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An inner suburb of the Detroit Metro Region, Melvindale is abutted by Dearborn to the north, Lincoln Park to the south, Detroit to the east, and Allen Park to the west and southwest.

The main routes to and from the city are I-75 and I-94, the former of which passes by just west of Melvindale, while the latter roughly forms the eastern boundary of the city.

Besides the bordering cities, named above, other cities and villages within twenty miles of Melvindale include River Rouge, Ecorse, Southgate, Taylor, Wyandotte, Dearborn Heights, Inkster, Riverview, Garden City, Trenton, Woodhaven, Wayne, Hamtramck, Romulus, Highland Park, Westland, Southfield, Oak Park, Flat Rock, Grosse Pointe Park, Lathrup Village, Livonia, Gibraltar, Grosse Pointe, Hazel Park, Rockwood, Ferndale, South Rockwood, Belleville, Huntington Woods, Berkley, Harper Woods, Center Line, Eastpointe, Pleasant Ridge, and Grosse Pointe Woods.

Largely a residential community, the majority of the city's housing units were built in the 1950s, and nearly forty percent of Melvindale residents are renting. Its largest industries are manufacturing, educational, health, social services, and professional services, although its manufacturing base has declined in the 2000s.

Historically, Melvindale was formed in the 1920s as a small residential town, then named Oakwood Heights, serving a surrounding agricultural area. In the 1930s and 1940s, it transitioned into a bedroom community for employees of the nearby Ford Motor Company's Rouge Plant, and its population increased greatly after World War II, enjoying an increase of nearly a hundred percent on the 1950 census, and close to another forty percent in 1960. Although its population declined slightly each of the four decades between 1980 and 2010, it is projected to increase by about twenty percent when the 2020 census numbers are released.

Melvindale's parks system includes the Melvindale Civic Arena, De Luca Field, and Palmer Park, and the Rouge River flows through the northern portion of the city, connecting to larger greenway systems nearby. Additionally, the former Palmer School site, located on Palmer Street between Emogene and Grace Street, is a three-acre green space.

The Melvindale Downtown Development Authority administers the city's commercial center, which includes Oakwood Boulevard between Prospect Street to Harman Street, and Allen Road between South Dearborn Street to Outer Drive.

Melvindale was named for Melvin Wilkinson, who developed the area as a place for the Ford Rouge Plant workers to reside. Melvindale was incorporated as a village in 1924, and it became a city in 1933. Its current population is just below 13,000.

The focal point of this portion of our guide is on the city of Melvindale, Michigan. Online resources for the municipal government, any other governmental bodies within the city, local businesses, industries, schools, places of worship, organizations, attractions, events, sports programs and facilities, and recreational opportunities are appropriate for this category.

 

 

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