The first Mexican church in Mexicantown was built in the 1920s.  Massive growth in the community followed but was interrupted in the 1930s by the depression, which forced many Mexican workers back to their homelands in search of job opportunities. 

The rebirth began in the 1950s when a new wave of immigrants arrived to reclaim the area and build Spanish-language cinemas, nightclubs, grocery stores, restaurants and other retail outlets.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Mexicantown was targeted for the I-75 freeway, resulting in the removal of blocks of houses and businesses that caused many residents and businesses to leave. 

In the 1980s, the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Detroit International Bridge Company bought homes and businesses in Mexicantown for future transportation uses.  Blocks of the neighborhood were vacated but remained unused for decades.

Mexicantown Community Development Corporation (MCDC) emerged in 1989 as a result of businesses and residents joining together to address the desolation in Mexicantown.  One of our goals has been to build upon remaining assets by forming a strong coalition of interests dedicated to our neighborhood economic and community development.