Visitor

[Larry_from_Ohio]

Hello All!

I've enjoyed reading this forum over the last week or two. You seem like a great group of folks who love your city. I'm from eastern Ohio, near Steubenville, and my girlfriend is from Pittsburgh. We're planning a short Thursday-Saturday visit to your city at the end of the month. Being a big music fan, I've always had an interest in Detroit. Neither of us are into sun and sand, and we figure places like Myrtle Beach don't really need the tourism. We're going to do somewhat of a music-themed vacation by going to three concerts in Pittsburgh, then to Cleveland to the RnR Hall of Fame, stay overnight, then finish out our vacation in Detroit Rock City.

I booked two nights at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel downtown for $103 on Hotwire. We plan on visiting the Motown Museum, checking out some restaurants we've seen on TV, maybe going to a Tigers game, riding the people mover, and wandering around downtown to take pictures. I'm a huge Kiss fan so I plan on taking a stroll around Cobo Arena.

Anyway, now that you know our itinerary, we were wondering if there are any parts of town that have some cool record stores or neat little shops to visit - thrift stores and rock T-shirt shops, those kind of places. Sort of like Pittsburgh has the South Side and Cleveland has Lakewood and Coventry. I'd also be interested in seeing any places that have had some significance in music or movie history, however small they may be.

I appreciate any suggestions from locals. I'm really looking forward to our visit!

[Wildschwein]

I suppose you'll have your car with you? A short drive north on Woodward Avenue will bring you to Ferndale [[approximately 9 miles north of Downtown) and Royal Oak [[app.11 miles n.). Both offer that Coventry/Lakewood vibe. Can't tell you how they match up with South Side - as a life-long Browns fan, I tend to not linger in Pittsburgh.

[adamjab19]

You could see whos playing at St. Andrews/Shelter or Majestic Theater complex for potentially some local music. There are plenty of bars around that would have real local music as well. [[Old Miami potentially, Lager House comes to mind.) And there is always hamtramck just north of downtown for polish fare and enough bars to get wasted in and hear some good music too.

Record stores would be people's records, google them. For other music stuff there is showtime clothing up by wayne state.

If you are walking around pick up a metro times or real detroit paper usually in most stores and figure out whats going on from their events section.

Thanks for stopping by!

[Barbara Nadel]

Check out Leopolds Bookstore up by Wayne State. Fantastic little place run by a real book lover. Rare these days. Also make time to have a Coney Dog. I am British and so I am not an aficionado of the hotdog but Coney's are addictive.

[Larry_from_Ohio]

Some great suggestions already! Thanks! Speaking of Coneys, being we'll be staying right around the corner, which do you recommend, Lafeyette or American Coney?

[adamjab19]

just go to both.

[kryptonite]

Welcome to town L - I'm an ex-Buckeye myself and went to school outside of Akron and then to Kent State. I have stayed at the Book Cadillac twice, you will enjoy it.

If you walk around Cobo, go eastward along the Detroit River and check out the new River Walk park, it's very impressive. There are a number of popular pubs downtown with decent food such as Jacoby's, Grand Trunk, and the Town Pump, etc.

Since you are staying downtown, if you like classic architecture take a walk through the Penobscot Building and the Guardian Building. Both are 1920's showplaces built when Detroit was booming.

Greektown is also a great place to check out. There are a number of Irish bars about 1 mile west of the Book Cadillac on Michigan Ave. that are popular and close to the abandoned Mich. Central Station, maybe you've seen blogs about the sad state it's in and the incredible place it used to be. Currently some spiffing-up work is going on there thank god.

the Detroit Institute of Art underwent renovations a few years ago and is worth a visit. It has received good reviews in travel articles around the country, I have read wonderful reviews of the DIA. The DIA is on Woodward two-ish miles north of Downtown in the Wayne State/Cultural Center area. About four museums are in the Cultural Center as well as the College for Creative Studies.

Have a great time in Detroit, people are friendly and fun here.

[Django]

Showtime Dan will take care of your RnR t shirt type of stuff I believe, hes on Woodward jst North of
I-94. I took Barbara^Nadel there when she was in town, I think she liked the place. Dan always has some interesting stories to tell. Noir Leather might be fun but their in Royal Oak or Ferndale.

Speaking of Detroit t shirts, anyone know where I can get the t shirt that simply says
"Detroit Motherfucker" ? Ive been wanting to get one for a friend out of town. 313grrl had one a few years back but Im not sure where to find them.

I give a sort of underground tour to out of towners sometimes, you can PM me if interested. Im not going to bring you anyplace nice though.

[BrushStart]

There is a neat Detroit gift shop in the Park Shelton Building on Woodward called Goods Detroit. They will have some neat souvenirs.

Also, you must check out the Bureau of Urban Living in Midtown. It is a one of-a-kind store found only in Detroit and they have some really neat stuff.

There is also SPECTACLES, which is a cool Detroit apparel/t-shirt shop in Harmonie Park.

Lastly, Detroit's signature apparel store is Pure Detroit, with two stores downtown, at the RenCen and Guardian Buildings. And, also one store in the Fisher Building in New Center [[uptown) at Grand Boulevard and Woodward.

[Hamtragedy]

"I give a sort of underground tour to out of towners sometimes, you can PM me if interested. Im not going to bring you anyplace nice though."


Django is the resident tour-guide of sorts, if you will. One might call it Detroit's seedy underbelly, while another will find it absolutely fascinating. Eastern Ohio has it's industrial relics, as does Pittsburgh. If your own local history fascinates you, allow Django to show you that on a massive, mind-bending scale.

[NorfLondonMatt]

Django's tour sounds pretty good. My D experieince was excellent. My cousin was a downtown cop for 8 years so gave us a great tour .

[Islandman]

Don't forget to try out Roast on the first floor of the hotel.

[Kathleen]

Welcome, Larry_from_Ohio, to DYes and to the D!!

I've been to Cadiz, Steubenville, and other nearby towns as well as Wheeling, WV, and Pittsburgh numerous times through the years. There are many terrific sites to visit in those small towns and the big cities too.

Here are a few things for your consideration while you are in Detroit at the end of the month:

Take a free tour of the GM Renaissance Center and enjoy the view from on high. http://www.gmrencen.com/Tours/tabid/65/Default.aspx

Take in the free Rockin on the River concert on Friday evening:
http://www.gmrencen.com/Happening/Ro...5/Default.aspx

Arab and Chaldean Festival in Hart Plaza
http://www.arabandchaldeanfestival.com/

Preservation Wayne walking tours every Saturday morning at 10am
http://www.preservationwayne.org/tours.php

Enjoy your stay!!!

[Detroitnerd]

People's Records on Woodward

Record Graveyard on Caniff in Hamtramck

Make Your Own Bloody Mary Bar at Bronx on Sunday

Whatever show is at the Painted Lady in Hamtramck

[sumas]

I forget now but someone said Django could give a tour that would make your finger nails sweat. He is a very nice person by the way. Have him take you to the hidden beach on Belle Isle. Shades of Woodstock. I am a little old for that stuff but am appreciative

If you hire Django have him bring you by our homestead. 104 yr old home, resident ghost and urban prairie. The city is now calling our historic area spacious residencial but urban prairie is my term.

Hope you have a nice visit.

[Detroitdave]

Everyone gave really great suggestions , def check out Motown museum.
If you are in town on a Saturday check out the Eastern Market, and stop by Russell st deli .,http://www.russellstreetdeli.com/
there may be a line , but it's worth it, if not go next door and check out Supino, http://www.supinopizza.com/
Check out sound board at motorcity casino http://www.motorcitycasino.com/SoundBoard.aspx
If you plan it right there are plenty things to do . I would rent a car . have a safe and great trip !

[Larry_from_Ohio]

LOTS of great suggestions here! Thank you all so much! Many of the things you've listed are exactly what we're looking for. We will be driving there, though I wouldn't mind using the people mover whenever possible for the downtown stuff. My enthusiasm went up about 10 notches after I saw that Grank Funk Railroad will be playing a free show by the river the Friday we'll be there! How Detroit is that?! Their cover of The Locomotion was the #1 song the day I was born! I'm assuming we can take the people mover to that to avoid driving and parking. Django's tour sounds like something I'd be into if we had a longer stay. We're going to try to fit all we can into a couple of days.

I also saw the Michigan Theater parking garage is a couple blocks from our hotel. I want to see that in person.

I'm a frequent listener to WDVE, the rock station in Pittsburgh, and their morning show was giving rave reviews of Detroit when the Steelers were in the Super Bowl there a few years back. They said it's a very underrated city with a lot of hospitality. So far it sounds like they were right!

[gthomas]

Very underrated city! Glad you chose to visit here, enjoy your stay. Be aware, everyone will speak/greet you here. Very people friendly city..

They said it's a very underrated city with a lot of hospitality. So far it sounds like they were right!

[Kathleen]

We will be driving there, though I wouldn't mind using the people mover whenever possible for the downtown stuff. ... I'm assuming we can take the people mover to that to avoid driving and parking.

While the People Mover is definitely one way to get around the downtown area, we suggest taking the People Mover to see the downtown from a different perspective than sidewalk level!! For 50 cents a person, it is one of the best tourist attractions we've got!!

Also, you can easily walk from the Book Cadillac to and through the Ren Cen to the river to attend the free concert.

[kryptonite]

If you are an antique car enthusiast, the Piquette Plant [[where the Model T was drafted and designed) is a growing attraction: http://tplex.org/

it's about 2 1/2 miles north of Downtown east of Woodward on Piquette St. There is a great old Victorian home on Piquette that is now called Z's - a good affordable pub/restaurant. it's sort of fun having a few cold ones in an old Victorian home.

[Larry_from_Ohio]

We've put together a loose itinerary for our Thursday-Saturday visit. Let me know what you think. I want to try to visit some of the businesses you've mentioned along the way. It's a fine line between planning too many things to do and not enough!


Thursday 28th
Arrive at Motown Museum 11am or noon
Go to Ferndale for lunch and shopping
Check in at hotel
Maybe wander around downtown a bit
Dinner at either Roast restaurant in our hotel or Slow's BBQ
I'd be fine with hanging at the hotel Thursday night. My girlfriend has been hinting at checking out some clubs for live music or some of Detroit's techno heritage. I have a feeling we'll be tired by then, but we'll see how we feel then. I just hate being in bars, especially in an unfamiliar town.

Friday 29th
Lunch at Lafayette or American Coney Island
Tour the Renaissance Center
Wander around downtown
Maybe go to the Detroit Institute of Arts
Dinner at either Roast or Slow's, whichever we didn't go to the night before.
Grand Funk Railroad show by the river

Saturday 30th
Eastern Market
Depart for home Saturday afternoon


I love taking touristy-type pictures. Here is a list of things I'd like to take pictures of while in town if possible:
Cobo Arena
Waterfront/Windsor
The Joe Louis and Spirit of Detroit sculptures
Comerica Park
Ford Field
Fox Theater
Guardian Building. Hopefully get a pic with the guy outside that was in the Chrysler commercial.
Michigan Theater parking garage
Site of old Tiger Stadium - you can see the infield on Google satellite view. Not sure if you can walk on it or not. We can stop there on the way to Slow's.
Possibly an 8 Mile Road sign

Let me know if those sounds like fun, safe options for a first time visitor.


Another question I forgot to ask is if there are any products, foods, etc. that are classic Detroit, or Michigan in general, that I should get while I'm there. I'm a fan of Faygo and a coworker from Grand Rapids is always talking about pickled bologna.

[Roq]

Another question I forgot to ask is if there are any products, foods, etc. that are classic Detroit, or Michigan in general, that I should get while I'm there. I'm a fan of Faygo and a coworker from Grand Rapids is always talking about pickled bologna.

Welcome Larry_from_Ohio, hope you have a great time here.

You will want to try some Faygo pop for sure and also Better Made anything; their factory is right on Gratiot. I am esp. partial to the Dark Rainbow chips..a whole bag of burnt chip goodness. I also love Stroh's ice cream...yum!

[Kathleen]

Let me know if those sounds like fun, safe options for a first time visitor.

Sounds very doable!! While walking around downtown, be sure to go inside the Guardian Building, the Dime Building, and the Compuware Building. Consider Happy Hour at Roast instead of full dinner and then grab dinner at another restaurant.

Re: photos, the views from the top of the Ren Cen are spectacular on a sunny day, so don't miss that tour!! And if you do drive up to Ferndale, take Woodward out from downtown and see the good and the bad along the way...do a preview using Google maps to see what highlights there are and where the historic neighborhoods and sites are...and take your 8 Mile sign photo on the way. Re: Michigan Theatre garage, no idea if you can gain entry, but it doesn't hurt to ask...in the lobby of the building.

Another signature food is Sanders....bumpy cake, hot fudge topping, or candy.

Have a great time!!

[Artistic]

Take a drive along West Boston Blvd a few blocks west of Woodward Ave to Berry Gordys former house. Motown records history was created here, plus its a beautiful house.

[Kathleen]

Take a drive along West Boston Blvd a few blocks west of Woodward Ave to Berry Gordys former house. Motown records history was created here, plus its a beautiful house.

Good suggestion! The Gordy house in on the northeast corner of W. Boston Blvd at Third. It's actually a compound...with house, a separate activities building that is accessible via underground tunnel from the house, and carriage house in back.