60 HOURS IN DETROIT: AMERICA’S COMEBACK KID

KRIS GRIFFITHS spends three days in Michigan’s Motor City, experiencing the best of its arts, attractions and craft beer as can be squeezed into a short break in this multifaceted city getting back to its prime.
 

DAY ONE – checking in after a providential occurrence

No sooner have I stepped out of my Lyft ride outside my downtown hotel after a serene drive from the airport, something amazing happens to welcome me to the city: I see a long queue of people snaking literally right around the block and towards the huge Huntington Place convention centre a stone’s throw away. After asking the nearest queuers what’s going on I’m informed there’s a Kamala Harris rally taking place, led by a certain ex-President, Barack Obama. And how do you get in, I follow up, as would love to lend my international support? You have to be on the Democrats’ mailing list and to have already applied to attend, I discover – ah well, not to worry, have fun! 

Then no sooner have I picked up my bags to head into reception I hear a lady’s voice from behind me in the moving queue: “Hey, my friend can’t make it so I’ve a spare ticket if you want it?”, having overheard our exchange. Talk about right place, right time! A short while latter I’m in a cavernous hall with several thousand Democrat devotees, enjoying the electric atmosphere as a procession of Michigan luminaries take to the stage, concluding with local lad Eminem welcoming on Obama, who then starts rapping an Eminem song (‘Lose Yourself’) – one of the most surreal moments of my life, enhanced by not having slept on my flight from England so it’s now technically the early hours of the morning and my mind desperate for some R.E.M! 
 

After the show I continue to hang with Dem supporters who are likewise still buzzing from the experience, in the lively bar area of the Foundation Hotel where they’re also staying – they’re not too used to meeting Brits here, as I would further discover throughout my stay in Detroit, which this article will hopefully at least partly put right and entice others from the UK to follow suit. But first some words on this amazing hotel. [And a postscript that a Kamala victory sadly wasn’t to be.]

Detroit Foundation Hotel

Four years shy of the centenary of its construction, this remarkable five-storey venue pays homage to the city’s past while pointing towards its ever-evolving future. For over 80 years it was the heart of the Detroit Fire Department, housing fire engines, admin offices and the quarters of the city’s first responders; today its historical details – apparatus bays, brass fire poles, etc – remain, seamlessly integrated into a modern space that’s all about accessible luxury in the Motor City.

Upstairs the 100 guest rooms flaunt atmospheric features like exposed brick, iron-welded door handles and vintage rugs – it’s a really vibey kind of place in its entirety. The hotel’s façade also pays homage to its firehouse roots: red doorways beneath stone archways look ready to send the brigades to the rescue.

DAY TWO – morning: walking tour of Downtown Detroit   

If last night showcased the human side of the city, this morning is all about a more slow-burn exploration of the buildings and venues that comprise its visually spectacular Downtown district, via a leisurely walking tour with a knowledgeable local guide. 

We start with an amble along the famous Detroit International RiverWalk, which spans more than three miles of attractive riverfront, from Rosa Parks Blvd to the Belle Isle Bridge, taking in views also of Canada directly across the water (very easy to take a day trip there, to Windsor, Ontario, if you so wish). 
 

We then take a stroll amongst some striking Art Deco skyscrapers, including the iconic Guardian Building and the restored 1915 behemoth, the David Whitney Building, and some equally beguiling lower-rise edifices like Wayne County Hall: a stately pile completed in 1902 and once housing 18 courtrooms. It’s one of the last downtown survivors of early 1900s Detroit before the city became the auto capital of the world.

Then there is the Z Garage: a ten-storey car park that decorates its 1,300 parking spots with the vibrant works of 27 local and international artists from across the globe. It’s one of myriad ways the city successfully breathes new life into grey buildings and industrial spaces with transformative creativity. 

And on that cultural note, my guide also mentions Detroit’s theatrical credentials: its theatre district is second only to New York, with 13,000 seats across its dramatic venues – the most of any city east of the Mississippi River outside of NYC.
 

Which leads nicely onto:

Afternoon: Detroit Institute of Arts

While much of Detroit’s cityscape sadly became blighted by post-industrial decline, with skeletons of one-time homes and factories fenced off amid concrete wastelands, you can always trust the arts community to revitalise such abandoned buildings and rejuvenate run-down areas. MOCAD (Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit) converted a huge former auto dealership into a flourishing 22,000sqft gallery space, the building intentionally left unkempt and graffiti-painted. 

Meanwhile, the Detroit Institute of Arts, my next destination today, spearheads the metropolitan renaissance by having expanded to what is now bigger than our own National Art Gallery in London, with a 65,000-strong collection across 100 galleries, encompassing the earliest civilisations up to more modern masters Van Gogh and Picasso, cumulatively valued at almost $10bn. An afternoon here seriously doesn’t cover half of it.  

Its centrepiece - Diego Rivera's mural Detroit Industry – is particularly arresting, filling an entire room and reflecting the city's industrial history of blue-collar labour. 
 

At the smaller end of Detroit’s art scene scale are trendy spots like the social venue and gallery Scarab Club in the Cultural Center Historic District, and Detroit Artists Market: the oldest continuously running non-profit gallery in the Midwest.

This city is surprisingly imbued with serious artistic clout, if you are thus inclined.

Motown Museum  

Did I mention the music heritage here? As any aficionados of this particular artform will know, Detroit has music credentials that has truly fixed the city onto the global map. First and foremost, it's the proud birthplace of Motown: the legendary record label turned whole soul-pop genre that became popular across the globe, launching stars like Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder into international superstardom. 

Occupying an unassuming spot on a busy thoroughfare, the Motown Museum is the very building where label executive Berry Gordy founded the label, and still houses the actual recording studio (‘Studio A’) where the aforementioned artists recorded some of the greatest songs of all time – it’s a profound experience to walk through and pause for a moment in this culturally significant space.
 

Elsewhere on the museum tour you can pore over Motown artefacts and memorabilia, including rare photos, posters and record sleeves, and even have a mass singalong of a chosen hit single with your group in the studio.

For music lovers, this place is an absolute must for your itinerary.

Evening: American Coney Island 

Fancy a bite? This legendary hot dog joint is one of the oldest family-owned and operated businesses in the downtown area, and perhaps even in the entire city. It has sat at the same location for almost 100 years now, where it purveys to this day what is locally regarded the quintessential ‘Coney Island hot dog’. This it makes its own with a ‘family-secret recipe’ chilli sauce adding a delicious zing to their classic comfort food item alongside the chopped sweet onions, all served in a warm steamed bun – I ate three in one sitting, and wished there were somewhere back home I could find a hot dog this moreish. 

A shout-out also to Union Assembly where I grabbed lunch: a buzzing American diner with a unique industrial look, set over two-and-a-half storeys. If you fancy an authentic Detroit-style rectangular pizza in the heart of the city, this is the place to head. 
 

DAY THREE – afternoon: Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation

Unquestionably the most iconic attraction in the Detroit metropolitan area, the Henry Ford Museum complex requires pretty much a whole day to do it properly. It’s comprised of two parts: firstly, the indoor Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, which houses an immense 12-acre collection of historical vehicles and artefacts accumulated by the eponymous industrialist who helped shape the Motor City. Its momentous highlights include the presidential limo in which JFK was assassinated and the bus on which Rosa Parks famously refused to give up her seat.
 

If that wasn’t engrossing enough, the second part – Ford Rouge Factory Tour – takes you onto an actual working assembly line where the iconic Ford F-150 pickup trucks are built, by the same mass-production conveyor-belt technique Henry Ford pioneered 112 years ago. It’s a real-life 'How It's Made' ringside seat for watching the vehicles being systematically built in front of you. 

What’s also cool is seeing the complete diversity of the workforce diligently doing so: young and old, black and white, men and women. A unique and rewarding experience on many levels. 
 

Evening: Third Man Records + Motor City Brewing Works

In this neighbourhood on the west end of Midtown Detroit, known as Cass Corridor, lies the local pièce de resistance for musos: Third Man Records, owned by another local boy, Jack White, formerly of The White Stripes and now longtime solo artist. It’s similar to London’s Rough Trade East, with its stage for instore gigs amongst all the rows of records, however there’s also an adjoining vinyl pressing plant, viewable in action through big windows, pressing the very records on sale in the store. 
 

There’s also an incredible mural painting by Cass Corridor artist Robert Sestok on the rear wall of the plant, and you can even play Jack’s trademark red-and-white electric guitar which he leaves in the store propped against a wall. I blast out a few bars of Cream’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ through the house amplifier which a store assistant kindly films on my phone. A nearby customer approaches and wryly asks if that was something I wrote. We briefly chat about music, Jack White, the gig he’s going to tonight, and then exchange business cards and kept in touch! 

Buoyed by this latest diverting experience I head directly across the road to the microbrewery that happens to be on my ‘ones to visit’ list, based on local fellow beer-lovers’ recommendations, and my evening hits a whole new height. Motor City Brewing Works not only purveys a kick-arse selection of brews made on the premises, it doubles as a gallery for local artists and gig space for bands, so is the best combo of site-brewed craft beer and city culture. There so should be more venues of this kind in any city. 

There’s also a real sense of local history in that the place is built of salvaged equipment and scrap from Detroit’s industrial era, and it’s actually the oldest of the city’s breweries still standing since prohibition. I spend the next couple of hours tasting my way through a selection of their best brews with the personal guidance of its master brewer, who’s happy to shoot the breeze on everything else besides beer too, as is anyone else sat around the horseshoe-shaped bar, including a few regulars – it’s a fantastic vibe and I’m happy to shoot a couple of photo portraits, buy a house t-shirt and even head to another pub around the corner with a gang of them, although that’s when my memory of that particular evening runs dry.   
 

The manager Celeste was kind enough to post my t-shirt all the way to the UK as they didn’t have my size in stock – it’s one of a few durable mementos of my Detroit stay, which I like to wear to British beer festivals to help spread the word!   

*It would be rude not to mention the other craft brewery I also swung by during my stay – Eastern Market Brewing Company – which, while not quite on the level of MCBW, still served a decent selection of beers on tap and had an enjoyable free-to-play trivia group quiz which I joined as a team of one but finished close to last, which I was still happy with as had no team-mates and didn’t come last. 

Incidentally the surrounding Eastern Market is one of the oldest and largest year-round bazaars in the States, drawing some 40,000 punters to its six-block spread of wares every Saturday, its busiest day, which I sadly miss out on, having to leave just beforehand. Next time!


DAY FOUR – morning: freestyle  

Having only a couple of hours after breakfast to spare before having to do the airport dash, I choose to stroll around more of the midtown area where I’ve noticed an imposing greystone Gothic structure looming over its 'hood, like a hybrid of a castle and a cathedral, so take a closer look. 
 

Turns out it’s only the world's largest Masonic Temple, and inside, alongside its church space and chapels, is a 4,400-seat auditorium housing not only one of the largest professional stages in the city but in America, which has welcomed millions of guests over the last 99 years since its opening, for gigs, plays and graduation ceremonies. Oh and the architect who built the building happened to be called George Mason. Gazing at the empty venue makes me wish to return next year to attend an event on its centenary, and see everything else in Detroit I couldn’t on this visit.

All in all, this was just a snapshot of a clearly great city, still in resurrection mode and gaining strength with every passing year. With so many cultural attractions on offer, and new developments constantly taking shape throughout its neighbourhoods, it feels like any subsequent visit will bring a range of new rewards. 

I return to the airport to depart with that increasingly rare but unmistakeable feeling of knowing I’ll be back one day, to witness and enjoy its continuing journey, and to make some more new friends and meet again the ones already made. I can’t remember feeling more of a sense of welcome in any other US city I’ve visited.
 

For further information on visiting Detroit, go to www.visitdetroit.com 

Read about Kris’s next Michigan destination – the ‘Somewhere in Time’ Weekend at Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel