Location: Detroit
Top Things to do in Detroit
What to do and see in Detroit, Michigan (MI): The Best Historic Sites
With a vibrant, revitalized downtown, it’s revival time in Detroit. Renowned
as the birthplace of Motown and techno, the city boasts one of the largest
theater districts in America — as well as four pro sports teams, set just blocks apart. The city’s transformation includes a dynamic culinary scene, featuring everything from high-end dining with international tastes to Coney dogs. Visitors also love Detroit’s outstanding shopping, exciting outdoor activities, and world-class cultural attractions.
Restaurants in Detroit
1. Stearns Telephone Historical Marker
2. The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 538 reviews
Experience the Original Model T Factory Visiting the Piquette Avenue Ford Plant is a unique experience-it's the oldest auto plant open to the public anywhere in the world. Almost unchanged since Henry Ford's day, the plant is a three-story New England-style mill building. Each floor is divided into sections by the original metal fire doors, complete with the shadows of Henry Ford's "Positively NO Smoking" stencils. The old plank floors are worn from the 12,000 Model Ts built on them, so wear appropriate shoes for your visit. The plant is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a designated National Historic Landmark and a Michigan State Historic Site. Walk the worn wood floors and touch the brick walls where Henry Ford and his team of automotive pioneers developed the car that led to an automotive and social revolution. See Henry Ford's office as it was in 1908 when he was on the cusp of fame. And learn why it still matters today. See a selection of rare Detroit-built cars from the first decade of the 20th century and learn their fates.
Reviewed By HughC239 - Toronto, Canada
From the outside its a small, somewhat unassuming museum but the magic lies inside with the superb tour guides who bring the place to life with their impressive knowledge of the stories, vehicles and history of Henry Ford, the Ford motor company, the Piquette plant and the birth of the auto industry. By far our favourite and most memorable tourist attraction during our visit to Detroit. We left with a profound new respect for Henry Ford and all that he accomplished. Kudos to the hardworking and dedicated staff at this little gem.
3. St. Aloysius Parish
4. Motown Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,088 reviews
This old Detroit home belies the greatness that was born here: the Motown Sound. But one step inside Hitsville, USA, the original house where Berry Gordy lived and recorded the Motown hits, and you'll catch the beat and spirit of this booming music era. Photos, costumes, artwork, music and other memorabilia take you back to simpler times.
Reviewed By GlobeTrotting738505 - Quakertown, United States
The Motown Museum lives up to most of the other reviews, and then some! If you get the chance, make sure you check out this place. However, make sure you make a reservation well in advance, especially if you have limited time to visit. We were lucky enough to get a time slot for the next day, but most people reserve much earlier. Our tour guide, Carolyn, made an excellent tour even better with her knowledge, enthusiasm and just plain energy!!! Hopefully, you'll be lucky enough to get her as your guide if / when you go.
5. Moross House
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
6. James Scott Memorial Fountain
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 20 reviews
Reviewed By GareyFields - Phoenix, United States
Every visit I make home to Detroit in the summer includes a drive around Belle Isle. My first stop is always James Scott Memorial Fountain. Yes, it brings back memories of my childhood growing up in Detroit. I lives close enough to walk to the Island which I did most summer weekends from grade school through college. If this is going to be your first visit to this park be sure to bring a camera. Expect to find this fountain and other areas in the park, via sight and sound, to be both relaxing and energizing. After over 50 years of visits I still enjoy my stop. I suspect you will too.
7. International Memorial to the Underground Railroad
8. Fisher Mansion
9. Historic Fort Wayne
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 61 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Historic Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan, has never fired a cannon and has never been the target of somebody else's cannon. But take a guided tour of the 96-acre property and the original barracks and you'll be fascinated by what you learn. Located at 6235 West Jefferson Avenue, at the foot of Livernois Avenue in the Delray neighborhood, the fort is situated on the Detroit River at a point where it is only a half-mile from the Canadian shore. Fort Wayne is Detroit's third ford. The first, Fort Detroit, was built by the French in 1701. The current fort, named for Revolutionary War hero General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, who had taken possession of Detroit from the British in 1796, was constructed from 1842 to 1851. The original 1848, 3 1/2-story limestone troop barracks still stand. Visitors can also view additional barracks, officers quarters, a hospital, shops, a recreation building, commissary, guard house, garage and stables. The fort was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1958 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. There are artillery emplacements atop the walls, although there is no indication that artillery was ever installed, and a dry moat surrounding the fort. Over the decades, while it never saw action in wartime, Fort Wayne was utilized as a final stop on the Underground Railroad, a ferry stop, a prison, a home for homeless families during the Great Depression, a warehouse, storing and staging facilities, an entrance station for the armed services during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, housing for displaced families after the 1967 12th Street Riot and a military museum. Today, it hosts Civil War re-enactments, spring and fall flea markets, concerts, youth soccer league matches, Hispanic and Boy Scout events and other civic events. Two other popular attractions on the grounds are an ancient Native American burial mound and the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum.
10. Boston Edison Historic District
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 36 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, lived here. Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, lived here. So did labor leader Walter P. Reuther, baseball stars Harry Heilmann, Dizzy Trout and Willie Horton and boxing champion Joe Louis. Also Walter Briggs, one-time owner of the Detroit Tigers, and S.S. Kresge, founder of the S.S. Kresge Company. And Charles T. Fisher, president of the Fisher Body corporation, whose 18,000-square-foot house is the largest in the district. They all lived in the Boston Edison Historic District, a neighborhood in the center of Detroit, Michigan. Bounded by Edison Avenue, Woodward Avenue, Linwood Avenue and West Boston Boulevard, it is one of the largest residential historic districts in the nation with more than 900 homes. Designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, it is surrounded by Sacred Heart Major Seminary to the west, the Arden Park-East Boston Historic District and the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament to the east and the Atkinson Avenue Historic District to the south. The first homes in the Boston Edison district were occupied in 1905 with the majority built between 1905 and 1925. But each home is unique. Architectural styles range from English Tudor Revival to Roman and Greek Revival to French Provincial to Colonial Revival to Italian Renaissance to Prairie Style to Vernacular. They range from modest two-story to massive mansions set on sprawling grounds.
