Routinely called “Detroit’s Notorious Cass Corridor” by media outlets, the neighborhood nestled between the Lodge, Interstates 75 and 94 and Woodward Avenue became a symbol of Detroit’s decline in the late 20th century. But behind the headlines, the combination of falling rent and proximity to Wayne State University eventually made the neighborhood a regional center for social justice, anti-war, and anti-fascist activism; a cradle for Detroit’s first avant-garde art movement, and provided a launching pad for a distinctly Detroit-style of music – twice.

Every neighborhood has a story, but between 1960 and 2000 the Cass Corridor’s is uniquely innovative, collaborative, violent, and loud.