Detroit

Libraries and Museums

The Detroit Public Library is an independent municipal corporation governed by a seven-member Detroit Library Commission. In addition to the main locale, there are 24 branch libraries, a Municipal Reference Library, Special Collections, and a bookmobile service for seniors and shut-ins.

Library revenues originate from resources that include money from the state equity grant, penal fines, the single business tax reimbursement, the city general fund, state air, and the city of Detroit property taxes. The Main Library receives funding as a state of Michigan resource.

The Detroit Public Library, in association with Highland Park's McGregor Public Library, forms the Detroit Associated Libraries (DAL), one of 16 public library cooperatives in Michigan. The Detroit Public Library is also a member of DALNET, the Detroit Area Library Network, an organization of southeastern Michigan libraries who share the costs and benefits of automation.

Detroit is also home to many legendary museums and celebrated galleries. Indeed rated as world class, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is the country's fifth-largest fine arts museum. Erected in 1885, the striking building houses " The Thinker, " a famous outdoor sculpture by Auguste Rodin (1840–1917). Locals are proud, and visitors are surprised by the museum's treasures.

Included galleries are those of Italian Renaissance Art, the works of notable African-American artists, a rare armor collection, and the masterworks of luminaries Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Warhol.

Making a statement is Mexican muralist Diego Rivera's " Detroit Industry. " Frescos in the museum's central courtyard, the dramatic mural pays tribute to the good and evil of American industrialization. A guidebook helps mural viewers discover hidden symbols, including faces of celebrated people tucked into the scenes.

Galleries featuring Ancient Art, Islamic, and the audio phone tour of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are only a few of the unique exhibits.

Music plus museum equals Motown—Berry Gordy's love child that changed the voice of America was founded on the streets of Detroit in 1959. The museum memorializes the sights and sounds of artists who graced that period.

Greenfield Village is living history at its best. Authentic representation of eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and early twentieth-century America, museum presenters are dressed in period clothing and encourage visitor participation with chores like dishwashing and candle making.

Other noteworthy historical properties in the Detroit area include the Detroit Historical Museum, the Museum of African American History, the Detroit Garden Center, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Detroit Hydro-plane Museum, the Detroit Science Center, Graystone Jazz Museum, the Heidelberg Project, and Hitsville USA/Motown Historical Museum.