Triumph: Historic preservation ordinance
When Beulah Groehn and her husband, Henry, attended an estate sale on West Canfield Street in 1965, they were so impressed by the 1874 home that they bought it and moved in from the suburbs. Soon after, a developer purchased several Victorian homes across the street with the intention of tearing them down for an eight-story apartment building. Groehn spearheaded a movement with neighbors, architects, and planners to save the block, resulting in the city's first historic preservation ordinance in 1969. The West Canfield Historic District became the first locally designated historic district in the state of Michigan. Rewrites of the city charter have included provisions similar to the 1969 ordinance. Today there are 138 local historic districts in Detroit, protecting some of the very best architecture in the region.
