Looking for input from forumers

Ahoy,

i've been a lurker and occasional poster here for 4 or 5 years, and i've gotten a lot out of the experience. I'd like to ask for some input from y'all:

I'm a social work student, and this saturday i'm taking out-of-state students on a tour of the city. I want to show them some of the obvious sites [[downtown, MCS, Cass Corridor, Belle Isle, Packard Plant, 12h and Clairmount) but also some examples of what makes our city unique. I plan on going to the Heidelberg Project, Georgia Street Community Garden, Solanus Center, People's Community Services and the Children's Center. Any other ideas? basically, i want to show them that we're not all gun-toting drug dealers, and there is a large community of people who absolutely care about the well-being of Detroit and Detroiters.

any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Take them to Hamtramck's Disneyland.

oh yeah! good point. i love that place.

and the party store around Springwells and Fort that has all of the pictures up, and they give you $$$ for a good report card. That's the stuff i love about Detroit.

Why not the Cultural Center? The Historical Museum, the DIA, the Library, the African American History Museum, the Science Center... etc. Maybe too obvious but I always thought that area was one of the best things about this area.

For dinner, why not give them the Anthony Bourdain mini-tour and take them to the Cadieux Cafe or Polonia for dinner in Hamtramck?

We will be happy to see you at the Georgia Street Community Garden! If you call Mark at 313-452-0684 and let him know your anticipated arrival time, he will meet you at the Garden.

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Originally Posted by emuaaron

Ahoy,

i've been a lurker and occasional poster here for 4 or 5 years, and i've gotten a lot out of the experience. I'd like to ask for some input from y'all:

I'm a social work student, and this saturday i'm taking out-of-state students on a tour of the city. I want to show them some of the obvious sites [[downtown, MCS, Cass Corridor, Belle Isle, Packard Plant, 12h and Clairmount) but also some examples of what makes our city unique. I plan on going to the Heidelberg Project, Georgia Street Community Garden, Solanus Center, People's Community Services and the Children's Center. Any other ideas? basically, i want to show them that we're not all gun-toting drug dealers, and there is a large community of people who absolutely care about the well-being of Detroit and Detroiters.

any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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First thing I would suggest you do is take them to breakfast and then some browsing in Eastern Market.

A walkthrough of the Fisher Building always amazes out-of-town visitors. Of course one can only do so much in a day.

Social work students would be interested in the Furgeson Academy for Young Women. It has nearly a 100 percent graduation rate and an attendance rate of 97 percent. These young ladies are taught in a very supportive atmosphere. One of the chief life skills learned is nurturing through the farm that exists in the heart of the City. Nearly all of these young ladies go on to college too. They do however share a common bond. All are teen mothers and are overcoming numerous obstacles to learn and get their lives in order.

What's the story with the Russell Bazaar. Drive by all the time but have never been. Anyone?

Make sure you point out the Detroit River and Windsors skyline...most out of towners are amazed that we have an international border and that Canada is a foreign country. Detroiters take it for granted because Canada has been our neighbor and friend, but others don't realize the significance of the border. Visit [[but be careful) historical Elmwood cemetery and point out Detroit's heritage by the gravestones. You'll have a full plate by the time you decide where to take the students.

I would personally refrain from making a point of stopping at Packard or MCS. After all, these have been done to death and to be honest you can go anywhere in the metropolitan area and see abandonment.

Mexicantown, Indian Village, Victoria Park, New Center Area, Campus Martius. Go from the Eastern Market down the Dequindre Cut and to the River Walk. St. Aubin park, Chene Park and Mt. Elliot Park. If you can, catch a Wing's Game. Greektown and all three casinos. The Better Made and Faygo factories. Motown Museum.

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Originally Posted by Buy American

Make sure you point out the Detroit River and Windsors skyline...most out of towners are amazed that we have an international border and that Canada is a foreign country. Detroiters take it for granted because Canada has been our neighbor and friend, but others don't realize the significance of the border. Visit [[but be careful) historical Elmwood cemetery and point out Detroit's heritage by the gravestones. You'll have a full plate by the time you decide where to take the students.

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That's very true. A few years back, I met a girl online from Iowa, and we tested the waters by having her come to visit for the weekend. I took her down to Greektown for dinner. Afterwards we went to Hart Plaza and I pointed and casually mentioned "Oh, that's Canada". She thought I was joking and it wasn't until I pointed out the 'Casino Windsor' sign that she believed me.

When you show them the Windsor skyline, be sure to mess with their heads and tell them that Detroit is the original "Mystery Spot" where all the laws of nature, common sense and politics are reversed. For proof of that, tell them that Canada is south of Detroit.


To this day, it messes with my head.

EMUAARON, I think your plan is a bit ambitious, if you spent one hr at each of your destinations you would account for 11 hours, and that is without factoring travel time. We only are blessed with about 9 hours of daylight this time of year.

Assuming you and your group are coming from Ypsi ... that is a almost hr from downtown, your trip is building into a 18 hr death march.

I suggest you start before dawn a[[7ish) and take bartock's advice of getting a early breakfast at Eastern Market. You're going to need your energy.

there is a lot of good advice here. i'm terrible with time management. thanks for the thoughts Gnome. i need to pare this down a bit and see what's important. That's why we can't do the museums, even though that would probably be my favorite way to spend time [[especially the Motown Museum).

Some stuff i think is worth driving by just so they have a point of reference for these oft-discussed landmarks [[like the MCS), even though for time constraints we won't spend much time there.

DetroitPlanner - Ferguson academy sounds very impressive. i'm going to look that up tonight. what makes them succeed when so many others with similarly ambitious goals fail? that's a million dollar question.

4Oranges - Russell Bazaar is similar to the Gibraltar trade centers. there are cell phone booths, hair places and curios. At least it was like that when it first opened. i haven't been back.

Blueidone - thanks for the contact info. i'm definitely going to call him. that would be time well-spent.

Bartock - i was thinking about Eastern Market too. I could spend all day there just talking about Kenzoil.

Kryptonite - Fisher Building is a good idea. i wanted to show them the lobby of the Guardian. Maybe hit up the Fisher instead.

dang....not enough time to do half of this.

emuaaron, I second gnome's advice to focus your tour. You simply can't see everything in a day.

One possibility, as has been suggested, start at Eastern Market for breakfast and a walk through the sheds. Follow that with a drive through the Heidelberg Project. Proceed to Lafayette Park for a walk through the Mies van der Rohe glass high-rise apartments and townhouses, arguably the most successful urban renewal project in the US. Also it's a national and local architectural historic district. The Dequindre Cut is the eastern boundary of Lafayette Park so you can continue to walk along the Cut down to the Riverwalk.

That's just one possibility. You could do Cultural Center/New Center [[including the Motown Museum)/Boston-Edison. Or Belle Isle/Indian Village/East English Village. Or the office buildings in downtown.

There a lots of choices; but you can't do everything in one afternoon's visit. And besides it's best [[in my opinion) to leave your guests feeling that they really want to see more. One final bit of advice: plan for bathroom breaks. No matter how interesting the tour, when you've got to go that's all you're going to be thinking about.

Aaron, I've done these kind of things forever. Remember, it is best to leave people wanting 'more'. I don't know your end game with these people, ...whether you are recruiting them for a project, trying to be a city booster, wanting them to walk away with a better understanding of the City's Promise or Problems.

The point is, devise your tour with a end-game in mind; and, keep it brief. 6hrs is long enough for a first visit. You should want your people to wake up Sunday morning and say, "I want to go to Detroit". Then you will have succeeded.

If you are not good at logistics, ... google maps can help, but - in shorthand - you should first go to the location that is the most distant, and work your way back to Ypsi.

I took a group of college students on a tour of Detroit a few weeks ago. I tried to give an accurate picture of the city while also highlighting revitalization efforts. We kept to a tight schedule and were able to see a good cross-section of the city:

9:45-10:00 - Drive through Eastern Market to Earthworks
10:00-11:00 - Earthworks Garden tour
11:00-11:05 - Drive to Belle Isle
11:05-11:25 - Belle Isle [[Scott Fountain, Sunset Point)
11:25-11:35 -Drive through Indian Village to Heidelberg Project
11:35-12:00 - Heidelberg Project
12:00-12:10 - Drive from Heidelberg to Midtown
12:10-1:25 - Lunch at Cass Cafe
1:25-2:05 - Walking tour south of Wayne State
2:05-2:15 - Drive through Cultural Center
2:15-2:25 - Drive through Woodbridge
2:25-2:35 - Stop at Michigan Central Depot
2:35-3:00 - Pan dulce and coffee in Mexicantown
3:00-3:10 - Drive through Corktown
3:10-5:00 - Downtown and the Riverfront [[Gaurdian Building, Hart Plaza, Riverwalk, Ren Cen, People Mover, Woodward)
5:00 - Dinner at Buddy's

Everyone enjoyed the tour, but if I did it again, I'd cut some of the driving and add another longer stop somewhere [[Fort Wayne? Belle Isle Conservatory? St. Anne's? John King Books?). I think it's best to explore a handful of iconic places rather than try to see everything in one go. It's just not possible to include everything [[and trying to will wear you out).

If the weather cooperates, how about a casual 3hr bike ride? Riverwalk>DequindreCut>Hiedelberg>EasternMarket>St adiums/Woodward/Greektown>Crepes/LePetitZinc/Slows>MCS>MexTown>Riverwalk

My out of town guests really appreciated Coach Insignia's view. I told Coach that I was giving a tour and they let us ride the elevator and take a quick lap around the top floor.

Don't forget the Livernois corridor between 6 and 8 Mile [[Palmer Park, Sherwood Forest, etc.)

Yes Belle Isle. A walk out to the lighthouse and the lake is worth it and a trip down East Jefferson, try to envision that as Detroit's "Gold Coast".