Berkley

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2009)

Berkley, Michigan
—  City  —
Downtown Berkley
Location in the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 42°30′11″N 83°11′01″W / 42.50306°N 83.18361°W / 42.50306; -83.18361
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Oakland
Incorporated	1923 (village)
	1932 (city)
Area
- Total	2.6 sq mi (6.8 km2)
- Land	2.6 sq mi (6.8 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	686 ft (209 m)
Population (2000)[1]
- Total	15,531
- Density	5,925.5/sq mi (2,288.8/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	48072
Area code(s)	248
FIPS code	26-07660[2]
GNIS feature ID	0621157[3]
Website	http://www.berkleymich.org

Berkley is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2000 census, the total population was 15,531.

Downtown, etc.

Berkley's downtown area stretches along 12 Mile Road between Greenfield Road and Coolidge Highway, and along Coolidge Highway between 12 Mile Road and 11 Mile Road. Berkley's town offices and public safety headquarters are located on 12 Mile Road just east of Coolidge Highway. The Berkley Parks and Recreation department is located on Catalpa Drive, just east of Anderson Middle School. This includes the tennis courts, ice arena, baseball diamonds, and a park.

Since Berkley's eastern border is formed by Woodward Avenue, the city is an active participant in the annual Woodward Dream Cruise, a popular classic car showcase in the Metro Detroit area.

The Custom Police Cruiser, complete with a 502-CID V8 and flames, donated by a group of residents for use in the Woodward Dream Cruise.

Churches

There are many churches, of a variety of denominations, in Berkley. The largest is the Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of La Salette. The novitiate for the Chicago, Detroit, and Wisconsin provinces of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Loyola House, is located in Berkley as well as the Church of the King.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 15,531 people, 6,678 households, and 4,020 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,925.5 per square mile (2,288.8/km²). There were 6,833 housing units at an average density of 2,607.0 per square mile (1,007.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.09% White, 0.70% African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population.

There were 6,678 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 38.2% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $57,620, and the median income for a family was $66,968. Males had a median income of $50,276 versus $36,624 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,504. About 2.5% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

The Berkley School District operates in all of Berkley, all of Huntington Woods, and the north section of Oak Park. The school district includes four elementary schools (Rogers, Burton, Pattengill, and Angell), one Kindergarten-8th grade school (Norup International), one middle school (Anderson), and one high school (Berkley High School). Berkley High School has been named by Newsweek to its 2008 list of "top high schools" and ranked among the top six in the state. Norup became an International Baccalaureate Candidate school this year implementing the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP) for all students. Norup International is working towards becoming an authorized IB World School in the 2008-2009 school year.

A former elementary school, Avery, was converted into the school district office and is now known as Avery Center. Avery is one of three campuses (with Tyndall and Magnolia) housing the Berkley School District's Building Blocks program for infants through pre-school. The program is nationally accredited, one of among only 8% accredited centers in the country.

There is also a Roman Catholic school named Our Lady of La Salette. The school is a 3 year old preschool through 8th grade facility and has impressive sports teams. The Varsity A (mostly eighth grade) basketball team recently won the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) championship. Amazingly, 10 boys from the school were on the team, and there are only 22 kids total (including girls) in the entire eighth grade at La Salette. The team also had two parishioners, or people that do not go to the school but are active members in the church parish. There are 200 kids in the school, including the two pre-school classes and kindergarten.

Notable residents

• Curtis Armstrong, a Berkley High School graduate, has appeared in movies and television. Roles have included "Risky Business," "Ray," "Moonlighting," "Revenge of the Nerds," and "American Dad," as well as roles in "Grey's Anatomy," "Reaper," and "That 70's Show."
• Marshall Crenshaw, a popular singer and musician, best known for the songs, "Someday, Someway." Crenshaw graduated from Berkley High School in 1971. Crenshaw played the role of the bandleader in the movie "Peggy Sue Got Married."
• Benjamin Colman, working with Betty N. Robins, created a thin tinfoil pan with a expanding top designed to pop popcorn without the mess of having to clean the pan later. In 1958, his creation would go on to become the popular snack food Jiffy Pop. ^[4]
• Jim Starlin Comic book artist and novelist, noted for his "cosmic" take on superheroes such as Warlock, Silver Surfer and Captain Marvel. Graduated from Berkley High School in 1967
• Rob Tyner, singer of the famous American rock band the MC5 lived in Berkley during the later years of his life. He is buried at Berkley's Roseland Cemetery.

External links

• City of Berkley
• Berkley Downtown Development Authority
• Berkley School District
• Berkley Chamber of Commerce
• Berkley Home Improvement Expo
• Berkley Social Media Pages

References

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Oakland County, Michigan County seat: Pontiac Cities Auburn Hills | Berkley | Birmingham | Bloomfield Hills | Clarkston | Clawson | Farmington Hills | Farmington | Fenton‡ | Ferndale | Hazel Park | Huntington Woods | Keego Harbor | Lake Angelus | Lathrup Village | Madison Heights | Northville‡ | Novi | Oak Park | Orchard Lake Village | Pleasant Ridge | Pontiac | Rochester Hills | Rochester | Royal Oak | South Lyon | Southfield | Sylvan Lake | Troy | Walled Lake | Wixom Villages Beverly Hills | Bingham Farms | Franklin | Holly | Lake Orion | Leonard | Milford | Ortonville | Oxford | Wolverine Lake Charter townships Bloomfield | Brandon | Commerce | Highland | Independence | Lyon | Milford | Oakland | Orion | Oxford | Royal Oak | Waterford | West Bloomfield | White Lake Civil townships Addison | Groveland | Holly | Novi | Rose | Southfield | Springfield Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v • d • e Metro Detroit Topics Architecture · Celebrities · Culture · Economy · Freeways · History · Historic places · International Riverfront · Lake St. Clair · Media · Music · Parks and beaches · Skyscrapers · Sports · Theatre · Tourism · Transportation Central city Detroit Suburbs over 80,000 Canton Township · Clinton Township · Dearborn · Livonia · Sterling Heights · Troy · Warren · Westland Suburbs 50,000 to 80,000 Dearborn Heights · Farmington Hills · Grosse Pointe · Macomb Township · Novi · Pontiac · Redford Township · Rochester Hills · Royal Oak · Saint Clair Shores · Shelby Township · Southfield · Taylor · Waterford Township · West Bloomfield Township Satellite cities Ann Arbor · Brighton · Flint · Howell · Lapeer · Monroe · Port Huron · Windsor, Ontario Region Southeast Michigan Outlying regions Flint/Tri-Cities · The Thumb · Northwest Ohio Counties in MSA Lapeer · Livingston · Macomb · Oakland · St. Clair · Wayne Counties in CSA Genesee · Monroe · Washtenaw See also: Michigan