The area known today as Greektown was first settled in the 1830s by German immigrants, who created a primarily residential neighborhood in the area. However, in the earliest years of the 20th century, most of the ethnic German residents, who had gotten established in the city, began moving from the neighborhood into newer residential areas farther from downtown. As they left, a new wave of Greek immigrants moved into this older housing. Theodore Gerasimos was the first documented Greek immigrant in Detroit. The newly arrived Greeks soon established their own businesses in the neighborhood.