Flint in Genesee County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Civic Park
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, August 26, 2021
1. Civic Park Marker
Inscription.
Civic Park. . In 1916, as a flood of new workers for Flint’s automobile factories caused housing shortages, the directors of the Flint Board of Commerce formed the Civic Building Association. The association had built 133 houses on 400 acres of farmland by December 1917, when a slump in the automobile industry and World War I slowed construction. After the 1918 Armistice, General Motors Corporation agreed to complete the project. The Dupont Company, General Motors’ controlling shareholder, organized the Modern Housing Corporation, which added 280 acres and constructed 950 homes in less than nine months. At the peak of construction, Dupont employed 4,600 people. Postwar house prices ranged from $3,500 to $8,000. A typical home had five or six rooms, a slate roof, an open porch, and a basement. Curved streets, planned park areas, and tree-lined boulevards added to the attractiveness of the community.
In 1916, as a flood of new workers for Flint’s automobile factories caused housing shortages, the directors of the Flint Board of Commerce formed the Civic Building Association. The association had built 133 houses on 400 acres of farmland by December 1917, when a slump in the automobile industry and World War I slowed construction. After the 1918 Armistice, General Motors Corporation agreed to complete the project. The Dupont Company, General Motors’ controlling shareholder, organized the Modern Housing Corporation, which added 280 acres and constructed 950 homes in less than nine months. At the peak of construction, Dupont employed 4,600 people. Postwar house prices ranged from $3,500 to $8,000. A typical home had five or six rooms, a slate roof, an open porch, and a basement. Curved streets, planned park areas, and tree-lined boulevards added to the attractiveness of the community.
Erected 1982 by Michigan History Division, Department of State. (Marker Number S0543.)
43.283′ W. Marker is in Flint, Michigan, in Genesee County. Marker is at the intersection of West Dayton Street and Dayton Place, on the right when traveling east on West Dayton Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1325 W Dayton St, Flint MI 48504, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Additional commentary. 1. National Register of Historic Places Added to NRHP on September 7, 1979
— Submitted August 27, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, August 26, 2021
2. Civic Park Marker in front of abandoned Civic Park School.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 28, 2021. It was originally submitted on August 27, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. This page has been viewed 222 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 27, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
