Hamtramck, MI

A Pocket of Polish Pride

From the air, homes and businesses in Hamtramck, Mich., blend in with the landscape of Detroit’s other neighborhoods, but at street level, Hamtramck is proudly—and predominately—Polish.

Home to thousands of Polish immigrants in the early to mid-1900s, Hamtramck’s main street still is dotted with Polish bakeries and eateries, where powdered-sugar chruscikis (pastry) and fresh kielbasa (sausage) are served and Polish words punctuate conversations.

At the Polish Market, ethnic delicacies such as plump paczkis (custard-filled doughnuts) sit next to the cash register, and imported cookies, Polish coffee, and pierogis (dumplings) pack the shelves.

“You can’t find what my store carries outside of Hamtramck,” says owner Krzysztof Obrzut, who immigrated to the United States from Poland in 1987.

Settled by French Canadians in 1798, Hamtramck is named after Col. Jean Francois Hamtramck, a Revolutionary War hero of German-French extraction. The town’s first Polish residents didn’t arrive until the early 1900s with the opening of a Dodge Brothers automobile factory, whose jobs attracted workers of many nationalities.

Between 1914 and 1920, Hamtramck’s population swelled from 3,589 to 45,615, in part because of the large influx of newly arrived Poles. By 1930, about 85 percent of the city’s 56,000 residents were of Polish extraction, and the community—which measures just over 2 square miles—was the most densely populated city in the United States. Today, about half of Hamtramck’s 22,976 residents claim some Polish ancestry.

Physical isolation from Detroit has helped Hamtramck retain its Polish personality. To the east are railroad tracks, to the west is Interstate 75, and to the south are factories. The north is the only opening to Detroit without an obstacle.

“Hamtramck has always been a little island within Detroit,” says Greg Kowalski, chairman of the Hamtramck Historical Commission.

Hamtramck’s Polish influence, however, is felt beyond its borders. Paczki Day, a Polish celebration that marks the beginning of Lent, draws crowds to Hamtramck’s bakeries for the rich doughnuts that give the event its name. On Labor Day, polka bands play and Polish dancers twirl during Hamtramck’s Polish Day Parade.

Hamtramck’s Polish heritage brought Pope John Paul II to the city in 1987 and a monument to the first Polish leader of the Roman Catholic Church stands in a downtown park. Among the city’s other religious masterpieces are the 1928 St. Florian Roman Catholic Church, designed by Ralph Adams Cram, America’s premier Gothic Revivial architect in the early 1900s. St. Florian is one of more than a dozen churches, synagogues, and mosques in Hamtramck.

“People mortgaged their homes to build churches,” Kowalski says.

Polish culture is responsible for Hamtramck’s success, says Joan Bittner, who with her husband, Raymond, owns the Polish Art Center, a store featuring handmade arts & crafts from Poland. Wooden boxes show off intricate designs, delicately painted pisanki (Easter eggs) fill a glass case, and Polish costumes, worn by local dance troupes, fill a rack toward the rear of the store.

“The most impressive thing for me is when Polish residents bring their friends and family,” she says. “Polish-Americans are proud to be Polish when they come here.”

Hamtramck also boasts other ethnic groups, including large Albanian, Ukrainian, Yemenese, and African-American communities. “It wasn’t uncommon in the 1930s for African-Americans to own a home here and rent a flat to whites,” Kowalksi says.

Hamtramck also was progressive in other social issues, such as having the first school district in the United States to offer education for special needs students.

“Growing up here I never realized how different it was from other cites,” Kowalski says. “But today I realize what a great sense of community Hamtramck has.”

“That is what keeps me here,” he adds.

Erin Fanning is a freelance writer in Millersburg, Mich.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article