Web Design in Hazel Park, MI

Hazel Park, Michigan

Hazel Park is in Oakland County, with approximately 16,000 residents.

Well-Known Places in Hazel Park

Hazel Park Raceway (former), Webb Park, Green Acres Park.

Hazel Park Business Districts

• John R Road
• 9 Mile Road
• Dequindre Road

Major Employers in Hazel Park

Hazel Park Schools, Local retail.

About Hazel Park, Michigan

Hazel Park is a compact inner-ring Detroit suburb, roughly 10 miles north of downtown, that bills itself as 'The Friendly City' and grew up on Ford factory wages and modest post-war bungalows. Once known statewide as the 'Cradle of Harness Racing,' it reinvented itself in the 2010s as an unlikely fine-dining destination anchored by chef-driven restaurants along John R Road.

History of Hazel Park

• The land was originally inhabited by Native peoples including the Potawatomi.
• In 1884, John W. Benjamine petitioned to form Hazel Park School District 8, named for the abundant hazelnut / hazel brush shrubs in the area.
• The area boomed in the 1920s after a Woodward Avenue construction closure rerouted motorists onto John R, where they discovered affordable new subdivisions; Ford's nearby Highland Park plant (operating around 1914) supplied the jobs.

Landmarks and Places in Hazel Park

• City Hall with its Monument to Fallen Heroes

The Hazel Park Economy

• Growth was fueled by Ford's Highland Park plant expansion, which drew workers into new Hazel Park subdivisions.
• In 1942 the Elias Brothers (John, Fred, and Louis) opened a diner in Hazel Park; they franchised it as a Big Boy in 1952 and bought the Big Boy franchise outright in 1983, building a Metro Detroit restaurant empire.
• John R Road remains the city's main small-business thoroughfare.

Community Life in Hazel Park

• Hazel Park Raceway operated from 1949 to 2018 — thoroughbred racing from 1949, harness racing added in 1953, and harness-only from 1985 — earning the city its 'Cradle of Harness Racing' reputation.
• A celebrated dining scene includes Mabel Gray (chef James Rigato's restaurant inside a former diner), Loui's Pizza (a 50-plus-year-old Detroit-style deep-dish landmark), and Joebar, which later became the pan-Latin concept Latido.
• The Hazel Park Art Fair is held each year in shady Green Acres Park, free to the public, with a food court and a charity craft-beer tent, organized by the Hazel Park Arts Council.

Local reference: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.ferndalefriends.net