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Not just the Motor City: Detroit’s boat and shipbuilding past

Detroit River channel photo
Scott Pohl
/
WKAR
This channel into the Detroit River used to serve as the launching point for Detroit's shipbuilders.

Detroit has a rich shipbuilding heritage. For our final stop at Detroit historical sites for this summer, we talk with Jack Dempsey at Milliken State Park along the Detroit River.

This past weekend, the Detroit River roared with the sound of the fastest boats in the world. Hydrofest marked its 100th year of racing in Detroit, a reminder that Detroit isn’t just the Motor City. Detroit’s manufacturing history stretches beyond the confines of America’s highways to America’s waterways.

In the last of our summer visits to historic sites in Detroit, Current State's Scott Pohl talks with Jack Dempsey, president of the Michigan Historical Commission, about Michigan’s boat and shipbuilding heritage.

Scott Pohl is a general assignment news reporter and produces news features and interviews. He is also an alternate local host on NPR's "Morning Edition."
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