Detroit 101

[Lowell]

Suppose you were tasked with creating a course called Detroit 101. The course purpose would be an introduction to Detroit covering Detroit [= entire Detroit-Windsor metro] essentials for the totally uninformed newbie.

What would your course requirements include for reading, experiencing, viewing etc. so that the student would come away with a core understanding of Detroit?

For example:

• See a Tiger's game
• Eat a Lafayette Coney Island coney
• Watch the documentary 'Poletown Lives'
• Cross the Ambassador Bridge, view the downtown skyline from Windsor and return via the Tunnel.

Carry on...

[Detroitnerd]

Drive Jefferson from the shores down to Zug Island.

[gazhekwe]

Extend that ride down to Grosse Ile and take a spin around the island. Go back via Telegraph to Six or Seven Mile and head back east that way. In a hurry? Take Eight Mile.

[Jimaz]

There's a story in today's Detroit News that fits this topic: Welcome Quicken workers: Eat, play, love Detroit.

[slick]

Drive Jefferson from the shores down to Zug Island.

and a quick lap around Belle Isle.

[cman710]

and a quick lap around Belle Isle.

And then take a ride downtown and up Woodward to 8 Mile.

[DetroitPole]

I recently hosted a girl from overseas who was only spending less than a day at my house.

I live in EEV. I took her down Warren and through the more hardscrabble parts of the East Side. Then I took her through Indian Village to prove that Detroit has middle class, poor, and wealthy neighborhoods. I took her for a spin around Belle Isle. Then we took Jefferson to downtown where we rode the People Mover. We stopped at that cafe at Campus Martius and then took Woodward back up to I-94. A Tigers game was getting out, and that was quite a sight for her. We went through the Cultural Center and I took E. Ferry back to 94.

I think I did pretty good for about a 2 hour tour! All in all, she loved it. She didn't think Detroit was a bad place at all, and even expressed interest in moving here when I told her how much an apartment downtown is! I have a harder time convincing suburbanites that Detroit isn't all bad than people from around the world...

[MizMotown]

Don't be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Areas that could be considered unsafe.

[Gsgeorge]

Forget driving around... Take a walk on Saturday morning at Eastern Market... or ride your bike from Campus Martius, up Woodward to Brush Park, down Winder through Eastern Market, then down the Dequindre Cut to the Riverwalk, past the Ren Cen and then through the historic Financial District back to where you started.

[Tig3rzhark]

Ride a bike from one side of Detroit to the other. It isn't enough to see Downtown to know about Detroit. The neighborhoods must be explored as well for a full understanding of Detroit's current situation.

[fryar]

I haven't seen Poletown Lives, but I'll bite and say that I have seen some documentaries about Detroit that made a lot of sense out of the blight, including one discussed on here fairly recently [[Lowell was in it and drove the filmmakers around, took them into the Packard plant, you know, that one). I said I'll bite because I don't think it's possible to show someone Detroit, like on a driving tour or something, and not have the "What Happened?" question come up. Sprawl/Flight is a central piece of the Detroit equation.

Good job not harping on that so far, everyone, but I do think there's a place for it in there somewhere.

I always liked the People Mover as a sort of mini Monorail for downtown Detroit. That sounds like a joke at PM's expense, and maybe it is, but it's an effective way to get a pretty rounded out view of downtown, at least.

I don't know if this is the kind of thing you have in mind, Lowell, but the Ford Mansion [[Ford House?) and the River Rouge Plant, the DIA and the Science Museum, a walk along Riverwalk and the Riverfront can be nice touristy things to do in the greater D area, depending on the audience. If you're going to eat in, I think it's worth it to stop by Eastern Market and pick out the stuff you'll make salad with and whatnot, and if the impression arises that everyone has to drive to the suburbs to shop for food, maybe stop by Honeybee Market, it is said the Salsa's to die for.

[Single Malt]

Forget driving around... Take a walk on Saturday morning at Eastern Market... or ride your bike from Campus Martius, up Woodward to Brush Park, down Winder through Eastern Market, then down the Dequindre Cut to the Riverwalk, past the Ren Cen and then through the historic Financial District back to where you started.

Excellent...