Metro Detroit Macomb County City
Center Line
The city inside a city: Warren wraps around Center Line on every side
- People (2025 estimate)
- 8,503
- Land area
- 1.8 sq mi · 4.5 km²
- From downtown
- 10.3 miles · 17 km · north
- Incorporated
- 1936
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Center Line matters
Center Line is one of the map's great oddities: a small, independent city completely surrounded by Warren. It stayed out of its big neighbor because it had already become a city in 1936, so when the rest of Warren Township became the City of Warren in 1957, Center Line was left in the middle.
It all started with a church. German, Belgian and French Canadian Catholic farmers built the first St. Clement church in 1854 so they wouldn't have to walk to Detroit for Sunday Mass. The new St. Clement of 1961, with its 65-foot vaults filled with stained glass, became one of the boldest modern churches around.
Local pride runs deep. Residents voted to become a village in 1925 so they could raise taxes for a fire truck, and the American LaFrance engine they ordered is still on display at the fire station. Since 2016, every early summer brings the Independence Festival, celebrating the nation's independence and Center Line's own independence from Warren.
02 / Known for
What Center Line is known for
It's completely surrounded by Warren, an independent island in the middle of its big neighbor.
The 1961 St. Clement church on Van Dyke, designed by Diehl & Diehl, with 65-foot vaults filled in with stained glass walls.
The 1925 American LaFrance fire engine, the reason the village was formed, now sits in a replica old firehouse inside the fire station.
The Independence Festival has run since 2016, and the Cruisin' 53 car parade down Van Dyke joined the early-summer weekend in 2019.
Van Dyke Avenue (M-53) runs right through the middle of town; back in the day the streetcar from Detroit ended here at Ten Mile Road.
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Center Line
Nothing on our calendar in Center Line right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / Places
1 places on our site in Center Line
05 / What to do
If you’re in Center Line
Center Line Memorial Park és Independence Festival
The city park on Lawrence Avenue hosts the Independence Festival in late May or early June, with free concerts, kids' activities and fireworks, plus a carnival on 10 Mile.
Official site ↗Cruisin' 53
The festival weekend's car day: classics and custom rides parade down Van Dyke Avenue, better known as M-53, starting at noon.
Official site ↗
06 / History
Center Line through the years
- 1854
Catholic farmers build the first wood-frame St. Clement church, and the settlement grows around it.
- 1925
Center Line becomes a village in the middle of Warren Township, and its first order of business is buying a fire truck.
- 1936
Center Line incorporates as a city and becomes independent of Warren Township.
- 1957
The rest of the township becomes the City of Warren, leaving Center Line surrounded on all sides.
- 1961
The new modernist St. Clement church is completed.
- 2016
The Independence Festival starts, marking the city's 80th birthday.
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Center Line city).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_Line,_Michigan
- wdet.org/2019/11/15/this-vintage-fire-truck-explains-why-center-line-is-surrounded-by-warren
- michiganmodern.org/modern-buildings/saint-clement-roman-catholic-church
- wdet.org/2019/11/15/historic-center-line-church-known-for-its-radical-design-could-be-closed-or-sold
- candgnews.com/news/independence-festival-cruisin-53-return-to-center-line-8163
- centerline.gov
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −0.5 percent.
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