Detroit: Recreation
Sightseeing
Signs of Detroit's revitalization are particularly apparent in the downtown district. The People Mover, an elevated computerized rail transit system, features 13 stations with some of the most impressive publicly commissioned works of art in the country, all viewable from the train cars. Hart Plaza, named in honor of the late Senator Philip A. Hart, stands adjacent to Detroit's most visible symbol of renewal—the recently renovated Renaissance Center, headquarters of General Motors. Hart Plaza is the center of many downtown festivals, parades, and the Freedom Festival fireworks, and includes the Dodge Memorial Fountain, designed by sculptor Isamu Noguchi. Nearby, at the foot of Woodward Avenue, sits Robert Graham's sculpture The Fist, commemorating fighter Joe Louis and considered the city's most controversial piece of art. Another more conventional statue of Joe Louis stands inside the Cobo Hall Convention Center, where a museum dedicated to the boxer's life is open to the public on weekends.
During its heyday in the post-World War I 1920s, Detroit saw the construction of several high-rises built in ornate Art Deco style. Not all of those buildings are still standing, but those that are include the Penobscot, Guardian, and Buhl buildings downtown, as well as the original General Motors and Fisher buildings further uptown, and several magnificent theaters, including the Fox, the Fisher, the Masonic Temple, and Orchestra Hall. Just west of downtown, the Ambassador Bridge, the world's longest international suspension bridge built in 1929, spans the Detroit River and connects Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, a small Canadian city with a casino and charming Italian and Chinese neighborhoods.
The Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak was the first zoo in the United States to make extensive use of barless exhibits; the zoo is home to more than 1,300 animals representing 286 different species. The new "Arctic Ring of Life" exhibit displays several polar bears, arctic foxes, seals, and sea lions in a massive simulated arctic tundra environment. In 2004 the zoo opened the National Amphibian Conservation Center to educate and provide research facilities on amphibians. The "Chimps of Harambee" exhibit covers four acres of naturalistic habitat. Other popular exhibits are the penguinarium, reptile house, free-flying aviary, butterfly garden, and giraffe house.
Belle Isle, located in the Detroit River two miles from downtown, was purchased from the Chippewa and Ottawa native Americans and was landscaped as a 1,000-acre city park in 1879 by Frederick Law Olmsted. Belle Isle is the home of the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, a nature center, the nation's oldest fresh water aquarium, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, the Scott Fountain, and the Floral Clock.
The Cranbrook Institute of Science is a natural history museum and planetarium located north of the city in Bloomfield Hills.
The Detroit area is graced by a number of mansions built by automobile industrialists that are now open to the public. Meadow Brook Hall, a 100-room mansion on a 1,400-acre estate on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, was built by auto baron John Dodge in 1926. Henry Ford's final home, the 56-room Fairlane, is located on the University of Michigan's Dearborn campus. The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, overlooking Lake St. Clair in Grosse Pointe Shores on a 90-acre estate, is built with an authentic Cotswold stone roof and leaded glass windows with heraldic inserts. The Fisher mansion on the Detroit River features original Eastern art works, Italian Renaissance and vintage Hollywood architecture, and more than 200 ounces of pure gold and silver leaf on the ceilings and moldings.
Other historic structures in Detroit include Moross House, Old Mariners Church, Sibley House, and Pewabic Pottery, where ceramic Pewabic tiles were first developed. The International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit is an agency for the foreign-born founded by the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in 1919, with a "gallery of nations" featuring the arts and crafts of 43 nations.
Arts and Culture
The Detroit Symphony, one of the country's few orchestras with international stature, plays a September-to-May season of classical and pops concerts at Orchestra Hall as well as a summer season at Meadow Brook, an outdoor amphitheater in Rochester. While Maestro Neeme Jarvi planned to step down as Conductor in 2005, a worldwide search for his successor was underway; meanwhile, famed violinist Itzhak Perlman continues his tenure as principal guest conductor with the Symphony. Michigan Opera Theatre produces classical grand opera in seasons at the magnificently restored 1922 Detroit Opera House, with two productions each fall and three more each spring. In 2005 the Opera premiered one of the most anticipated new American operas in decades when Margaret Garner was performed with a cast of international stars, including Denyce Graves. The opera was based on author Toni Morrison's classic novel Beloved, with the author also penning the libretto.
Detroit supports an active theater community; performances are staged in some of the finest restored facilities in the country. The Attic Theatre presents the best of the new and the offbeat. The intimate Gem and Century theaters offer
The Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts and Masonic Temple Theatre bring professional touring theater and dance companies to Detroit audiences. Meadow Brook Theatre at Oakland University presents an eight-play season of musicals, classics plays, and new works. Wayne State University's Hilberry Theatre produces classic drama performed by graduate student actors; undergraduate productions are staged at the Bonstelle Theatre. The Cranbrook Performing Arts Theatre in Bloomfield Hills offers orchestra, band, and vocal concerts, in addition to dance and drama, by high school students at the Cranbrook Educational Community. Other venues for the performing arts are the Riverfront Music Theatre in Chene Park, Joe Louis and Cobo arenas, the outdoor amphitheaters DTE Energy Music Theater in Clarkston and Meadow Brook Music Theater in Rochester, and the Palace of Auburn Hills, frequently named Arena of the Year by Performance Magazine.
The Detroit Institute of Arts, established in 1885, is the nation's fifth-largest fine arts museum. Art treasures from throughout the world and covering a historical period of 5,000 years are housed in 100 galleries. The museum's collection has literally outgrown its space and many major works had to be warehoused; a major renovation and expansion is set to be completed in 2007, adding 77,000 square feet of additional exhibit space. Among the institute's most prized holdings is the four-wall mural Detroit Industry by Diego Rivera. Also known worldwide is the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, which Henry Ford founded in 1929 to document America's growth from a rural to an industrial society by exhibiting objects from the nation's material culture. Henry Ford Museum is a fourteen-acre complex housing major collections in transportation, industry, agriculture, and the domestic arts; the museum features one of the world's most comprehensive car collections, including the vehicle President John F. Kennedy was traveling in when he was assassinated. A state-of-the-art IMAX Theatre was part of a $125 million makeover that started in 1999. Greenfield Village, a 240-acre outdoor museum, gathers on a single site one of the largest collections of historic American homes, work-places, and communities; among them are Thomas Edison's Menlo Park laboratory, the Wright brothers' bicycle shop, and Noah Webster's Connecticut home.
The Detroit Historical Museum in the Detroit Cultural Center was founded in 1928 as an archive of the history and customs of Detroiters. The museum's collection of more than 250,000 urban historical artifacts is one of the largest such collections in the country. An educational unit of the Detroit Public Schools, the Children's Museum displays collections that focus on African musical instruments, the Inuit, and American folk crafts and toys. The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is dedicated to the contributions of African Americans in the humanities and creative arts. The Motown Historical Museum, a Michigan Historic Site, is quartered in the former home of Berry Gordy, Jr., Motown's founder, and preserves the music studio and recording equipment used in pioneering the Motown Sound. The Graystone International Jazz Museum preserves the city's jazz history. Fort Wayne is home to the National Museum of the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-African American unit of World War II fighter pilots.
Arts and Culture Information: Detroit Department of Culture, Arts & Tourism, 2 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226; telephone (313)224-3470; fax (313)244-3399.
Festivals and Holidays
From April until Labor Day, Detroit's downtown riverfront is the scene of a program of ethnic festivals (the largest is the African World Festival in August) and the Downtown Hoe-down. June events include the Annual Heritage Fair at the Dearborn Historical Museum; Art on the Pointe, a juried art show at the Ford Estate; and the Muzzle Loaders Festival at Greenfield Village. The International Freedom Festival, begun in 1959, is a summer celebration of the friendship between Canada and the United States; it attracts more than 3 million people and culminates in a large fireworks display on the Detroit River.
On the Fourth of July weekend the Colonial Music and Military Muster at Greenfield Village features uniformed American and British troops in simulated encampment activities. Also in July at Greenfield Village is the Fire Engine Muster with hand-pulled rigs and horse-drawn pumpers in a re-creation of early fire-fighting techniques. The Blues Festival of Detroit, the Henry Ford Day at the Fairlane Mansion, and the Wyandotte Street Art Fair conclude July activities. The Michigan State Fair at the State Fairgrounds, the nation's oldest state fair, takes place in August, as does the Spirit of Detroit Car Show and the Swap Meets at Historic Fort Wayne. The Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend brings together over 100 international artists and local jazz musicians in the nation's largest free jazz festival. The Autumn Harvest Festival in Dearborn, the Detroit Festival of the Arts, the Hamtramck Polish Festival, and the Old Car Festival at Greenfield Village are popular activities in September.
A major event in November is America's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which presents 20 floats, 15 helium balloons, 25 marching bands, more than 1,000 costumed marchers, and Santa Claus in one of the nation's largest Thanksgiving Day parades; televised coverage of the parade is broadcast around the country. Other November events include Detroit Aglow and the Festival of Trees and Christmas Carnival at Cobo Conference Center. Christmas at Greenfield Village in December features Christmas past and present at more than two dozen historic village sites, with yuletide meals cooked at open hearths. Other seasonal shows are Noel Night at the Detroit Cultural Center, the Wassail Feast at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Christmas dinner at the Fairlane Manor.
Detroit's automotive era is evoked at numerous local events. The North American International Auto Show is among the most important auto shows in the world and is held each January. Autorama comes to Michigan each March and features classic and custom hot rods. The Concours d'Elegance, an exhibition of the world's finest classic cars, is held at Meadow Brook Hall in the summer. And the Woodward Dream Cruise bills itself as the world's largest one-day celebration of car culture, attracting over 1.7 million visitors from around the U.S. and even foreign countries, and more than 40,000 muscle cars, street rods, custom, collector, and special interest vehicles. Cruisers travel a 16-mile, spectator lined section of Woodward Avenue through nine communities on the third Saturday in August, though cruising often begins several days before the official event.
Sports for the Spectator
A tough, gritty, blue-collar town throughout much of its history, Detroit identifies itself through nothing else—except perhaps its rich musical legacy—as it does its passion for the local sports franchises. Detroit supports professional franchises in all the major sports, and each team has a rich tradition of all-time great players, oddball characters, and world championships. The Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League host visiting competitors at Joe Louis Arena, located downtown on the riverfront. The Red Wings have won hockey's fabled Stanley Cup 10 times, including 3 between the years 1997-2002. The Detroit Tigers, the city's oldest team, began play in the American League of Major League Baseball in 1901; a few years later the club acquired Ty Cobb, who played 22 years in a Detroit uniform and became one of the most legendary players in the history of the game. The club has won four World Series titles, the latest in 1984. In 2000 the Tigers moved to the new Comerica Park, across from the Fox Theater. The Detroit Lions compete in the National Football Conference of the National Football League. In 2002 the team moved its home field to downtown Detroit, adjacent to Comerica Park. The $450-million, enclosed Ford Field was privately financed and is set to host the 40th Super Bowl in February 2006. The Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association play their home games at the Palace of Auburn Hills, a 22,000-seat arena north of the city. Club attendance has led the NBA from 2003-2005, and the 2004 Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games to win the 2004 World Championship, the third title in club history. The Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association also plays at the Palace. The University of Detroit Mercy plays NCAA Division I basketball and other sports in the Horizon League. Both the University of Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans compete in Big Ten athletics within an hour's drive of the city.
The Spirit of Detroit Thunderfest brings super-power hydro-planes to race on the Detroit River in June. Harness Racing is on view at the Hazel Park Harness Raceway and at Northville Downs.
Sports for the Participant
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy was formed in 2003 with an initial $50 million grant from the Kresge Foundation, to develop and beautify the land along the city's Detroit River frontage. The group's ultimate goal is to raise $110 million and build a five-mile-long RiverWalk connecting the Belle Isle Bridge (east of downtown) and the Ambassador Bridge to the west. The 62-foot wide pathway, expected to be completed by 2006, will have landscaping, lighting, benches, picnic areas, and paved trails for cyclists, skaters, and walkers, and will provide views of the river, its nonstop boating and freighter traffic, and the city of Windsor, Ontario. In addition to this project, the Detroit Department of Parks and Recreation oversees 6,000 acres of park land. More than 350 city parks contain a total of 318 baseball diamonds, 257 tennis courses, six golf courses, and two marinas. Detroit has developed four smaller downtown riverfront parks, and there are miles of paved walkways for walking, running, and biking on Belle Isle. Outdoor sports such as swimming, boating, hiking, fishing, and skating are available at metropolitan parks. There are 170 public golf courses and six ski resorts in the Detroit region.
Runners of the Detroit International Marathon cross borders twice—taking in stunning views on the Ambassador Bridge on the way to Windsor and then hoofing it through the tunnel on the way back to Detroit—as they tour both Detroit and Windsor's downtowns over 26.2 miles.
Shopping and Dining
Detroit offers unique shopping venues like Eastern Market, the largest flower-bedding market in the world and an outlet for fresh meats and produce from neighboring states and Canada. Adjacent to Eastern Market are specialty stores selling fresh meat, poultry, gourmet foods, and wines. Pewabic Pottery, founded in 1903, continues to produce handcrafted vessels and architectural tiles for public and private installations from its East Jefferson factory and gallery. There are numerous shops and restaurants throughout the sprawling Renaissance Center complex, and at the Millender Center directly across Jefferson.
Greektown and International Center, a popular Detroit tourist spot, features bakeries, restaurants, bars, and coffee-houses. Bricktown, located in a refurbished sector of downtown, is anchored by an art gallery selling Oriental vases, Persian rugs, and antique furniture.
Metropolitan Detroit offers about 150 shopping centers of at least 100,000 square feet. Vibrant downtown shopping areas can be found in communities like Birmingham, Grosse Pointe, and Royal Oak. The Somerset Collection and Somerset Collection North in suburban Troy rival the nation's finest shopping areas; the twin centers are anchored by Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Marshall Field's.
Detroit offers elegant dining experiences downtown at Opus One, the Rattlesnake Club, and Sweet Georgia Brown. The Coach Insignia, situated 70 floors atop the Renaissance Center, has dining and panoramic views of Detroit, the river, the Ambassador and Belle Isle bridges, and Windsor, Ontario. Also in the Renaissance Center, Seldom Blues has fine dining, riverfront views, and a lively late-night club scene with some of the best jazz in the city. At the corner of Michigan and Lafayette, the side-by-side Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island have been Detroit legend for decades, especially for late-night after-hours crowds, serving up their unique hot dogs on steamed buns with chili, onions, and mustard, plus chili fries, and even a cold beer. Heading north from downtown diners will find sushi at Oslo, the Whitney in a restored Victorian mansion, Agave, Atlas Bistro, and Union Street. West of downtown, near the Ambassador Bridge, Mexican Village has several Mexican restaurants, as well as Spanish and Guatemalan fare. To the east of the city, Grosse Pointe has several excellent restaurants, including The Hill; in the northern suburbs the Lark in West Bloomfield and Tribute in Farmington Hills are consistently given five-star ratings by international publications. Detroit is home to the largest Arab population outside of the Middle East, and many of those immigrants live in Dearborn where a number of authentic Lebanese and Syrian restaurants thrive. Detroit is home to some outstanding Italian restaurants; Creole, Japanese, Chinese, Ethiopian, Thai, Indian, and Turkish cuisine are included among the other ethnic choices.
Visitor Information: Detroit Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, 211 W. Fort St., Ste. 1000, Detroit, MI 48226; telephone (313)202-1800; toll-free (800)DETROIT