Detroit filed the largest municipal bankruptcy in history this week before a Michigan judge declared it unconstitutional.

The city has long been in decline and rapidly losing population, but it hasn't always been that way.

The automobile industry had its home base in Detroit and the population spiked from just over 285,000 in 1900 to over 1.5 million by 1930. Downtown was bustling with large industrial buildings, hotels, trolleys and street cars. There were also numerous parks, theaters and opera houses for recreation.



These photos from the Library of Congress and Wikimedia Commons show what Detroit looked like in its prime.

Shlomo Sprung contributed to this story.