Synopses & Reviews
Between 1910 and 1930, the population of Hamtramck ballooned from 3,500 to 56,000 as Polish immigrants flocked to the geographically tiny area - 2.1 square miles - to work at the new Dodge auto factory. This rapid expansion was accompanied by enormous social pains. Corruption was rampant in this city that became a haven for speakeasies, brothels and gangs, like the Purple Gang from nearby Detroit. Paddy McGraw's brothel became famous across the Midwest, bringing in customers from as far away as Chicago. Quickly, Hamtramck developed a well-deserved reputation as a wide-open town, where anything could happen - for a price. The Detroit media feasted on the routine scandals, like the night the mayor was caught leading a convoy of trucks filled with whiskey into town. And Major Rudolph Tenerowicz made front-page news as the scandal involving his wife and girlfriend played out in lurid style in the press. But in typical Hamtramck style, when Tenerowicz was sent to prison for corruption, the locals presented a petition to the governor seeking his pardon. The pardon was granted and Tenerowicz was promptly elected to Congress. Tales like these abound from Hamtramck, which, after prohibition, had more bars per capita than any other town in America.
Synopsis
Hamtramck's population bulged to 56,000 from a mere 3,500 in the early twentieth century, a sixteen-fold increase that created the perfect environment for crime and corruption to flourish. Post-Prohibition, bars sprang up in quick order, until there were at least two hundred within this wide-open town's 2.1 square miles, giving it more bars per capita than any other city in America; even the Dodge brothers served barrels of beer to their workers. Follow local historian Greg Kowalski through the underbelly of Hamtramck, from the painted women openly flaunting their tainted charms from undraped windows to the nefarious plots crafted behind the walls of the International Workers Home on Yemens Street. Welcome to the height of Hamtramck's infamy, where anything could happenfor a price.