodward in downtown Detroit, including the Fox Theatre, Majestic Theater, and the rest of the theater district,NEWS,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120831/FREE/309029990/metro-detroits-largest-performance-venues, Metro Detroit’s Largest Performance Venues, Crain’s Detroit Business, August 31, 2012, May 22, 2017,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120831/FREE/309029990/metro-detroits-largest-performance-venues," title="web.archive.org/web/20180319215331www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120831/FREE/309029990/metro-detroits-largest-performance-venues,">web.archive.org/web/20180319215331www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20120831/FREE/309029990/metro-detroits-largest-performance-venues, March 19, 2018, live, subscription, the second-largest in the country.WEB, Experience Detroit, n.d.,www.experiencedetroit.com/theatres.htm, Detroit Theatres, Experience Detroit, July 1, 2017, live,experiencedetroit.com/theatres.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20160723085610experiencedetroit.com/theatres.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20160723085610experiencedetroit.com/theatres.htm, July 23, 2016, During World War II, the area was likewise home to 24-hour movie theaters and bowling alleys. Curfews across the river in Windsor, Ontario, meant that many patrons during the war years were Canadian. They frequented the establishments along with the Americans, many of whom worked in the factories of the Detroit area. The theater district has undergone a renaissance after renovations and improvements during the 1980sNEWS, Susan, Whitall, March 26, 2007, Woodward: Avenue of Escape, The Detroit News, 1A, 4A,www.detroitnews.com/article/20070327/METRO/108010004/Woodward--Avenue-of-escape, 1055-2715, 137348716, July 16, 2012,www.detroitnews.com/article/20070327/METRO/108010004/Woodward--Avenue-of-escape," title="web.archive.org/web/20150610224018www.detroitnews.com/article/20070327/METRO/108010004/Woodward--Avenue-of-escape,">web.archive.org/web/20150610224018www.detroitnews.com/article/20070327/METRO/108010004/Woodward--Avenue-of-escape, June 10, 2015, and 1990s,BOOK, Costas, Spirou, 2011, Urban Tourism and Urban Change: Cities in a Global Economy,books.google.com/books?id=1dOsAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA180, New York, Routledge, 180, 978-0-415-80163-8, 929048780, May 22, 2017, Google Books, leading to a resurgence in the performing arts in the city. In 2002, the Fox Theatre outsold the larger Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, earning the “No. 1 theater in North America” title from Pollstar, an industry trade journal,NEWS, Hodges, Michael H., September 8, 2003,info.detnews.com/redesign/history/story/historytemplate.cfm?id=215, Fox Theater’s Rebirth Ushered in City’s Renewal, Michigan History, The Detroit News, November 23, 2007,apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=215," title="archive.today/20121205184440apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=215,">archive.today/20121205184440apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=215, December 5, 2012, and the district is considered the second largest in the country.WEB, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, n.d.,www.degc.org/arts-culture.aspx, Arts & Culture,www.degc.org/arts-culture.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20131009191212www.degc.org/arts-culture.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20131009191212www.degc.org/arts-culture.aspx, October 9, 2013, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, July 24, 2008, Detroit is home to the second largest theatre district in the United States., An adjacent sports and entertainment district has been created near Woodward Avenue in the 21st century. “District Detroit” as it is called includes Comerica Park (2000), Ford Field (2002) and Little Caesars Arena (2017), which are the home venues for all four of Detroit’s professional sports teams. The district is the most compact collection in any American city, according to Patrick Rishe, the director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis.NEWS, Patrick, Rishe, November 24, 2016, District Detroit: The Most Compact Sports District in America Is Revitalizing Downtown Detroit,www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2016/11/24/district-detroit-the-most-compact-sports-district-in-america-is-revitalizing-downtown-detroit/#4a413faf669a, Forbes (magazine), Forbes, May 21, 2017, live,www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2016/11/24/district-detroit-the-most-compact-sports-district-in-america-is-revitalizing-downtown-detroit/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170130203034www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2016/11/24/district-detroit-the-most-compact-sports-district-in-america-is-revitalizing-downtown-detroit/,">web.archive.org/web/20170130203034www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2016/11/24/district-detroit-the-most-compact-sports-district-in-america-is-revitalizing-downtown-detroit/, January 30, 2017, Woodward Avenue’s connection to Detroit’s automobile culture dates to the early 20th century. Around 100 automobile companies were founded along the roadway. Henry Ford developed and first produced the Model T in 1907–08 at his Piquette Avenue Plant to the east of Woodward Avenue. The first 12,000 Model Ts were built there,WEB, Model T Automotive Heritage Complex, n.d.,www.tplex.org/2_modeltdev.html, History of the Model T Factory: Development of the Model T, Model T Automotive Heritage Complex, December 8, 2012,www.tplex.org/2_modeltdev.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121018011855www.tplex.org/2_modeltdev.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121018011855www.tplex.org/2_modeltdev.html, October 18, 2012, before Ford moved production of his cars to the Highland Park plant adjacent to Woodward Avenue in 1910.ENCYCLOPEDIA, Detroit Historical Society, n.d., Highland Park Ford Plant,detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/highland-park-ford-plant, Encyclopedia of Detroit, Detroit Historical Society, July 1, 2017, live,detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/highland-park-ford-plant," title="web.archive.org/web/20160930045844detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/highland-park-ford-plant,">web.archive.org/web/20160930045844detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/highland-park-ford-plant, September 30, 2016, Detroit Historical Society, Employees at the plant used the streetcar system along Woodward to get to work; these lines also provided transportation options to assembly plant workers affected by gas rationing during World War II.NEWS, Bill, Shea, August 18, 2008, Detroit Had Light Rail Until the 1950s,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20080818/SUB/808150304/detroit-had-light-rail-until-the-1950s#, Crain’s Detroit Business, August 20, 2012,web.archive.org/web/20210309170928/https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20080818/SUB/808150304/detroit-had-light-rail-until-the-1950s, March 9, 2021, live, subscription, During the 1950s and 1960s, automobile engineers street tested their cars along Woodward Avenue between 8 Mile and Square Lake roads; the roadway was the only such location where this activity was practiced.BOOK, Woodward Avenue Action Association, n.d., Birthplace of the Automobile Industry, Pamphlet,www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/5041493/birthplace-of-the-automobile-industry-woodward-avenue-action-, Woodward Avenue Action Association, August 1, 2021, Yumpu, August 1, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210801175748/https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/5041493/birthplace-of-the-automobile-industry-woodward-avenue-action-, live,

Woodward Dream Cruise

File:Woodward Dream Cruise Batmobile.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photograph showingYoung carriage drivers raced one another along Woodward Avenue after the roadway was converted from logs to planks in 1848. They placed bets on each other’s carriages while racing from tavern to tavern. By 1958, the roadway was used for unofficial street racing with cars. The wide width, median and sections lacking a large commercial presence attracted a reputation for the competition. The numerous drive-ins, each with its dedicated local teenaged clientele, were also popular. Woodward had numerous car dealerships and automobile accessory shops in the age of the muscle car which completed the formula for young adults to “cruise”, race and hang out along the road.BOOK, Genat, Robert, 2010, Woodward Avenue: Cruising the Legendary Strip, North Branch, Minnesota, CarTech Books, 90, 978-1-932494-91-4, 505927336, The Woodward Dream Cruise takes place on Woodward Avenue between Pontiac and Ferndale during August of each year, evoking nostalgia of the 1950s and 1960s, when it was common for young drivers to cruise with their cars on Woodward Avenue. The event attracts huge crowds of classic car owners and admirers from around the world to the Metro Detroit area in celebration of Detroit’s automotive history; an estimated one million spectators attended the 2009 event.NEWS, Phelan, Mark, August 22, 2010,www.newspapers.com/clip/21829238/slick_cruisers_woodward_is_awash_in/, Slick Cruisers: Woodward Is Awash in Classic Cars and Their Fans, Detroit Free Press, 1A, 1055-2758, {{oclc, 10345127, 137343179, |access-date=July 13, 2018 |via=Newspapers.com }} The cruise was founded in 1995 as a fundraiser for a soccer field in Ferndale. Neighboring cities joined in, and by 1997, auto manufacturers and other vendors had begun sponsoring the event.{{harvp|Genat|2010|pp=124–125|ps=.}}

History

Indian trails and plank roads

{{multiple image|align= right|direction= horizontal|image2= Judge Woodward.jpg|width2= 170|alt2= Caricature portrait of Judge Augustus B. Woodward|image1= Old map 1807 plan.jpg|width1= 252|alt1= 1807 map of Woodward’s Detroit street plan|footer= The street plan for Detroit (left) devised by Judge Woodward (right)}}In 1701, the first transportation routes through what became the state of Michigan were the lakes, rivers and Indian trails. One of these, the Saginaw Trail, followed what is now Woodward Avenue from the Detroit area north to Saginaw, where it connected with the Mackinaw Trail north to the Straits of Mackinac.BOOK, Mason, Philip P., Michigan Highways from Indian Trails to Expressways, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Braun-Brumfield, 1959, 4, 23314983, The Town of Detroit{{#tag:ref|Detroit was incorporated as a town in 1802 by the government of the Northwest Territory before incorporation and reincorporation as a city by the Michigan Territory in 1806 and 1815.BOOK,quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty&cc=micounty&idno=bad1459.0001.001;frm=frameset&view=image&seq=191, The History of Detroit and Michigan, or, The Metropolis Illustrated: A Full Record of Territorial Days in Michigan, and the Annals of Wayne County, Silas, Farmer, Detroit, S. Farmer & Co, 1889, 133–5, 2823136, 2nd, University of Michigan Digital Collections, live,quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty&cc=micounty&idno=bad1459.0001.001%3Bfrm%3Dframeset&view=image&seq=191," title="web.archive.org/web/20110522171640quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty&cc=micounty&idno=bad1459.0001.001%3Bfrm%3Dframeset&view=image&seq=191,">web.archive.org/web/20110522171640quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty&cc=micounty&idno=bad1459.0001.001%3Bfrm%3Dframeset&view=image&seq=191, May 22, 2011, |group=lower-alpha}} created {{convert|120|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} rights-of-way for the principal streets of the city in 1805.BOOK, Michigan Highway History Timeline 1701–2001: 300 Years of Progress, Lingeman, Stanley D., April 6, 2001, Lansing, Library of Michigan, 1, 435640179, This street plan was devised by Augustus Woodward and others following a devastating fire in Detroit, with a mandate from the territorial governor to improve on the previous plan. Two of these principal streets were established by the territorial government on September 18, 1805, as “permanent public roads, avenues or highways”, one of which was to run along the modern routing of Woodward Avenue.BOOK, William, Hull, Augustus B., Woodward, Frederick, Bates, amp, 1871, enacted September 18, 1805, An Act Concerning Highways and Roads,books.google.com/books?id=IDpHAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA75, Laws of the Territory of Michigan, ((Vol. 1)), Lansing, Michigan, W.S. George & Co., 75–79, April 24, 2017, Google Books, The wide avenues, in emulation of the street plan for Washington, DC, were intended to make Detroit look like the “Paris of the West”.Augustus Woodward was a judge in the Michigan Territory appointed by his friend, President Thomas Jefferson. He was also a colonel in the territorial militia and a president of one of Detroit’s first banks.NEWS, Mary, Bailey, February 17, 2000, Detroit’s Street Names Honor Early Leaders,apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=199, The Detroit News, 1055-2715, 137348716, October 20, 2012,apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=199," title="archive.today/20120707110636apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=199,">archive.today/20120707110636apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=199, July 7, 2012, Woodward named the street for himself, responding whimsically to the resulting criticism: “Not so. The avenue is named Woodward because it runs wood-ward, toward the woods.“{{#tag:ref|Woodward used other similar word plays to explain street names, according to George Catlin, a Detroit historian. “Atwater Street, the Judge said, was not named for Reuben Atwater, but because it was literally ‘at water,’ being on the riverfront”.|group=lower-alpha}} Other proposals for names included Court House Street or Market Street. For a time, one section was named Congress Street, Witherell Street, Saginaw Road or Saginaw Turnpike, with another section dubbed Pontiac Road. Unlike these other monikers, the avenue retained the judge’s name.Detroit was incorporated in 1815,MAGAZINE, Michigan Department of Transportation, Winter 2003,www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_Woodward_Heart_and_Soul_170072_7.pdf, Michigan Department of Transportation, Woodward Avenue: A Road to the Heart and Soul of America, MDOT Today, 8–9, August 30, 2009,www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_Woodward_Heart_and_Soul_170072_7.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20120616224511www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_Woodward_Heart_and_Soul_170072_7.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20120616224511www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_Woodward_Heart_and_Soul_170072_7.pdf, June 16, 2012, PDF, live, and the initial roadway to connect Detroit north to Pontiac along the Saginaw Trail was started in 1817; this was a corduroy road built by laying down logs and filling in the gaps with clay or sand.BOOK, Norman, Bel Geddes, Norman Bel Geddes, 1940, Magic Motorways,archive.org/stream/magicmotorways00geddrich#page/26/mode/2up, New York, Random House, 27, 751992, August 20, 2012, Internet Archive, The territorial legislature authorized a survey of the roadway to Pontiac on December 7, 1818, and the route was approved by Governor Lewis Cass on December 15, 1819,{{harvp|Barnett|2004|pp =192–193|ps=.}} the first to be done in the future state.WEB, Michigan Department of Transportation,www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9620_11154-129683--,00.html, Road & Highway Facts, Michigan Department of Transportation, June 18, 2010, September 27, 2010,michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9620_11154-129683--,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120208014906michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9620_11154-129683--,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120208014906michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9620_11154-129683--,00.html, February 8, 2012, live, The Michigan Legislature authorized the construction of a private plank road with tolls to connect Detroit with Pontiac in 1848. By the next year, {{convert|16|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} and {{convert|3|in|cm|adj=mid|-thick}} oak planks were laid along the road between the two communities. Tolls were {{convert|1|cent/mi|cent/km|spell=in}} for vehicles and {{convert|2|cent/mi|cent/km|spell=in}} for a herd of cattle. Tolls along some segments of Woodward Avenue remained in place as late as 1908.{{harvp|Gavrilovich|McGraw|2000|pp= 236–238|ps=.}}(File:Woodard Avenue & Windsor.png|thumb|left|Woodward Avenue, {{circa|1875}}, as a dirt street looking south to the Detroit River|alt=Vintage photograph of)The first automobile in Detroit was driven by Charles Brady King along Woodward Avenue on March 3, 1896, a few weeks before Henry Ford drove his first car in the city.NEWS, Phil, Llewellin, Philip Llewellin, In the US Motoring Centenary, Speed Freaks Are Heading for Michigan, The Independent, London, March 16, 1996, 12, 0951-9467, 15051443,www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/in-the-us-motoring-centenary-speed-freaks-are-heading-for-michigan-1342265.html, September 21, 2012,web.archive.org/web/20180713182612/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/in-the-us-motoring-centenary-speed-freaks-are-heading-for-michigan-1342265.html, July 13, 2018, live, In 1909, the first mile (1.6 km) of concrete roadway in the country was paved between 6 and 7 Mile roads at a cost of $14,000 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US-GDP|14000|1909|r=-3}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}).BOOK, Barnett, LeRoy, 2004, A Drive Down Memory Lane: The Named State and Federal Highways of Michigan, Allegan Forest, Michigan, Priscilla Press, 243–244, 1-886167-24-9, 57425393,

State Trunkline era

On May 13, 1913, the Legislature created the state’s highway system; Woodward Avenue was included as part of “Division 2”.BOOK, Michigan Legislature,books.google.com/books?id=7kXiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1868, The Compiled Laws of the State of Michigan, ((Vol. 1)), 1915, enacted May 13, 1913, Chapter 91: State Reward Trunk Line Highways, 1868–72, Lansing, Michigan, Wynkoop, Hallenbeck, Crawford, Shields, Edmund C., Black, Cyrenius P., Broomfield, Archibald, January 24, 2012, Google Books, 44724558, amp, Michigan Legislature, The full length was paved in 1916. The first crow’s nest traffic tower in the US was installed at the intersection of Woodward and Michigan avenues on October 9, 1917; the tower elevated a police officer above the center of the intersection to direct traffic before the structure was replaced in October 1920 with the world’s first four-way traffic light. The state signposted its highways in 1919,NEWS, Michigan May Do Well Following Wisconsin’s Road Marking System, The Grand Rapids Press, September 20, 1919, 10, 9975013, and Woodward Avenue was assigned the M-10 designation.MDOT MAP, 1919-07-01L, yes, The same year, two auto trail designations were applied to the avenue. The Theodore Roosevelt International Highway was created in February 1919, running from Detroit northward along Woodward Avenue.BOOK, Skidmore, Max J., 2007, Moose Crossing: Portland to Portland on the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway, Lanham, Maryland, Hamilton Books, 7, 72, 978-0-7618-3510-3, 80156759, Later that year, the Dixie Highway was extended through Detroit to the Straits of Mackinac,NEWS, Fort Wayne News and Sentinel, System of Roads Urged by Hoosier State Automobile Association,www.newspapers.com/clip/21829629/system_of_roads_urged_by_hoosier_state/, August 27, 1919, 11658858, 6, July 13, 2018, Newspapers.com, following the route of the old Saginaw Trail northward along Woodward Avenue.MAP, Rand McNally, 1921, Official Auto Trails Map, District 3, Southern Peninsula of Michigan, Northern Indiana, Northwestern Ohio, 1:633,600, Chicago, Rand McNally, 35066537, Since 1924, Woodward Avenue has hosted America’s Thanksgiving Parade,WEB, See the Official Parade Route: Woodward Ave. Comes Alive with America’s Thanksgiving Parade,www.clickondetroit.com/station/10309311/detail.html, November 13, 2006, Click On Detroit, WDIV-TV, Detroit, May 26, 2011,www.clickondetroit.com/station/10309311/detail.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110609032104www.clickondetroit.com/station/10309311/detail.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110609032104www.clickondetroit.com/station/10309311/detail.html, June 9, 2011, the second oldest Thanksgiving Day parade in the United States.NEWS, Correct! Philadelphia Held Its First Parade in 1920, Our Daily Holiday Quiz,www.kptv.com/story/5663561/a, KPTV-TV, Portland, Oregon, November 20, 2012,www.kptv.com/story/5663561/a," title="web.archive.org/web/20131224105238www.kptv.com/story/5663561/a,">web.archive.org/web/20131224105238www.kptv.com/story/5663561/a, December 24, 2013, In 1925, the intersection between Woodward Avenue and State Street was busier than Times Square.NEWS, Jason, Stein, Woodward Avenue: More than Just the Heart of Detroit, It’s the Soul of the Automotive World, Daily Herald (Arlington Heights), Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Illinois, September 13, 2009, §9, p. 1, 18030507,www.newspapers.com/clip/21829523/woodward_avenue_more_than_just_the/, July 13, 2018, Newspapers.com, On November 11, 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO);BOOK, Dan, McNichol, 2006, The Roads that Built America, New York, Sterling Publishing, Sterling, 74, 1-4027-3468-9, 63377558, the M-10 designation along Woodward was replaced with US 10, a moniker that ran from Detroit to Seattle, Washington.MAP, Bureau of Public Roads, American Association of State Highway Officials, November 11, 1926, United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials,commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_System_of_Highways_Adopted_for_Uniform_Marking_by_the_American_Association_of_State_Highway_Officials.jpg, 1:7,000,000, Washington, DC, United States Geological Survey, 32889555, November 7, 2013, Wikimedia Commons, amp, Legal disputes over a plan to widen Woodward Avenue dating back to 1874 were resolved in 1932. Permission was needed from a majority of the landowners along Woodward Avenue to finalize the deal. John W. Chandler, general manager of the Woodward Avenue Improvement Association,NEWS,fultonhistory.com/newspaper%2011/New%20York%20Evening%20Post/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201929%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Evening%20Post%201929%20Grayscale%20-%200115.pdf, News from Other Cities: Detroit, New York Evening Post, February 4, 1929, 28, 9517291, September 23, 2012, FultonHistory.com, pledged not to shave his face until he had the necessary permissions in hand. This resolution allowed Woodward to be widened from {{convert|66|to|120|ft|m}}. Several buildings were removed to clear the wider street path, and St. John’s Episcopal Church was moved {{convert|60|ft|m}} to avoid demolition. Work started in 1933 and cost $7.5 million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|7500000|1933}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}) to complete.(File:Woodward Ave Detroit 1942.jpg|thumb|right|Looking south down Woodward Avenue from the Maccabees Building with the Detroit skyline in the distance, July 1942; streetcar tracks are visible in the middle of the street.|alt=Photograph of){{anchor|Hunter Boulevard}}A bypass of downtown Birmingham opened in 1939, drawing through traffic away from the busy Woodward Avenue–Maple Road intersection. The bypass was originally named Hunter Boulevard.NEWS,archive.btpl.org/newsletters/1939/November%201939/Nov%202,%201939%20part1%201.pdf, November 2, 1939, Fete Friday Will Open Hunter Blvd.: Prominent Officials Invited to Ceremony, The Birmingham Eccentric, 1, April 24, 2017, Bloomfield Township Public Library, 9948897,archive.btpl.org/newsletters/1939/November%201939/Nov%202%2C%201939%20part1%201.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20170425115322archive.btpl.org/newsletters/1939/November%201939/Nov%202%2C%201939%20part1%201.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20170425115322archive.btpl.org/newsletters/1939/November%201939/Nov%202%2C%201939%20part1%201.pdf, April 25, 2017, On September 6, 1997, Birmingham renamed the bypass to Woodward Avenue, with the previous alignment of Woodward signed as Old Woodward Avenue.PRESS RELEASE, Woodward Avenue Action Association, September 3, 1997, ‘Sign of the Times’ Sponsored by Woodward Avenue Action Association and the Birmingham Principal Shopping District, Birmingham, Michigan, Woodward Avenue Action Association,www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sign-of-the-times-sponsored-by-woodward-avenue-action-association-and-the-birmingham-principal-shopping-district-75219657.html, April 24, 2017, PR Newswire, live,www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sign-of-the-times-sponsored-by-woodward-avenue-action-association-and-the-birmingham-principal-shopping-district-75219657.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20170425115609www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sign-of-the-times-sponsored-by-woodward-avenue-action-association-and-the-birmingham-principal-shopping-district-75219657.html,">web.archive.org/web/20170425115609www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sign-of-the-times-sponsored-by-woodward-avenue-action-association-and-the-birmingham-principal-shopping-district-75219657.html, April 25, 2017, In October 1969, AASHO approved a realignment of US 10 in the Detroit area;{{AASHTO minutes |year = 1969A |page = 2 |access-date = August 2, 2014 |link = yes |v-link = yes }} the next year the designation was rerouted to follow the Lodge Freeway (what is now M-10) and the portion of Jefferson Avenue between the Lodge Freeway and Randolph Street (then US 25, now M-3). The M-1 designation was applied to the section of Woodward Avenue from Jefferson Avenue in downtown Detroit to Square Lake Road along the southern border of Pontiac. Woodward north of Square Lake Road was designated as a business route of both US 10 and I-75. When US 10 was truncated to Bay City in 1986, the Bus. US 10 portion of Woodward became Bus. US 24.MDOT MAP, 1986, Detroit, A6–B6, MDOT MAP, 1987, Detroit, A6–B6, In the early 1980s, M-1 was truncated in downtown Detroit, as the Woodward Mall was designated in the area around Cadillac Square.MDOT MAP, 1981, Detroit, E5, MDOT MAP, 1982, Detroit, E5, At the end of 2000, MDOT proposed several highway transfers in Detroit. Some of these involved transferring city streets in the Campus Martius Park area under the department’s jurisdiction to city control; another part of the proposal involved MDOT assuming control over a section of Woodward Avenue from Adams Avenue south to Grand River Avenue.MAP, Michigan Department of Transportation, November 7, 2000, Proposed Jurisdiction Transfers in the City of Detroit,www.michiganhighways.org/etc/campusmartiusexhibit1.pdf, Scale not given, Lansing, Michigan Department of Transportation, January 12, 2012, Michigan Highways,www.michiganhighways.org/etc/campusmartiusexhibit1.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20120523204102www.michiganhighways.org/etc/campusmartiusexhibit1.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20120523204102www.michiganhighways.org/etc/campusmartiusexhibit1.pdf, May 23, 2012, live, PDF, These transfers were completed the following year.MDOT MAP, 2001, Detroit, MDOT MAP, 2002, Detroit, In 2004, the southern terminus was moved north three blocks to Adams Avenue.MDOT MAP, 2004, Detroit, MDOT MAP, 2005, Detroit, A massive address renumbering project ensued along Woodward Avenue in 1997, creating a consistent numbering system from downtown Detroit to Pontiac. Previously, each city along the route had its own address system.NEWS,www.newspapers.com/clip/7823667/detroit-free-press/, Time for a Change, Detroit Free Press, September 13, 1997, July 11, 2021, Hugh Jr., McDiarmid, 3A, 1055-2758, {{oclc, 10345127, 137343179, |via = Newspapers.com }} In June 2017, the southernmost block of Woodward Avenue south of Larned Street closed to automobiles to create a temporary pedestrian plaza.NEWS, Kirk, Pinho, June 8, 2017,www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20170608/news/630871/woodward-closing-cars-south-larned-downtown-pedestrian-plaza, Woodward Closing to Cars South of Larned for Downtown Pedestrian Plaza, Crain’s Detroit Business, November 1, 2018, subscription, May 21, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190521171808/https://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20170608/news/630871/woodward-closing-cars-south-larned-downtown-pedestrian-plaza, live, This closure was made permanent the following November.NEWS, Violet, Ikonomova, November 21, 2017, Woodward Avenue Street Plaza to Stay Open Despite Traffic Concerns,www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2017/11/21/woodward-avenue-street-plaza-to-stay-open-despite-traffic-concerns, Metro Times, Detroit, November 1, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20171122050320/https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2017/11/21/woodward-avenue-street-plaza-to-stay-open-despite-traffic-concerns, November 22, 2017, live,

Streetcars and other public transportation

(File:Woodward Avenue in winter attire, Detroit, Mich.png|thumb|left|Streetcars on Woodward Avenue during the winter between 1900 and 1910 |alt=Photograph of){{see also|Transportation in metropolitan Detroit|QLine}}On August 27, 1863, the Detroit City Railway Company (DCRC) established streetcar service along Woodward from Jefferson to Adams avenues.BOOK, Kenneth, Schramm, 2006, Detroit’s Street Railways,books.google.com/books?id=R26MH_YEaJQC, Images of Rail, Charleston, South Carolina, Arcadia Publishing, 0-7385-4027-7, 67975025, 9, April 24, 2017, Google Books, The company was formed by investors from Syracuse, New York, earlier that year. Later, on September 18, 1886, a separate electrified line, the Highland Park Railway, was added that ran along Woodward Avenue through Highland Park.{{harvp|Schramm|2006|p = 7|ps=. }} In mid-December 1893, the main streetcar line was electrified by the DCRC.WEB, Zachary and Associates, July 30, 1997, Historic and Architectural Resources of the Cass Farm Survey Area, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, {{NRHP url, 64500270, |format=PDF |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=National Park Service |page=5 |access-date=August 20, 2012 |url-status = live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117233750focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/64500270.pdf |archive-date=November 17, 2015 }} In 1901, the various lines throughout the city were consolidated as the Detroit United Railway.{{harvp|Schramm|2006|p=8|ps=.}}Detroit took control of the Detroit Unified Railway on May 15, 1922; afterwards, the streetcar system became the city’s Department of Street Railways.{{#tag:ref|Since July 1, 1974, the Department of Street Railways has been renamed the Detroit Department of Transportation, the agency responsible for the city’s bus system. That bus system was started in 1925 as a feeder network to serve the streetcar lines.|group=lower-alpha}} Following the change in control, the city also formed the Detroit Rapid Transit Commission to build a subway system.BOOK, Fogelson, Robert M., 2001, Downtown: Its Rise and Fall, 1880–1950,books.google.com/books?id=6X-WCewsP-AC, New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 85–88, 978-0-300-09062-8, 182530522, October 22, 2012, Google Books, Early proposals included a (:File:Woodward Avenue subway station.jpg|station under Woodward Avenue) next to Detroit City Hall.BOOK, Report, ((Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas)), Parsons Brinckerhoff, 1915, Report on Detroit Street Railway Traffic and Proposed Subway, Made to Board of Street Railway Commissioners, City of Detroit,play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Yj4pAAAAYAAJ, New York, Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas, 115, 5463777, October 8, 2012, Google Play Books, live,web.archive.org/web/20131227071000/https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Yj4pAAAAYAAJ, December 27, 2013, In 1926, a four-line system encompassing {{convert|47|mi|km}} of lines was proposed at a cost of $280 million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{Inflation|US-GDP|280000000|1926}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}}). By 1929, plans were scaled back further in the face of tough local economic conditions; the plan submitted to voters included one line of {{convert|13.3|mi|km}} that interconnected with the city’s streetcar system by way of two {{convert|2.5|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} streetcar tunnels. The bond proposal failed by a 2.5:1 margin that year, killing any proposal for a city subway system in Detroit.The streetcar system, like those in other cities across the US, fell into decline after World War II. Unlike the streetcar conspiracy alleged in other cities, the decline of Detroit’s publicly owned system was related to a multitude of different factors. Increased spending on roads benefitted competing bus lines, and zoning changes coupled with freeway construction shifted the city’s population to areas away from the older streetcar lines. During the early 1950s, several lines were converted to buses after labor strikes, and other lines were eliminated.NEWS, Michael, Jackman, March 29, 2006,www2.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=9040, Back Track: Fifty Years After the Motor City Rode the Rails, Metro Times, 0746-4045, 10024235, October 22, 2012,www2.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=9040," title="web.archive.org/web/20120317102927www2.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=9040,">web.archive.org/web/20120317102927www2.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=9040, March 17, 2012, On April 8, 1956, a parade was held when the last streetcars stopped running along Woodward Avenue and in Detroit;NEWS, Mark, Kurlyandchik, May 2012, After 50+ Years, Streetcars Could Come Back to Woodward,www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/May-2012/Back-on-Track/, Hour Detroit, 1098-9684, 36812180, August 20, 2012,www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/May-2012/Back-on-Track/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120619043259www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/May-2012/Back-on-Track/,">web.archive.org/web/20120619043259www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/May-2012/Back-on-Track/, June 19, 2012, live, the remaining cars were sent to Mexico City.File:Test train at Campus Martius station, May 2017.jpg|thumb|right|QLine streetcar at alt=See captionIn the first decade of the 21st century, local business and government officials proposed two projects to add modern streetcars to M-1, an approximately {{convert|9|mi|km|spell=in|adj=mid|-long}} line from the transit center at Michigan Avenue north to the state fairgrounds, or a {{convert|3.4|mi|km|adj=on}} line in the downtown area only.NEWS, Oosting, Jonathan, November 2, 2009,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/11/woodward_light-rail_project_in.html, Woodward Light-Rail Project in Detroit Could Lose Matching Federal Funds for Extension, MLive, Detroit, Booth Newspapers, October 5, 2012,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/11/woodward_light-rail_project_in.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140116095450www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/11/woodward_light-rail_project_in.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140116095450www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/11/woodward_light-rail_project_in.html, January 16, 2014, live, Suggestions to unify the two plans were made in late 2008,NEWS, Minehaha, Forman, November 15, 2008, Detroit Looks to ‘Unify’ Rival Light-Rail Transit Plans,michiganmessenger.com/8407/detroits-two-rival-transit-proposals-in-discussions-to-unify, The Michigan Messenger, October 8, 2012,michiganmessenger.com/8407/detroits-two-rival-transit-proposals-in-discussions-to-unify," title="web.archive.org/web/20100216010319michiganmessenger.com/8407/detroits-two-rival-transit-proposals-in-discussions-to-unify,">web.archive.org/web/20100216010319michiganmessenger.com/8407/detroits-two-rival-transit-proposals-in-discussions-to-unify, February 16, 2010, and the Detroit City Council approved the sale of $125 million in bonds on April 11, 2011, for the longer system.NEWS, City Council Approves Detroit Light Rail Project, April 12, 2011,detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/04/12/city-council-approves-detroit-light-rail-project/, Detroit, WWJ-TV, July 15, 2012,detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/04/12/city-council-approves-detroit-light-rail-project/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120316005812detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/04/12/city-council-approves-detroit-light-rail-project/,">web.archive.org/web/20120316005812detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/04/12/city-council-approves-detroit-light-rail-project/, March 16, 2012, live, Through various approvals in 2011,NEWS, Michael, Wayland, Detroit’s Woodward Ave. Light Rail Project Moves Forward, but Still Has Long Road to Completion,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/09/detroits_woodward_ave_light_ra.html, MLive, Detroit, Booth Newspapers, December 15, 2011,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/09/detroits_woodward_ave_light_ra.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20131019145020www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/09/detroits_woodward_ave_light_ra.html,">web.archive.org/web/20131019145020www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/09/detroits_woodward_ave_light_ra.html, October 19, 2013, September 6, 2011, live, and subsequent changes including a bus rapid transit systemNEWS, Helms, Matt, December 15, 2011, For Less Than $500M, a Bus Rapid Transit System Could Cover Nearly 110 Miles,www.newspapers.com/clip/21829747/for_less_than_500m_a_bus_rapid/, Detroit Free Press, 17A, 1055-2758, {{oclc, 10345127, 137343179, |access-date=July 13, 2018 |via=Newspapers.com }} with a dedicated Woodward Avenue bus lane,NEWS, Khalil, AlHajal, December 17, 2012, Detroit-Area Group to Check Out Cleveland’s Bus Rapid Transit System After Legislation Opens Doors,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2012/12/detroit-area_group_to_check_ou.html, Detroit, MLive, Booth Newspapers, December 27, 2012, live,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2012/12/detroit-area_group_to_check_ou.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20121223071822www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2012/12/detroit-area_group_to_check_ou.html,">web.archive.org/web/20121223071822www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2012/12/detroit-area_group_to_check_ou.html, December 23, 2012, private investors who supported the shorter three-mile line to New Center continued developing that project.NEWS, Light-Rail Plan Scrapped: Rapid-Transit Buses Between Detroit, Suburbs Will Be Used Instead,www.newspapers.com/clip/21829854/lightrail_plan_scrapped_rapidtransit/, Detroit Free Press, December 14, 2011, Helms, Matt, Paul, Egan, John, Gallagher, 1A, 6A, 1055-2758, {{oclc, 10345127, 137343179, |via = Newspapers.com |access-date = July 13, 2018 }}On July 28, 2014, construction started for a streetcar line to stretch from downtown Detroit to Grand Boulevard in New Center. The line was to have 20 different stations serving 12 stops, with most of the stations curbside on either side of Woodward Avenue going uptown or downtown. The line will have center road stations at the north and south ends of the system.NEWS, July 28, 2014, Construction Starts on Detroit Rail, The Mining Journal, Marquette, Michigan, Associated Press, 5A, 0898-4964, 9729223, Named QLine in 2016, the system opened in May 2017.NEWS, Eric D., Lawrence, It’s Today! Detroit’s QLINE to Launch with Giveaways, Free Rides All Weekend, Detroit Free Press, May 12, 2017, 1A, 9A, 1055-2758, {{oclc, 10345127, 137343179, |url =www.newspapers.com/clip/21829991/its_today_detroits_qline_to_launch/ |access-date = July 13, 2018 |via = Newspapers.com }} The last car of Detroit’s previous streetcar system was numbered 286, so the planners numbered the cars for the new line 287–292 to pick up where the old number series had left off.NEWS, Raven, Benjamin, September 21, 2016, Take a Peek Inside Detroit’s First QLine Streetcar,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2016/09/take_a_peak_inside_detroits_fi.html, MLive, Detroit, Booth Newspapers, December 14, 2016, live,www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2016/09/take_a_peak_inside_detroits_fi.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20161010043739www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2016/09/take_a_peak_inside_detroits_fi.html,">web.archive.org/web/20161010043739www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2016/09/take_a_peak_inside_detroits_fi.html, October 10, 2016, {{Clear}}

Major intersections

{{MIinttop|length_ref=MDOT PRFA, yes, June 4, 2012, }}{{MIint|county=Wayne|cspan=3|location=Detroit|lspan=2|mile=0.000|road=Adams AvenueWoodward Avenue southJefferson Avenue (Detroit)>Jefferson Avenue}}{{MIint|mile=2.053|mile2=2.065|type=incompletestate=MI94dir1=east|city1=Port Huron}}|notes=Indirect access from exit 215C on eastbound I-94}}{{MIint|location=Highland Park|mile=5.115|mile2=5.127state=MI8|name1=Davison Freeway}}|notes=}}{{MIint|county1=Wayne|county2=OaklandDetroit, Michigan>Detroit–Ferndale city line|mile=8.453|mile2=8.463state=MI102|name1=8 Mile Road}}|notes=Three-level diamond interchange}}{{MIint|county=Oakland|cspan=2|location=Royal Oak|mile=10.688|mile2=10.700state=MI696roadcity1=Lansinglocation3=Detroit Zoo}}|notes=Exit 16 on I-696}}{{MIint|location=Bloomfield Township|ctdab=Oakland|mile=21.460|mile2=21.488state=MI7524name2=Square Lake Road west, Woodward Avenue northdab2=Pontiac}}|notes=Northern terminus of M-1; Woodward Avenue continues into downtown Pontiac}}{{jctbtm|keys=incomplete}}

See also

• List of buildings on Woodward Avenue

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Notes

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{commons category|M-1 (Michigan highway)|M-1}}{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}

• {{osmrelation-inline|215140|M-1 (Woodward Avenue)}}
• M-1 at Michigan Highways

• Woodward Avenue (M-1) Automotive Heritage Trail National Scenic Byway at America’s Byways (Federal Highway Administration)
• Official Byway Homepage, Woodward Avenue Action Association
• The Woodward Dream Cruise

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