About Us
In the late 1960s, the St. John Street neighborhood fell victim to urban renewal, as did many cities across the United States. And like the Hastings Street area in Detroit and the Jewel Street section of Grand Rapids, Flint’s St. John Street area was summarily demolished. An entire community—along with its people’s hopes, dreams, and way of life—was peremptorily destroyed and gone forever.
Thousands of families displaced. Hundreds of businesses destroyed. Houses of worship desecrated. Cultural landmarks decimated. A cherished history lost, forgotten, and denied future generations. The history of the St. John Street neighborhood has been all but forgotten until now.
Woodrow Stanley, former Flint Mayor and former resident of Flint’s St John Street Neighborhood said, “ I lived in the former St. John Street Neighborhood and it is an example of the urban renewal strategy that left an entire generation of Flint residents disillusioned. A legendary immigrant neighborhood in the early 20th century Flint, the St John area near Buick City was leveled to make way for an industrial park, which now sits mostly abandoned. In its heyday, the Neighborhood was synonymous with community pride and the fabled American Melting potâ€