Tell Me About Detroit (Ann Arbor, Dearborn: mover, hotel, neighborhoods)

[NowOrNever]

I'm not from NJ, just live in this hickville now. My family is from the Bronx. I want to move to Manhattan after I graduate high school. I've always wanted to visit Detroit, can you tell me about the area? It often gets a bad wrap and I would like to know all about it. Those pictures can't speak for the whole city as the city is huge lol. Anyway I'm interested so can ya expain? I want to just learn a lot - period - about Detroit from people who live their or who have lived their and love(d) it!

[Coldjensens]

What are your interests?

Music scene/bars?

History?

Architecture?

Outdoor activities?

Gambling?

Shopping?

Give us a list and we may be better able to tell you what types of things are here.

Detroit is very different depending on where you are and how you perceive things.

[NowOrNever]

^all of the above except sports.

[berrymist27]

I can tell you about Detroit if you read any of the other negative threads about this city they either 1 never been here or 2 Have visited in 10 plus years and go by there old perception which is often inaccurate.Wow where to start well I can tell all the new developments going on the downtown and Midtown area. I think you should spend a weekend in Detroit because there is some much you can see and do that you need more than a Day.First, I would sugest for you to stay at the Ferry Inn in Midtown because your right in the Culture District and you can walk to the DIA which is a world famous Arts Institute. Also the Inn offers Compliamentary Shuttle that will take anywhere in Downtown Or Midtown. I would suggest going to the Ren cen to have dinner or go shopping and ride the people mover to Greektown and listen to so good music on the Street or inside. After that you can hope on the people to the Stop Cadillac center and go to Campus Martius for Ice Skating or sightseeing and have a hot Chocolate in Aubon Pain. After your night raps up you can call the shuttle and they will pick you up wherever you are. If your Visiting in Jan or Feb we have the Auto Show and Detroit Winter Blast in February. Enjoy your Time Here OOh you have to check out the Guardian Building it is full of Architecture and History. Welcome to OUR THE CITY OF DETROIT!

[NowOrNever]

Thank you for that! Yeah I keep hearing **** about detroit it can't be true. It makes you think that anywhere you go in detroit you are 85% likely to get shot or raped or mugged and that its a dump and tourism doesn't exist there anymore.

Thank you for that, anything else? Which areas should I really go to and which ones should I just steer clear of. I always wanted to go there. Isn't it close to Canada, Windsor in Toronto? Is that as big a city?

What about when it comes to music and dance but also night clubs? Any good DJs or dance/club music in detroit? I heard some which came out of it and it sounds really good.

[The Icy River Vagabond]

hehe.. Wait. I think your best source for entertainment will come from just driving around the city.

[Coldjensens]

I work downtown and usually leave work at night. I have never felt uncomfortable there. Use common sense like any city. If someone or someplace looks scary, stay away from them. The problem areas are mostly outside of downtown. Downtown is somewhat empty at night.

The DIA is one of the best art museums anywhere. The science museum is fun. Several of the museums are grouped together near Wayne State.

For sports Comerica Park (Tigers) and Ford Field are side by side. Joe Louis and Cobo are down on the waterfront (Red Wings). Several theaters are grouped around the Comerica Park area.

For Architecture, The guardian building is really neat (art deco). The Fisher building is even better. Penobscott is not bad either. The old county building is also impressive. Just walk around downtown, or ride the silly people mover and you will be able to identify the buildings worth looking at. Old Main on the Wayne State campus is one of my favorites (in part because I had classes there).

There are three casinos. The MGM Grand is brand new and very similar to a non-themed Las Vegas Hotel/casino. I have not been inside the others. Motor City Casino is a gaudy thing with bright neon stripes on the outside that change colors regularly. It is hard to miss that. No idea what it is like inside. Greektown casino is in greektown which has some very nice restaurants (OPA!).

Windsor is just across the river via bridge or tunnel. In this decade I have only gone there for shopping. Is is a nice smaller clean city. It is popular with young uns because you can drink at 19 and they have a lot of strip joints. Windsor looks very pretty reflected off the water when the river is still.

The Ren Cen is a cluster of tall buildings with a bunch of stores resturuants in the base. GM has a display in the base. It is closed right now but will reopen in January. Fabulous views from the top of any of the buildings and the ride up the glass elevators is exciting. You can only go up the center (hotel) tower unless someone swipes a security card for you. The center tower is the tallest anyway (73 stories). The Resturaunt at the top has fabulous views (it once had a turn table so your views would change regularly). Food is not great and it is expensive. A good place for drinks or dessert. In the base of the Ren Cen. Andiamo and Seldom Blues are both pretty good. Andiamo has slightly better food and consistently better service. Both are pricey. Both have live music on weekends. Seldom Blues has better known musicians.

Outdoor activities are mostly outside the city (unless you arrive during winterfest, a hokey but fun event downtown- look it up). Cross Country skiing is available at most of the metro parks. Kensington has great sledding hills and toboggan runs.




Outside the City in Dearborn there is Henry Ford Museum and Greenfiled Museum - world class history destinations. The village has Thomas Edison's lab, (not a copy of it - they moved it here), and many other famaouse historical sites that have been moved to this location. The museum has one of the best collections of post industrial items anywhere. It is really amazing. I am not describing it well, look it up on the net.


I cannot help much more than that with nightlife. there are several nightclubs downtown. I know nothing about them. I have been told that some are nice and some are not very welcoming. Someone here will be able to tell you more about that.

[Motorvilleboy]

Hey, NowOrNever,

Here are a few links and things to help figure out where to go, what to see & do, etc. in and around Detroit.

First, you said you were interested in history and architecture. Try www.preservationwayne.org. They're the leading local preservation org with lots of resources on historic architecture, rehab and redevelopment, etc. They offer regular tour programs from May to Oct, the biggest being the Historic Theater tour in August. I'm one of their guides. You can find similar info at www.cityscapedetroit.org, whose mission is more general built environment-related than historic-focused.

A couple friends also started www.insidedetroit.org, with their own tour program that includes restaurant/bar tour events downtown. Check out www.experiencedetroit.com for more info on attractions and self-guided tours of all kinds.

For what's happening currently, our biggest local weeklies are the Metro Times (www.metrotimes.com) and Real Detroit (www.realdetroitweekly.com). If you're gay, check out www.pridesource.com and the Between the Lines weekly for events, etc.

There's not much major shopping in the city. The chains are all in the suburbs. But amazing restaurants and goodies abound if you know where to look. For starters, check out Eastern Market (www.detroiteasternmarket.com) and Pure Detroit (www.puredetroit.com) for really unique stuff, much of it locally oriented.

There's lots of info on local development, new businesses and things to see at www.modeldmedia.com. Several new orgs have popped up in recent years to breathe life into the city and civic realm in general with events, lectures, forums, etc. including www.detroitsynergy.org and www.createdetroit.com. They may have things going on while you're here.

For my money, the best events in town include the Memorial Day weekend Electronic Music Festival (www.demf.com), Festival of Arts in June (www.detroitfestival.com) and Dally in the Alley (www.dallyinthealley.com) in Sep.

Someone mentioned the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn. They're both at www.thehenryford.org. They run tours of the Ford Rouge Plant, which is a pretty amazing, huge and historic factory complex. It's near where I work, and so is the Arab American National Museum, a one-of-a-kind place with surprisingly multicultural events and concerts programmed regularly (www.arabamericanmuseum.org).

Dearborn is one of the few local suburbs worth hanging out in, along with Hamtramck and Ferndale. Ann Arbor is a half-hour drive away, or a little longer by Amtrak. Otherwise, there are tons of cool, off the wall things to do and places to go in Detroit neighborhoods like Southwest/Mexicantown, Corktown, Midtown, Eastern Market and Downtown. Surf around for info on Indian Village, Boston Edison, Palmer Woods and Brush Park and you'll see how Detroit's robber barons once lived, and how many still do.

You can probably search any of those places from the links above and find stuff to do. If those don't provide enough info, maybe you're being too ambitious for one trip. :-) Hope this stuff helps and I'd be glad to provide more if you need it.

[NowOrNever]

Thanks A LOT for this. Considering Detroit is close to Canada, do you go to Canada sometimes?

[Daniel_T]

for more info, check out my thread. It's 20 something pages long. Includes all kinds of info. I want to come to Detroit for college, and almost every question about Detroit i've asked has been answered. Hope this info helps.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/detro...e-detroit.html