First Paved Mile of Road
Woodward Avenue, the city’s main thoroughfare, had the first mile of paved concrete in the United States. Stretching from Six Mile to Seven Mile roads, the concrete was laid in 1909 at the cost of $14,000.
First Van Gogh
The Detroit Institute of Arts was the first public museum in the United States to purchase a painting by Vincent Van Gogh. In 1922, the museum purchased “Self Portrait,” which is still part of the DIA’s permanent the museum, for $4,200.
First Zoo Without Cages
During a time when zoos across the country put their animals in cages for display, the Detroit Zoo thought differently. The zoo, which opened in 1928, was the first zoo to have cageless habitats. It was also the first zoo to decide to no longer keep elephants.
![A group of people looking at penguins in an aquarium.](https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/wsi-imageoptim-Detroit-Zoo-Polk-Penguin-Conservation-Center_2023-05-23-111634_mumn.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=ba6d4e6c3642bf566b8b23665dbeed26 320w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/wsi-imageoptim-Detroit-Zoo-Polk-Penguin-Conservation-Center_2023-05-23-111634_mumn.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=aa33615da3f8a8cd2ac558d6213dc5ff 540w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/wsi-imageoptim-Detroit-Zoo-Polk-Penguin-Conservation-Center_2023-05-23-111634_mumn.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=4a9f00c7d23de0c8acf14ad885b49a0b 768w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/wsi-imageoptim-Detroit-Zoo-Polk-Penguin-Conservation-Center_2023-05-23-111634_mumn.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=65aeab07e64f471a005ce5f4c81234e5 1024w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/wsi-imageoptim-Detroit-Zoo-Polk-Penguin-Conservation-Center_2023-05-23-111634_mumn.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=ff60f4e4599a698025811db195572a47 1200w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/wsi-imageoptim-Detroit-Zoo-Polk-Penguin-Conservation-Center_2023-05-23-111634_mumn.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=7cb93e33f6c2e047d35208a47a60006d 1440w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/wsi-imageoptim-Detroit-Zoo-Polk-Penguin-Conservation-Center_2023-05-23-111634_mumn.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=e2feeec33d14697aea880b344d5662fb 1920w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/wsi-imageoptim-Detroit-Zoo-Polk-Penguin-Conservation-Center_2023-05-23-111634_mumn.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=ec798c900d0edf56a2703f26a387598f 2100w)
First International Tunnel for Cars
Connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, the nearly 1-mile-long Detroit-Windsor tunnel was the first international tunnel for vehicles. Completed in 1930, the tunnel runs as deep as 75 feet below the Detroit River.
First Expressway
Opened for traffic in 1942, the Davison Freeway in Detroit was the first below-grade expressway built in the United States. The expressway runs east-west and connects M-10 (known locally as “the Lodge”) to I-75.
First Radio Station
Detroit is home to the first government-licensed radio station, which started broadcasting in August 1920. The station, 8MK, is known today as WWJ-AM (950).
![Detroit Skyline](https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/0d6c7db2289c9102db5d73dd4705ea02.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=879f8ebeb002953d593aa0d0b5b5f4ec 320w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/0d6c7db2289c9102db5d73dd4705ea02.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=dedbca29f7ac0aac664139e99174c8d8 540w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/0d6c7db2289c9102db5d73dd4705ea02.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=b884ee8a2a886ae026edd9916f3de8eb 768w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/0d6c7db2289c9102db5d73dd4705ea02.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=1999041842f4dc4c22eecb6f29a1f51d 1024w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/0d6c7db2289c9102db5d73dd4705ea02.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=d07dbe40ee7cbbac360d7604f60fd9c4 1200w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/0d6c7db2289c9102db5d73dd4705ea02.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=55ccf37f2a283b66d599546203bbc347 1300w)
First Tri-Colored Traffic Light
The three-color traffic light that we all know today was invented in Detroit. It was first installed downtown at the corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenues in 1920.
… And One “Last”
For as many firsts that Detroit is known for, there is also one last – Thomas Edison’s last breath, sealed in a tube at Greenfield Village in Dearborn. At the time of Edison’s death, his attending physician sealed several of the test tubes in the room, one of which was sent to Henry Ford. Today it’s part of the collection at The Henry Ford.
![Women at Greenfield Village](https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/2023-photoshoot-images/Bureau_GreenfieldVillage_9247.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=9f33637d28a9f799d31f27464f088182 320w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/2023-photoshoot-images/Bureau_GreenfieldVillage_9247.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=e1b7cd9282167da2a477e0b98265a719 540w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/2023-photoshoot-images/Bureau_GreenfieldVillage_9247.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=98b89952641783bd3bde9df07a860e79 768w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/2023-photoshoot-images/Bureau_GreenfieldVillage_9247.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=a7cc0aa3dcdfdde93a04694eb3622999 1024w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/2023-photoshoot-images/Bureau_GreenfieldVillage_9247.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=d03260b13b07778b84a8c47a4ed55127 1200w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/2023-photoshoot-images/Bureau_GreenfieldVillage_9247.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=c8044572034ba7b2ef409b5faddb2f2c 1440w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/2023-photoshoot-images/Bureau_GreenfieldVillage_9247.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=fec7ad0e292e5d18bfb5fa009685c905 1920w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/2023-photoshoot-images/Bureau_GreenfieldVillage_9247.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=b228fd3b13b932da542c1278c812b704 2560w, https://visit-detroit.imgix.net/images/2023-photoshoot-images/Bureau_GreenfieldVillage_9247.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=3840&s=65ee13fb2c817f2cf49e0a07fb738fa0 3840w)
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