Hidden gems of Detroit

Posted on October 22, 2014

You come into the city for the Tigers, Lions and Wings, but there’s more to Detroit than just its sports teams.

Crain’s “Big Bet on Detroit” issue was a labor of love for the entire staff here. For my part, I edited the special issue, but I also took on the task of identifying a handful of the city’s hidden gems, places that I personally love, as a reminder to everyone — newcomers, metro Detroiters and visitors alike — of the vibrancy and grandeur in the Motor City. You might be surprised by what you find.

I’ve broken the gems down by regions and listed them in no particular order. (You can also find some of the hotspots on the main site with maps and spin tours thanks to our partner, LunaTech 3D.)

If you’re inspired to keep exploring, pick up a copy of Belle Isle to 8 Mile: An Insider’s Guide to Detroit.It has 448 pages that will keep you inspired by this place we call home.

Enjoy!

Region 1: Downtown

1. The Guardian Building ceiling
500 Griswold St.

Downtown Detroit has stunning architecture that can rival the best that New York and Chicago have to offer. Just look up! This city’s ceilings are sights to behold. Start with the over-the-top Art Deco-meets-Native American styling of the Guardian Building. Home to Wayne County administration and the Detroit Economic Growth Corp., the tile murals will take your breath away. Don’t miss these other highlights:

  • Buhl Building across the street at 535 Griswold St.
  • Penobscot Building, 645 Griswold St.
  • Michigan Theatre parking garage, 220 Bagley St.
  • Max M. Fisher Music Center, home to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, 3711 Woodward Ave.
  • Masonic Temple, 500 Temple St.
  • Sweetest Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, 4440 Russell St.
  • Fisher Building, 3011 W. Grand Blvd.

 2. Mariner’s Church

170 E. Jefferson Ave. 

The indomitable Patti Smith married Fred Smith, of the band MC5, in this church on the riverfront near the entrance to the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. The 170-year-old Anglican church is also immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” as the church that chimed its bells “29 times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.” After paying respects, walk down the riverfront westward to greet the Monument to Joe Louis, the statue known as The Fist Joe Louis’ Fist (follow it on Twitter at @joelouisfist @FistStatue) or sit and reflect in Hart Plaza.
3. Best view of Detroit — that you can access
Coach Insignia, Renaissance Center

There are a lot of stunning views of Detroit, but most are locked away in the office towers of downtown, such as One Woodward Center – the one designed by Minoru Yamasaki that looks like it’s clad in tall lollipops. But for the cost of a cocktail, you can enjoy the majesty of an international border from the bar at the Coach Insignia.

While you’re there – you already paid to park in one of the lots – take a tour of the RenCen and fall in love with the brutalist interior architecture that is simultaneously organic and intimate and powerful and imposing.

Bonus: Already been to the Coach? Try the newly opened Top of the Pontch restaurant on the 25th floor of the Crowne Plaza Detroit Downtown, i.e., the old Pontch hotel (Jefferson Avenue and Washington Boulevard).
4. The People Mover
13 stations

It’s best not to think about the People Mover as public transportation; that will just make everybody sad. Instead, think of it as a method of dating your way through downtown.

Start at any one of 13 stations, but we like to launch from the Renaissance Center because there is easy parking. Use the People Mover’s online station guide to plot where to dine and drink eat each stop. Try newly opened Wright & Co. (1500 Woodward Ave.) off the Grand Circus stop, for example, or longtime stapleSweetwater Tavern (400 E. Congress St.) at the Millender Center.

Want to feel like you’re in Paris or New York or Chicago? Have a cappuccino on the patio of 1515 Broadway, under the tracks of the People Mover, with Grand Circus park luring you from the north and stunning architecture surrounding.

Region 2: Midtown

DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS
Puppetry and Pagentry
Asian shadow puppets from the DIA’s current exhibit (top to bottom): “Srikandi, Gogon Margono”, Indonesian, 2005, leather, buffalo horn, thread; “Group of Lohan,” Unknown Artist, Chinese, 1900s, parchment, dye, cotton thread, bamboo; “Te-Yung on Bicycle,” Unknown Artist, 20th century, donkey skin.

5. Detroit Institute of Arts puppet collection
5200 Woodward Ave.

You know about the Diego Rivera murals, but there’s more to the DIA’s treasures. One highlight is a stunning collection of theatrical puppets dating from 1850 to 1950. These aren’t Elmo and friends; these enchanting works of art range from folk art to vaudeville to samurais and aquatic creatures. Because of their age and light-sensitive materials, thePaul McPharlin Puppetry Collection is extremely fragile and can only be on display for short periods. The puppets rotate regularly in the display cases outside the first floor lecture hall.

A new exhibit featuring the Asian shadow puppets is currently on display until March 15.

Bonus: The renovated Kresge Court is a perfect night out on Fridays, serving cocktails until 9:30 p.m. and a full menu until 9 p.m. Use it as an excuse to check out the frequent lectures and concerts that celebrate the end of the work week. (It was recently renovated by Patrick Thompson Design, the city’s new “it” interior designer.)

Bonus: Need a new frock or accessory? Head across the street to the Peacock Room, Frida andBusted! in the Park Shelton, which was the home of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo while he painted his famous frescoes.
6. Detroit Public Library 3rd floor
5201 Woodward Ave.

This majestic Italian Renaissance building has so much more than books. Take the elevator up to the DPL’s third floor and soak in its art collection, including frescoed ceilings, a Pewabic tile fireplace and more. There are docent-led tours at 1 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month. (Register and learn more at dplfriends.com.) If you’re lucky, someone will leave open the door to the exterior promenade fronting Woodward Avenue so you can take in the grandeur of Woodward Avenue and the architecture of the DIA across the street.
7. Cass and Canfield shopping district
Cass Avenue and Canfield street

Sure, the area centered at Cass and Canfield is best known as the home of Shinola/Detroit’s flagship store, but it was already a hot shopping district before bikes, watches and leather goods rolled in. This was a hub for Midtown’s small businesses resurgence, which continues to thrive and multiply. Make a day of it and come shop for gifts, home goods, books, accessories and more. Here are just a few suggestions:

  • City Bird (460 W. Canfield St.)
  • Nest (460 W. Canfield St.)
  • Hugh (4240 Cass Ave.)
  • Spiral Collective (4201 Cass Ave.)
  • Source Booksellers (4240 Cass Ave.)
  • Thrift on the Avenue (4130 Cass Ave.)

Shopped out? Grab lunch at one of the many restaurants. Try a burger at Bronx Bar if you’re in a rock-and-roll mood; pizza at Motor City Brewing Works; tapas at La Feria; sandwiches at Goodwells Natural Foods Market. Need a caffeine pick-me-up? Try Avalon bakery, Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Co. orMelt.
8. McGregor Memorial Conference Center
495 Ferry Mall, Wayne State University Campus 

The McGregor Memorial Conference Center is an oasis of calm in the middle of Wayne State University’s campus. Designed by Detroit architect Minoru Yamasaki, who would later design New York City’s Twin Towers, the conference center is on the National Register of Historic Places. Yamasaki may be best known locally for designing the University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, but the conference center is considered one of his most important works. In 2012, Wayne State University spent $1.8 million renovating the building. Go check out its reflecting pool and sunken garden and then take a walk through campus and absorb the most architecturally stunning urban campus in the country, if we do say so.

This isn’t famed architect Yamasaki’s only work in Detroit. Find a few of his other buildings here:

  • Federal Reserve Building, 160 W. Fort St.
  • PrentisBuilding and DeRoy Auditorium Complex, Wayne State campus
  • One Woodward Avenue, 1 Woodward Ave.

Region 3: Eastern Market

9. Eastern Market street art
Eastern Market district

Detroit is known internationally for its vibrant collection of street art you see on walls across the city. Many business owners even encourage the murals because it often keeps others from tagging – scribbling with spray paint – their property. Dan Gilbert, for example, hired graffiti artists from around the globe to create murals on the inside of his Z Lot parking garage downtown. (And yes, it’s legal. Here’s a primer.)

Eastern Market is a prime location for spying stunning pieces, from the recently restored mural at the entrance of Eastern Market featuring bushels of produce going to market to the new piece by Shark Toof, an LA artist who painted (legally) a giant shark with iridescent teeth on a building at Division and Riopelle streets. But these works can be ephemeral, so check frequently.

Here are a few other street art must-sees:

  • Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, exterior, 4454 Woodward Ave.
  • Z Garage, 1234 Library St.
  • Grand River Creative Corridor, Grand River Avenue between Rosa Parks Boulevard and Warren Avenue
  • “Illuminated Mural,” by Katie Craig and Brandon Dougerty, 2397 E. Grand Blvd.
  • Lincoln Street Art Park, Lincoln Street between Marquette Avenue and Elijah McCoy Drive
  • “Mano de Obra Campesina,” by Dasic Fernandez, 6022 W. Vernor Highway Hwy. (wall of Hacienda Mexican Foods)
  • “The Chimera,” by Kobie Solomon, 1600 Clay St. (wall of the Russell Industrial Street Center), but you see the giant lion from the highway at the I-75/I-94 junction
  • The Untitled Bottega, exterior, 314 E. Baltimore St.

10. Eastern Market after hours
Eastern Market district

You know about Eastern Market as a Saturday destination, the best place in town to get terrific produce and the wares — meats, cheeses, jams and more being developed by local food producers such as Corridor Sausage Co., Sister Pie and Beau Bien Fine Foods. But the market is also an after-market-hours destination for dining, shopping and art. On summer Sundays, find a street market filled with antiques, jewelry, clothing and more.

Savvy Chic (2712 Riopelle St.) has been offering beautiful antiques and fashions for 14 years and now there is Savvy Gents right next door on Riopelle Street. The neon arrows over Winder Street lead to the Red Bull House of Art, a gallery and performance space for up-and-coming artists (1551 Winder St.). Two letterpress outfits, Salt & Cedar and Signal-Return, make the district their home, as does Aptemal Clothing‘s Division Street Boutique, the maker of the “Detroit Hustles Harder” T-shirts. Plus so much more. Check outdetroiteasternmarket.com for a full business directory.
11. Dequindre Cut Greenway
Begins near Orleans street and Gratiot Avenue and runs to the riverfront

The Dequindre Cut is truly one of the city’s hidden gems … because it can be impossible to find the entrance. There are three on-ramps to the 1.35-mile trail that follows an old rail line from the riverfront to Gratiot Avenue: at Woodbridge Street, Lafayette Street and Gratiot Avenue. The one at Gratiot is particularly tricky if you don’t know what you are looking for: On the south side of Gratiot, just past Eastern Market and Orleans Street, there is the bike path that takes you down.

Bonus: Take the trail down to the river and enjoy a night out at one of the many dining establishments that still thrive in the old warehouse district. Try Andrews on the Corner (201 Jos Campau), a Detroit family business for five generations. For something more upscale, try the Rattlesnake Club (300 River Pl. Dr.) or the newly opened outdoor patio overlooking the water at the Roberts Riverwalk Hotel (1000 River Pl. Dr.).

Bonus: Got kids in tow? Don’t miss the carousel and bike rentals at Rivard Plaza or the splash park – with “sunken” ship and “cannons” – at Mt. Elliott Park.

Region 4: Belle Isle

The Belle Isle fountain, seen last summer.

12. Belle Isle fountain

Detroit is home to some spectacular water features, but the James Scott Memorial Fountain on Belle Isle may be the most awe-inspiring with a center spray reaching 40 feet and a light show controlled from a hidden room beneath the structure. The fountain fell into disrepair in recent years as a result of vandalism and deferred maintenance costs. This summer the state’s Department of Natural Resources, which now has a 30-year lease on the island park, returned the water to the statue’s many lions, turtles and dolphin-riding cherubs.

Here are a few more fountains to enjoy on hot summer days:

  • Detroit Institute of Arts: Yes, there are the fountains out front as you pass by on Woodward Avenue, but don’t miss “Wall Fountain” in the Islamic Art section. It was once used by Gov. Hazen Pingree in his Detroit home as a fireplace.
  • Compuware lobby: Water cascades down 16 stories, falling through the sunlit atrium and bouncing off luminescent kites before landing in an infinity-style pool.
  • Detroit Metropolitan Airport: While away a layover mesmerized by the water feature in McNamara Terminal, which has 45 streams all leap frogging over each other.
  • Hart Plaza: In early January 2013, scrappers did $1 million worth of damage to the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain in the center of HartPlaza. But the massive spaceship-looking fountain is once again splashing visitors who come near.
  • Grand Circus: These are perhaps the least opulent fountains, but they define a public space that has been long underused. Now with a dog park open and furniture in place, the parks and their refreshing fountains are active again.
  • Campus Martius: 100 water jets dance at the fountain in the center of downtown. Some spout more than 100 feet, while others spray from a granite basin. Pull up one of the lawn chairs and watch the show.

13. A view from international waters
Southern tip of the island

Sometimes you just need a new perspective on the city. Belle Isle offers the greatest reorientation from a park bench at the southernmost tip. Walk past the Sunset Point comfort station, past the barbecuing and behold the city opening before you.

Bonus: The giant six-lane slide is once again open and operating during the summer. The Dossin Great Lakes Museum, however, is open weekends year round and is free. Reflect on a post-bankruptcy future at the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon, which is a reminder of what happens when an entire city works together to build something.

Region 5: Southwest Detroit

14. Southwest Detroit taco tour

Southwest Detroit is one of the city’s great cultural gems, but many people stop exploring at its gateway to Mexicantown. Go a little deeper in and you’ll find tacos, tamales and tortas worth coming back for time and time again. For upscale, try El Barzon (3710 Junction St.), which specializes in both Mexican and Italian. Split menus often instill fear, but in this case you can’t go wrong with either side.

For a more street experience, try the many taco trucks that flock to the area around West Vernor Highway and Dix and Springwells streets as well as at the Outdoor Mercado (6408 W. Vernor Highway). Don’t let the parking lot ambiance distract you from the authentic (read: not Tex-Mex) tacos being turned out. You can’t go wrong if you just walk the street and try tacos from whatever window or truck inspires you, squeeze on a hit of lime and find your favorite. Use savorsouthwestdetroit.org to plan your trip.

For dessert, don’t miss Donut Villa, which offers 30 varieties of sweet treats (5875 W. Vernor Highway). Be sure to stop in Honey Bee Market (2443 Bagley St.) on your way home and grab chips, salsas and guacamole. E&L Supermercado up the street gets raves for its meat counter, with a particular favorite of mine being the lime and chili-spiced chicken breasts (6000 W. Vernor Highway).

Not sure where to eat your lunch? Head to Clark Park for a picnic. In the winter, catch an occasional Red Wings practice skate on metro Detroit’s only regulation-sized outdoor rink.
15. Senate Theater pipe organ
6424 Michigan Ave.

Where can you catch a viewing of “Back to the Future” and tour a Wurlitzer Pipe organ? The Senate Theater, home of the Detroit Theater Organ Society. The volunteer-run nonprofit hosts concerts and old movies in the 820-seat theater that originally opened in 1926. The manual organ console sits on stage, displaying its Native American-meets-Art Deco styling that was popular in Detroit in the 1920s. After the show, walk through the *inside* of the organ, which is the eighth-largest built by Wurlitzer.

The theater has private secured parking, so don’t let the neighborhood’s appearance deter you.

Afterward, head down the block a bit to Abick’s Bar (3500 Gilbert St.), where the matriarch of the third-generation business, Manya Abick Soviak, is still known to sit at the end of the bar and tell stories while her grandson serves up shots. It’s cash only, so be prepared.

Hungry? The Shamrock station at the corner of Livernois and Michigan makes one of the best fast tortas in town. (Thanks Erik and Israel Nordin for that tip!)

Bonus: Across town, the Motor City Theatre Organ Society hosts organ concerts played on its Barton Theatre Organ, as well as classic movies and more at the Redford Theatre (17360 Lahser Road). Grab a sweet potato pecan tart or piece of cheesecake across the street at Sweet Potato Sensations (17337 Lahser Road) or a cup of coffee at Motor City Java & Tea House (17336 Lahser Road).

Bonus gems!

16. African Bead Museum
6559 Grand River Ave.You won’t be able to miss the African Bead Museum as you drive along Grand River Avenue. Housed in an old townhouse, the building is covered in brightly colored mosaic. Inside, it’s the cacophony of color continues, with beads, textiles, sculpture and more. Curator Olayami Dabls has amassed the collection and separates it into two parts: the collection of museum artifacts and a bead gallery featuring hundreds of jars of beads for sale. Some of his rare products sell for hundreds of dollars per bead.
17. Parade Co. tours
9500 Mt. Elliott St.

The spectacle of the Thanksgiving Day awes the children as Spider-Man, giant turkeys, Elmo and more parade down Woodward Avenue. But for adults, the real way to see the big heads – from Tom Selleck to Mayor Coleman Young – is at the Parade Co. headquarters. The nonprofit has been hosting the annual parade for 30 years this holiday season, and it is now offering tours behind the scenes. The cost is $12 for adults, and a minimum of 10 people are required. So grab your friends and head to town. Visit theparade.org for details.