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Saginaw, then and now

1937

On the historic maps, click on an area to see the appraiser's description, which will appear on the right. To enlarge those descriptions, click on it and it will appear on the left. Scroll around to see how they identified the neighborhood and its inhabitants and how appraisers felt about the area's long-term prospects.

2015

In 1937, the Saginaw River was the main racial dividing line and it remains so today. No blacks lived in the western portions of the city (shaded blue, green and yellow in the 1930s map). They did live in the yellow and red zones to the east, and today between 60 and 85 percent of residents there are African-American (shaded red in newer map).

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