When you visit Detroit’s celebrated Greektown, you immerse yourself in history. With its rich tradition of old-world charm and modern-day excitement, one can eat, laugh, toast and dance.

Greektown began in the 1880s when immigrants from the Peloponnesos area in southern mainland Greece settled in Detroit. Their reasons for emigrating were, for the most part, economic in nature, and as Detroit became known as an industrial powerhouse, its popularity grew. With their money saved from working in other states in jobs such as railroad and street construction, as well as Detroit’s prosperous automobile industry, they were able to open their own businesses. These endeavors were mostly groceries, bakeries, restaurants and coffeehouses.

In the early years, Greektown was not only a business district, but a residential area as well. In fact, for many it represented a complete community were one could work, reside, shop, entertain and pray. While the area included many families, it consisted predominately of men between the ages of 20 and 35. These young men gathered in the coffeehouses where they sipped strong Greek coffee, played Tavlie (backgammon), smoked the “nargileh” (a water pipe) and talked of home.

In the years thereafter, Greektown became primarily commercial. Most of the Greek immigrants moved out of the area, but their shops and restaurants remained. Greektown was reduced to one block after surrounding buildings, including the Greek Orthodox Church, were torn down to provide sites for downtown parking and institutional buildings. Realizing that Greektown was in danger, the merchants banned together to save their businesses. Thus, in 1903, the Greektown Merchants Association was born. Together, members developed a plan to clean up, improve and market Greektown to all of southeastern Michigan. They made improvements to the district’s streets and building exteriors with new paint, colorful awnings, feta cheese barrels filled with fresh flowers set on the sidewalks and additional streetlights. To roll out the newly renovated Greektown, the merchants decided to close the streets and throw the first annual Greektown Festival.

Americans have since discovered the great qualities of Greektown. The cultural and economic value of this area has been recognized and has become a focal point of downtown. The Greektown historic district is one of the last surviving Victorian-era commercial streetscapes in downtown Detroit. Its uniqueness and ethnic beauty has allowed it to survive as a historic district surrounded by modern-day developments. Greektown originally had virtually all Greek-owned businesses, but today has an international flavor with Italian, Southern and Thai cuisines joining the traditional Greek fare.