Atkinson Avenue Historic District

Atkinson Avenue is an east–west street located in the geographic heart of the city of Detroit, Michigan.

Held prisoner by the Confederacy, Atkinson courageously escaped and rose to the rank of captain before leaving the service in 1886.

Doctors, poets, ministers, real estate agents, salesmen and a newspaper writer were among the community's first residents.

[4] The first and only Poet Laureate of Michigan,[5] Edgar Guest lived at 1500 Atkinson,[4] and one of the thoroughfare's most well-known residents was the renowned baseball player Ty Cobb who resided in a brick dwelling at the intersection of Atkinson and Third (not within the boundaries of the historic district).

Most houses are of the "basic box" or "four square" types with Mediterranean, Colonial or Tudor elements and are two stories tall with an attic.

Unlike other neighborhoods within the city, Atkinson Avenue residents did not file deed restrictions prohibiting non-Caucasians from purchasing homes.

[8] Previously Hutchins Middle School served portions of Atkinson Avenue Historic District.