Gratiot Avenue was once teeming with restaurants, bars and retail stores.
Now more than half of the buildings south of 8 Mile are abandoned on one of original avenues laid out by Judge Augustus Woodward after a fire leveled Detroit in 1805.
Gratiot was named after Fort Gratiot, which got its name from Colonel Charles Gratiot.
In Detroit, Gratiot stretches 9.3 miles from downtown to 8 Mile. The entire stretch of Gratiot, which goes to Chesterfield Township, is 27.1 miles.
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