Detroit then and now, a look back at the city in photos

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

12 years ago

This 1920s photo shows employees working in the Packard Motor Car Co. in Detroit.

This Jan. 28, 2010 photo shows the abandoned 3.5-million-square-foot Packard car plant in Detroit.

In this Dec. 10, 1936 file photo, Henry Ford, right, stands with his first car built in 1892, assembled in the brick barn in the background in Detroit. At left is James Bishop.

In this April 27, 2009 file photo, General Motors President and CEO Fritz Henderson listens to a conference call regarding the companies viability plan in Detroit.

In this Jan. 20, 2006 photo, 45’s and photographs, including Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder in photo at right, are displayed at the Motown Museum gallery in Detroit.

In this June 21, 1943 file photo, two white youths help a black man to his feet after he was badly beaten in street fighting during race riots in Detroit.

Workers roll a Mercury Cyclone concept car up a ramp into its display area as work continues at Cobo Center in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show, Jan. 2, 1990.

In this Jan. 9, 1993 file photo, thousands of people visit Cobo Center in Detroit for the North American International Auto Show.

In this July 17, 1980 file photo, a shower of balloons drops from the top of the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit where the Republican National Convention heard Ronald Reagan accept the nomination for president by his party.

In this June 26, 1996 file photo, the 38th Freedom Festival fireworks display lights up the skies over the Detroit River as seen from downtown Detroit with Windsor, Ontario, in the background.

In this Aug. 10, 1996 file photo, the historic Detroit Edison’s “Seven Sisters,” smokestacks at the Conner’s Creek Power Plant in Detroit are toppled.

In this June 10, 1997 file photo, Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman holds up a trophy as he acknowledges the crowd with his family during the Stanley Cup parade in Detroit to honor the NHL champions. The Red Wings swept the series against the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday, June 7.

This July 27, 2011 file photo shows a section of vacant stores in Detroit.

In 2008 the General Motors world headquarters in downtown Detroit.

A 1956 Packard Partrician is housed in a protective bubble in the Detroit Historical Society’s storage area at the Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit, Feb. 8, 2011.

DETROIT — It was once the mighty Motor City.

In Detroit’s heyday, it was the place where workers in a rising middle class flocked to factories to build the cars that changed America’s way of life. It was a city of innovation, of pride, of grit.

Now, it has filed for bankruptcy. There are roughly 700,000 people left there, less than half of the 1.8 million who called the city home when population peaked in the 1950s. The decline of the auto industry took away jobs. Foreclosures left behind blocks of empty homes in once vibrant neighborhoods.

Here’s a gallery of images showing the city’s rise and fall.