An impromptu road trip across the border during a long weekend.
I’ve always been fascinated by Detroit because it has such a rich cultural history and some of my favourite music (The White Stripes, The Stooges, & Motown) has come out of Detroit and surrounding areas. I saw the Hotel Yorba from a distance as we were on our way back to Canada.
We decided we were going to Detroit last minute and figured that lots of things would be open on Sundays & Mondays but turns out the Monday we were there was President’s Day (national holiday) and most things are closed on Sundays, but we had an awesome weekend anyway. I’d love to go back during the summer and see and do more things.
At one time, Detroit was the 4th largest city in America. Unfortunately, due to the foreclosure crisis, the city has seen better days. When we drove through the city, we saw some beautiful architecture boarded up and abandoned. We talked to some local residents and they said it was worse several years ago. The city seems to be entering a period of revitalization, evident in the next photo.
Detroit has great architecture. Lots of Art Deco, lots of intricate details.
The Motown Museum
Breakfast at Gold Cash Gold
Corktown, an area full of great bars and restaurants. We ate some amazing ribs at Slow’s BBQ and stopped by LJ’s Sweetheart Bar for a drink.
Michigan Central Station, abandoned in the 80′s because driving became the preferred method of transport. A must see if you’re passing by and like architecture or ruins photography.
The Heidelberg Project
“It’s an open-air art environment in the heart of an urban community on Detroit’s East Side. Tyree Guyton, founder and artistic director, uses everyday, discarded objects to create a two block area full of color, symbolism, and intrigue. Now in its 30th year, the Heidelberg Project is recognized around the world as a demonstration of the power of creativity to transform lives.”
The Detroit Institute of Art is world class art gallery.
Unfortunately we only had an hour and a half there and quickly breezed through the first two floors. It’s a massive gallery and I still need to see the third floor. Here are some of my favourite pieces:
Another cool spot in the city is the Eastern Market area (the actual market was closed when we were there) but we stopped by a couple spots that were open, including People’s Records, where I picked up a few $2 Motown records, Trinosophes, a open concept cafe and music venue, and The Detroit Mercantile Co., which sells cool American made goods.
Rose’s Fine Foods, an unsuspecting diner from the outside, but full of amazing food on the inside. The front of their menu reads: “The team at Rose’s Fine Food believes that workers should be fairly compensated beyond simply working for tips. While we heavily accept gratuities for great service and food, please note that all of our employees are paid a living wage, and all tips are split evenly throughout the staff, front and back of the house. A portion of our tips are donated to various staff selected, Detroit-based charities”. Amazing. The current charity was the Bernie Sanders campaign (speaking of the American election, I find this Twitter account so amusing).
Chickpea Hash, the only source of vegetables I ate all weekend.
The Belle Isle Conservatory & Aquarium - both free! The Aquarium was closed for renos though. Belle Isle park is massive (larger than Central Park) and would be worthy of a bicycle ride & picnic in the summertime (Rose’s Fine Foods caters picnic baskets FYI).
The last stop was another free resource, the Detroit Historical Museum. It felt like a field trip, but entertaining and informative nonetheless.
Notable things not featured: The Woodbridge Pub. We showed up late on a Sunday night and the kitchen was closed, but they were cool enough to let us order a [Detroit style] pizza to the bar. Great staff, cheap drinks. They have bottomless mimosas for brunch on Sundays.
Other things we wanted to do but timing wasn’t right:
Take a tour with Oneita. Our friend had her info in his notes and we gave her a call on the way to Detroit, but she didn’t have her cab that weekend. It was an funny exchange, “How’d you get this number?” “The internet”. She gave us the scoop on some events that were happening in the city that weekend and said she knew some other people that were able to show us around, but they “weren’t her, obviously”. She did offer to hop into our car and show us Detroit, but the car was already feeling tight at the max. capacity with 5 people. The drive around would have cost $126 + her lunch. If we had a bigger car, I think it would have been worth it because she seems like a wealth of knowledge. She told me to call her back if we had any questions, but she was tired and going to take a nap. Next time, Oneita.
Mexicantown. Apparently there’s really good cheap Mexican food there.
Catch a show at the UFO Factory & The Fillmore.
Visit John K. King Used & Rare books when it’s actually open.
Actually go inside the Motown museum for a tour before closing.
Here’s a neat photo essay showing the abandoned buildings in Detroit.
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