The Joe Louis Greenway new signs give history to the Midwest-Tireman neighborhood

The Joe Louis Greenway will look a little different the next time you ride your bike or walk down it. Residents apart of the Midwest-Tireman neighborhood think the area is a great place to live, a neighborhood steeped in history. Now they want other people to know that, too.

The Midwest-Tireman neighborhood , also known as "The Old Westside" located between west Warren Avenue and Joy Road, will be featured on 10 new signs that will line the Joe Louis Greenway.

Four neighborhood residents: Alesia Brown, LaManda Matthews, Carolyn Pruitt, and Karen Walker, worked as story gatherers for the project, interviewing long-term residents to receive oral history of the neighborhood. The interviews were then turned into signage that will line the trailhead.

The 10 themes are as follows, History of this Community, Migration from the South to the West Side, Civil Rights and the Orsel McGhee House, The Arts, The Era of Forgotten Neighborhoods, Homeownership and the Local Economy, The Detroit Terminal Railroad, Churches and Faith Leaders, Recreational Roots and It takes a Village.

This project cost $45,000 and was paid for by a grant from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Michigan's Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy funds.

“The fascinating aspect of these neighborhood stories is the connection of the past (the history of the neighborhood) to the present (the JLG),” says Crystal Perkins, director of the City of Detroit General Services Department. “These stories are powerful tools for conveying complex history, emotions, and messages in a way that will resonate with JLG visitors who stop to read these signs.”

The Joe Louis Greenway is a 30-mile regional greenway connecting 23 Detroit neighborhoods to Dearborn, Hamtramck and Highland Park.

Jalen Williams is a reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Joe Louis Greenway new signs give history to the Midwest-Tireman neighborhood