Displacement on Convention City Almanac

Detroit: Huntington Place

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Detroit: Huntington Place#

Opened: 1960 (as Cobo Hall). Renovated: 2015 ($279M). Exhibit space: 723,000 sq ft. Walk Score: 91. Transit Score: 84.

One of the largest convention centers in North America, built on one of the most documented cases of convention center displacement of Black communities. Three names in five years. The building that ate Paradise Valley.

What Was Here Before#

Black Bottom and Paradise Valley — Detroit’s Black residential and commercial districts, destroyed through urban renewal in the 1950s and 1960s.

Nashville: Music City Center

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Nashville: Music City Center#

Opened: 2013. Exhibit space: 353,000 sq ft. Walk Score: 83–86.

The convention center that works — built on a community that was erased.

What Was Here Before#

Black Bottom — Nashville’s first African American business and residential district. Center of Black business life by 1900. Destroyed by urban renewal and highway construction; gone by 1960. 200,000+ cubic yards excavated.

Convention centers have a history of being built on cleared communities. Nashville is one of the most documented cases.