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is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2000 census, its population was 29,793.
The township around Oak Park began to be settled in 1822, with the area that was to become Oak Park first settled in 1840. The first major housing development came in 1914 and was called the Oak Park subdivision. An election to approve incorporation as a village was held on May 3, 1927. An election to approve incorporation as a city was held on October 29, 1945.
Planned developments in the late 1950s resulted in Oak Park being named "America's Fastest Growing City" at one point. Major civic improvements in this period included the addition of an outdoor swimming pool and an ice rink in Major Park (now known as Shepherd Park, after former mayor David Shepherd, but long known informally as Oak Park Park).
Oak Park is home to six of the steel and ceramic houses built by the Lustron company in the early 1950s, which provided an inexpensive type of shelter for servicemen returning from World War II. They can be found on Oneida St., just north of Nine Mile Road.
Oak Park grew into a quiet city of one-story houses, sidewalks, trees, and backyards. For many years it has had the feeling of a small town, even though it lies in the heart of the Metro Detroit area, bordering the city of Detroit and several of its larger suburbs.
Oak Park is known for being very clean and quiet. Residents tend to maintain a high level of pride for their homes. The City of Oak Park recently remodeled the downtown area with expensive brick walls, landscaping and decorative sidewalk lights, in addition to a brand new digital marquee sign.
In both 2002 and 2004, the city annexed portions of neighboring Royal Oak Charter Township.