Michigan's Cool Cities: FERNDALE

There is no other city in Michigan more closely identified with the LGBT community than Ferndale. Once a sleepy little border town to Detroit, Ferndale is now bustling with new businesses, construction projects and economic growth that is the envy of its neighbors, and the LGBT community has been a key player in much of the city's revitalization.
Affirmations LGBT Community Center, located in Ferndale since 1989, raised $5.3 million to construct a new center right in the heart of downtown, which is expected to be completed and open to the public by the fall of 2006. The Midwest AIDS Prevention Project, another large and active LGBT group on Ferndale, is located in the Community Pride Building. Its leader, Craig Covey, is Ferndale's first openly gay council person. The Mayor of Ferndale, Bob Porter, is a strong ally and has officiated at the annual Community Commitment Ceremony on the steps of City Hall each Pride Month.
Ferndale is the site of the annual Motor City Pride Celebration, organized by The Triangle Foundation, which has attracted over 35,000 to downtown Ferndale the first weekend of June. Ferndale had the third gayest zip code in Michigan, according to the U.S. Census 2000.
Ferndale has gay-owned businesses that target the LGBT community, including Just 4 Us, Q Bar, and Soho Martini Bar. There are many other LGBT-owned small businesses that appeal to a wider market, making Ferndale the hip, cool place to shop, dine and be seen. Paramount Bank will open a new branch this year in Ferndale to build the Bank's presence within the LGBT community.