Livonia

 

(lĭvōn'yə) , city (1990 pop. 100,850), Wayne co., SE Mich., a suburb of Detroit; founded 1835, inc. 1950. Among its manufactures are transportation equipment, plastic and steel products, textiles, and food products. The city is the seat of Madonna College. The Wolverine Harness Raceway is there.

Livonia, Michigan
Location of Livonia within Michigan
Coordinates: 42°24′4″N 83°22′16″W / 42.40111, -83.37111
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Wayne
Government
- Mayor	Jack Engebretson
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
- Metro
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	48150-48154
Area code(s)	734
FIPS code	26-490002
GNIS feature ID	06308413
Website: http://ci.livonia.mi.us/

Livonia is a city located in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 100,545, making it the eighth largest in the state. The city is a part of the Detroit metropolitan area, and located approximately  miles ( km) northwest from downtown Detroit, and two miles (3 km) from the western city limits of Detroit (Redford Township lies in between the two).

History

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900			—
1910			-6.5%
1920			17.8%
1930			98.5%
1940			173.4%
1950			102.0%
1960			289.6%
1970			60.3%
1980			-4.8%
1990			-3.8%
2000			-0.3%
Est. 2006			-3.8%

First settled by pioneers from New England and New York, an act by the legislature of the Territory of Michigan established the borders of Livonia Township on March 17, 1835. The city was named after the Livonia region in present day Latvia. It is likely that the township was named after this region due to Latvian immigrants who settled in the area. Livonia was incorporated into a city on May 23, 1950 by vote of the citizens of the township. A significant motivation was to gain tax revenues from the DRC (Detroit Race Course), which was Michigan's only thoroughbred horse racetrack (it closed in 1998).

Livonia has been visited by five U.S. presidents, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.^{[citation needed]}

Politics

Livonia is located in Michigan's 11th Congressional District, and is represented in Congress by Thaddeus McCotter (Republican), who was first elected to Congress in 2002. Livonia's mayor is Jack Engebretson. On November 6, 2007, Livonia's mayoral election will take place between Democrat Maureen Brosnan and former Republican mayor Jack Kirksey.

Livonia is Michigan's 6th State Senate District, and is represented by Glenn S. Anderson (Democrat), who was elected to the State Legislature in 2006.

Facilities

In addition to its schools, colleges, churches, parks, recreation center, libraries, and St. Marys Hospital, Livonia has commercial and industrial sectors, restaurants, and shopping.

Livonia has two malls in its city Limits: Laurel Park Mall at 6 Mile Road and Newburgh, and Livonia Mall at 7 Mile Road and Middlebelt. It also has a number of shopping centers, including Wal-Mart supercenter, two Target stores, one Meijer store and many smaller stores.

Wonderland Mall opened as an outdoor shopping mall on the site of an airport in Livonia in 1959. It was eventually turned into an indoor shopping mall which proved popular until the 90's saw a decline in its popularity. At one time it was the third regional shopping center in the state of Michigan, and was the first of three malls to open in the city of Livonia. Wonderland Mall was demolished in 2006 and has been replaced by a Wal-Mart supercenter.

Food

Livonia has two restaurants that are unique to the city. The first is Bates Burgers, located on the northwest corner of 5 Mile and Farmington Roads. It is a 50's-styled corner diner with an old-fashioned, family atmosphere. Bates is well known for its burgers (known as "sliders"), shakes, and chili fries.

Less than half a mile east on 5 Mile Road is Han-D-Dip Dairy Barn, Livonia's other treasure. This ice cream stand has been in operation for generations and is a staple of summertime life in Livonia. In fact, the first day of the year it is open is considered by some to be the official start to summer.

There is also the ever-popular Senate Coney Island, with one of four of its metro Detroit locatated on the corner Plymouth Road and Stark Road. Another location is located on Haggerty Road but is in Northville. It is frequented by Livonians.

Safety

Livonia has in recent times ranked among the list of safest cities in the United States, finishing in the top ten numerous times. In 2006 it was ranked 7th, while its close neighbor Detroit was ranked the second most dangerous. Murder, for example, is rare in the city and when one does occur, it is usually not random.

Livonia Fire & Rescue is made up of 80 persons crosstrained in firefighting and emergency medical care. It operates five fire and rescue stations located throughout the municipality:

• Farmington Road, just south of Five Mile Road (headquarters)
• Middlebelt Road, just north of Plymouth Road
• Middlebelt Road, just south of Seven Mile Road
• Plymouth Road, just west of Newburgh
• Seven Mile Road and Wayne

The department responds to approximately 8,500 emergency calls per year, mostly calls for medical aid.

Festivals

• St. Andrew's Society of Detroit Highland Games at the Greenmead Historic Village. Usually the first Saturday each August.
• Livonia Spree [1] Is located in Ford Field at the corner of Farmington Road and Lyndon in the last week each June. Includes Spree Fireworks.
• Music under the Stars. Held at various locations in Livonia throughout the summer.

Education

Livonia is home to Madonna University and Schoolcraft College.

There are currently five high schools in Livonia; four public: Franklin, Churchill, and Stevenson High Schools in the Livonia district, Clarenceville High School in the Clarenceville Public School District, and one private: Ladywood High School, a Catholic all-girls school run by the Felician Sisters.

Each Livonia Public Schools high school offers a different program to make up for the fact that Livonia Public Schools no longer offers School of Choice, due to over-crowding. Stevenson High School is the home of the school of Global Education, an alternative education model which combines students' English and Social Studies classes with a focus on the student's role in the world. Churchill houses the MSC program, (Math, Science, and Computers) and CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts). Franklin is currently in the process of adopting an International Baccalaureate program.

Frost Middle School houses the MACAT program (Middle Alternative Classrooms for the Academically Talented). The public school Webster Elementary School (a K-6 school) is home to the ACAT program (Alternative Classes for the Academically Talented), as well as many afterschool programs.

• Madonna University [2]
• Schoolcraft Community College [3]

• Clarenceville School District [4]
• Livonia Public Schools [5] (LPS also serves parts of Westland.)
• Academy of Westland Charter Schools (In Westland, but serving Livonia) [6]
• Warren Dale Charter Academy (In Detroit, but serving Livonia) [7]
• CAPA, a performance art program at Churchill high school [8]

There are a number of parochial grade schools attached to Catholic and Lutheran churches around Livonia, including:

• Ladywood High School

• St. Edith, St. Genevieve & St. Michael Catholic church grade schools

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 92.8 km² (35.8 sq mi). 92.5 km² (35.7 sq mi) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 sq mi) of it (0.33%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 100,545 people, 38,089 households, and 28,071 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,086.8/km² (2,815.0/sq mi). There were 38,658 housing units at an average density of 417.9/km² (1,082.3/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 95.45% White, 0.95% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.94% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population.

By 2006 there were 96,736 people in Livonia. This represented a 3.8% decline in the city's population since 2000.

In 2000 there were 38,089 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $63,018, and the median income for a family was $72,720. Males had a median income of $54,137 versus $35,273 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,923. About 2.0% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.

Livonia has received some attention as the US city with the highest percentage of Caucasian residents among cities with 100,000 or more residents. At the same time, it neighbors Detroit, Michigan which has the highest percentage of African American residents among cities with 200,000 or more residents.(Heath 2005).

Major employers

• Ford Motor Company
• General Motors
• United Parcel Service
• Quicken Loans
• Valassis
• St. Mary Mercy Hospital

Notable people

Broadcasting

• Sean Baligian: Sports radio host (WDFN), Detroit News Fantasy Sports Expert (Stevenson High School
• Dennis Fithian: Detroit radio personality (WXYT) (Franklin High School Class of 1988)
• Scott Geiger: Syndicated radio personality. Stevenson High School Class of 1989).
• Rob Pascoe: Sports Radio 1130 WDFN. Host of "On The Track." Detroit's only NASCAR Nextel Cup radio show.
• Art Regner: WDFN Radio in Detroit, Michigan (Franklin High School)

Acting

• Olivia Brown: Actress
• David Burtka: Actor
• Nicole Forester: Actress on Guiding Light, graduated from Stevenson High School in 1990.
• Judy Greer: popular young actress, studied in Churchill High School's renowned Creative and Performing Arts program
• Jonathan B. Wright: rising new broadway star, studied in Churchill High School's renowned Creative and Performing Arts program; starred in 2006 Tony Award Winning Musical, Spring Awakening

Sports

• Bernie Carbo: Former MLB player who spent most of his career playing for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals. (Franklin High School)
• Jeff Cassar: Former goal keeper of FC Dallas and is now the goal keeper coach for the team.
• Brendan Donnelly: Los Angeles Kings (Franklin High School)
• Zach Gowen: Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Professional Wrestler and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) Wrestler. (Churchill High School)
• Charlie Haeger: Major League Baseball player for the Chicago White Sox. A notable knuckleball pitcher. (Catholic Central High School Class of 2001).
• Al Iafrate: Former NHL All-Star for Toronto, Washington, Boston, and San Jose. Multiple winner of NHL's Hardest Shot Contest.
• Ryan Kesler: NHL player for the Vancouver Canucks
• Mike Kinkade: Major League Baseball player.
• Jeff Lerg: Michigan State Spartans goaltender.
• David Moss: NHL player for the Calgary Flames (Catholic Central High School)
• Mike Modano: star NHL player for the Dallas Stars (Franklin High School)
• Casey Rogowski: Chicago White Sox; first base prospect.
• F.P. Santangelo: Former MLB outfielder.
• Tim Shaw: Penn State NCAA football player and Clarenceville High School alumni.
• Sheila Taormina: 1996 Olympic gold medalist in swimming (4x200 freestyle relay) and 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Triathlete
• Paul Terek: 2004 Olympic decathlete (Franklin High School)
• Steve Warner: 2004 U.S. Men's Olympic Rowing team, men's lightweight fours (Stevenson High School Class of 1996).

Business

• Daniel Gilbert: Billionaire founder of Quicken Loans. ^{[citation needed]}
• Kevin O'Conner: co-founder of DoubleClick an internet technology company.

Politics

• Thaddeus McCotter: US Congressman for Michigan's 11th district

Music

• Warren Defever: Founding member of the experimental band His Name Is Alive

See also

• Livonia Mall
• Laurel Park Place

References

Heath, Brad (2005), "Racial divide haunts Metro Detroit", The Detroit News, <http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0509/22/A01-323733.htm>. Retrieved on 6/7/2007.

External links

• Official site

Municipalities and communities of Wayne County, Michigan
County seat: Detroit
Cities	Allen Park | Belleville | Dearborn | Dearborn Heights | Detroit | Ecorse | Flat Rock | Garden City | Gibraltar | Grosse Pointe | Grosse Pointe Farms | Grosse Pointe Park | Grosse Pointe Woods | Hamtramck | Harper Woods | Highland Park | Inkster | Lincoln Park | Livonia | Melvindale | Northville | Plymouth | River Rouge | Riverview | Rockwood | Romulus | Southgate | Taylor | Trenton | Wayne | Westland | Woodhaven | Wyandotte
Villages	Grosse Pointe Shores
Civil Townships	Brownstown | Canton | Grosse Ile | Grosse Pointe | Huron | Northville | Plymouth | Sumpter | Redford | Van Buren

	State of Michigan Lansing (capital)
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Largest municipalities	Ann Arbor | Battle Creek | Bay City | Bloomfield | Canton | Chesterfield | Clinton | Commerce | Dearborn | Dearborn Heights | Detroit | East Lansing | Eastpointe | Farmington Hills | Flint | Flint Charter Township | Georgetown | Grand Rapids | Holland | Jackson | Kalamazoo | Kentwood | Lansing | Lincoln Park | Livonia | Macomb | Meridian | Midland | Muskegon | Novi | Pontiac | Portage | Redford | Rochester Hills | Roseville | Royal Oak | Saginaw | Saginaw Charter Township | St. Clair Shores | Shelby | Southfield | Sterling Heights | Taylor | Troy | Warren | Waterford | West Bloomfield | Westland | Wyoming | Ypsilanti Charter Township
Counties	Alcona | Alger | Allegan | Alpena | Antrim | Arenac | Baraga | Barry | Bay | Benzie | Berrien | Branch | Calhoun | Cass | Charlevoix | Cheboygan | Chippewa | Clare | Clinton | Crawford | Delta | Dickinson | Eaton | Emmet | Genesee | Gladwin | Gogebic | Grand Traverse | Gratiot | Hillsdale | Houghton | Huron | Ingham | Ionia | Iosco | Iron | Isabella | Jackson | Kalamazoo | Kalkaska | Kent | Keweenaw | Lake | Lapeer | Leelanau | Lenawee | Livingston | Luce | Mackinac | Macomb | Manistee | Marquette | Mason | Mecosta | Menominee | Midland | Missaukee | Monroe | Montcalm | Montmorency | Muskegon | Newaygo | Oakland | Oceana | Ogemaw | Ontonagon | Osceola | Oscoda | Otsego | Ottawa | Presque Isle | Roscommon | Saginaw | Sanilac | Schoolcraft | Shiawassee | St. Clair | St. Joseph | Tuscola | Van Buren | Washtenaw | Wayne | Wexford

Coordinates: 42°24′4″N, 83°22′16″W

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