Curbed Cup 1st Round: (1) Lafayette Park vs. (16) Palmer Woods

Lafayette Park

The idyllic Lafayette Park snagged the #1 seed this year for a few reasons. In looking at real estate, it was moving in Lafayette Park this year. Obviously, people love mid-century modern and that style is in abundance in this neighborhood. But the location puts is close to everything, and it’s a great choice for families who want to be close to downtown, but in a beautiful park-like setting. But don’t take our word for it. Residents spoke up in the nominations period. Here’s one of the comments:

“Lafayette Park for the Mies Van der Rohe architecture, many green spaces, density, proximity to 375, and walkability to downtown, the river, and some neighborhood shops. No neighborhood like it in Detroit”

Palmer Woods

Redfin

If you really want to see how much money was in Detroit during the auto boom, take a drive through the winding roads of Palmer Woods. These massive estates are in beautiful condition, and a must-see for anyone who loves great residential architecture, including work from Frank Lloyd Wright (which you can’t really see from the road, but it’s there) and Minoru Yamasaki. We didn’t see too much going on over here this year, aside from some larger listings. But when we’re talking about great Detroit neighborhoods, it’s always up for consideration.