Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were bounded by Brush Street to the west, and the Grand Trunk railroad tracks to the east.
Bisected by Gratiot Avenue, the area known as Black Bottom reached south to the Detroit River. To the north to Grand Boulevard was defined as Paradise Valley.
Black Bottom and Paradise Valley was eventually cleared and redeveloped for various urban renewal projects. The neighborhood ceased to exist by the 1960s.
Historically, this area was the source of the River Savoyard, which was buried as a sewer in 1827.
The river's flooding had produced rich bottomland soils, for which early French colonial settlers named the area "Black Bottom".
Paradise Valley in the twentieth century, contained night clubs where famous Blues, Big Band, and Jazz artists performed.
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