HISTORY LESSON: The history of writing about history in 2025
This year's history lesson? There’s almost always a story from Detroit’s past that helps to provide context for today.
Jacob Jones's Latest Articles
HISTORY LESSON: Public financing for pro sports venues then and now
Detroit’s first step into public sports infrastructure construction came in 1960 with the opening of Cobo Arena, the stadium component of the larger riverfront redevelopment that led to the convention hall and Hart Plaza.
HISTORY LESSON: At Detroit’s first Thanksgiving, gratitude was about being alive
During the second half of the 19th century, Thanksgiving traditions in America varied from region to region. Michigan's observance began in 1834.
HISTORY LESSON: Detroit’s 1929 Axe Murders: The unsolved case of Benny Evangelist and his family
Nearly a century later, the brutal slaying of Detroit preacher and mystic Benny Evangelist remains one of the city’s darkest unsolved crimes.
HISTORY LESSON: The Glass House: Remembering Detroit’s forgotten modernist masterpiece
When Ford Motor Company left Dearborn, it closed the book on one of the Midwest’s greatest modern landmarks — a shimmering symbol of Detroit’s mid-century confidence.
HISTORY LESSON: Paper Lion and the birth of modern NFL media
Before Hard Knocks, there was Paper Lion — George Plimpton’s wild Lions experiment that made football a content machine.
HISTORY LESSON: Fire, blood and baseball on the hottest, most chaotic day in Detroit history
July 24, 1934, was a day filled with extremes; lumber fires, traffic deaths, police crackdowns, baseball hysteria, and City Hall hijinks.
HISTORY LESSON: Telling Detroit’s immigrant story through its architecture
Today, as immigrants are being vilified, scapegoated and pulled off the streets by masked agents, it’s important for us to remember that the Detroit that so many are nostalgic for was designed and built by immigrants.
HISTORY LESSON: How Trump’s influence is keeping Canadians’ tourism dollars out of Detroit
Cultural tourists are hardly the only Canadians staying on their side of the Detroit River. In recent months, fears over tariffs, border confrontations, and political disagreements have engendered a decrease in border crossings not seen since the pandemic.
HISTORY LESSON: In telling the Great Migration story, don’t leave out the ugly parts
Welcome to History Lesson, a new recurring feature in Model D led by local historian Jacob Jones, in which we delve deep into the annals of Detroit history and nerd out over a different topic each time. This month, we're talking about what's left out of Detroit's Great Migration story.
