HISTORY LESSON: Detroit’s March Madness: The Moments That Never Get Old
As Michigan competes in the winner-takes-all NCAA Championship, let's reflect on other key March Madness moments in Detroit history.
Jacob Jones's Latest Articles
HISTORY LESSON: The significance of the Palmer Park Historic District
Palmer Park’s 57 apartment buildings represent one of Detroit’s clearest examples of intentional, high-quality multifamily planning.
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.
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.
