| a city in SE Michigan, near Detroit. 70,893. |
| Royal Oak A city of southeast Michigan, a residential suburb of Detroit. Population: 58,000. |
Royal Oak
city, Oakland county, southeastern Michigan, U.S., that is a residential northern suburb of Detroit. First settled in 1819, it may have been named for an oak in Scotland under which, according to legend, Charles Edward, the Young Pretender, hid from his pursuers in 1745. The Detroit Zoo is located there. The controversial "radio priest" of the 1930s, Charles E. Coughlin, was founder and pastor of the city's Shrine of the Little Flower-a Roman Catholic church built in 1929 that is noted for its Art Deco design; its 130-foot (40-metre) tower is a city landmark. Inc. village, 1891; city, 1921. Pop. (2000) 60,062; (2005 est.) 58,299.
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