A Short Visit to Detroit City

In 2016 David Maraniss authored a wonderful book about the city of Detroit titled "Once in a Great City". He said that the word "in" was important to the title because it conveyed the idea that his book focused on a portion of the history of a city that continues to be great. The years he wrote about were the early to mid-1960's, a turbulent time in many parts of the country. The three pillars of the book are race, the automobile industry, and Motown music.

I read the book last year and it created desire in me to go to Detroit and explore what the city is like now. Last week I arrived in the Detroit area on a rainy Tuesday evening. In planning the trip, my first thought was to stay in downtown Detroit. But some study of the area revealed that the cost of a room was not justified by the activity available within walking distance of the hotel. The area I chose was near the charming little town of Wyandotte, which hugs the Detroit River just south of the city. Wyandotte's restaurants were excellent and the first night I sampled Gregorio's for some outstanding Italian food.

The Ford GT 40: Built to defeat Ferrari

I arrived at The Henry Ford complex in Dearborn early the next morning. The Henry Ford includes an opportunity to tour the factory where Ford assembles F 150 trucks. The Ford F 150 is the best selling vehicle in America, and the workers produce 600 trucks during each eight hour shift. The tour was self-guided, but knowledgeable staff members were available to answer any questions. Like many factory tours, it was enlightening to see how robots have transformed the manufacturing process.

Within the confines of The Henry Ford is the Museum of American Innovation and I took the Insider's Tour of the artifacts assembled there. Highlights for me were the Le Mans-winning Ford GT 40 from the 1960's and several Presidential limousines. Next, I had just enough time to take a quick tour of Greenfield Village.

Thomas Edison's workshop

The most interesting buildings for me were the ones that Henry Ford had brought from Menlo Park, New Jersey. They were the offices and workshops of Thomas Edison, a good friend of Ford.

I was back in Wyandotte that evening, this time for some excellent barbecue at Alvi's. After dinner I mapped out my visit to city of Detroit the next day.

The traffic was light as I entered the city at about 9:00 am. I parked near the Renaissance Center, now the site of the world headquarters of General Motors. The center is mostly offices, but there is a nice display of the newest GM vehicles. It opens on to the river walk and I took the opportunity to walk south toward Cobo Arena. There was an international robotics competition for kids going on at the arena, so there was a lot of excitement in the air. As I walked around the downtown I was struck by the fact that there was little traffic and very few people walking on the sidewalks. There were some food trucks set up near Cadillac Square, so maybe there would have been more people a little later in the day.

It was near lunch time, so I hopped on the People Mover and headed for Greektown. Here I found the Pegasus Taverna and enjoyed a meal of olives and roast lamb. It was delicious, but more than I normally eat for lunch.

Fighting off the urge to take a nap, I got back in the car and headed west on the famous Woodward Avenue. Known as the street for cruising back in the sixties, Woodward has recently been reconstructed and is easily navigated. My destination was the Detroit Institute of Arts about a mile west and I could not help noticing the empty areas on each side of Woodward. Whole blocks of what at one time were residential areas are now prairie, with perhaps a house or two left standing.

Woodward Avenue entrance to the Detroit Institute of Art

At the DIA I wanted to see the huge Diego Rivera murals painted on the inside walls of one of the galleries inside the institute. Commissioned in the 1930's by Edsel Ford, Henry's only son, they were quite controversial when unveiled. They contain what some consider communist symbols and the murals depict the workers in local manufacturing industries as being just cogs in an overbearing capitalist engine. There were some who demanded they be removed, but when Edsel was asked what he thought, he said, "I like them".

Maraniss spent a good portion of his book on the Berry Gordy family and the development of the Motown brand. The story is fascinating, so a stop at the Motown Museum was a must. It is just south and west of the DIA, and is located in the house Gordy grew up in.

The house from which Motown shook the music world

The family eventually bought several houses on the block to run their expanding music business. The tour takes visitors into the famous Studio A, where the Supremes, the Four Tops, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles recorded their biggest hit records. The incredible part of this story for me is how many of these artists grew up in the neighborhoods right near the museum, now referred to as Hitsville, USA. The museum is planning a large expansion which will give them the opportunity to display many of the artifacts that are now in storage.

Standing next to Jack White's rig wearing a Third
Man Records logo Stormy Kromer cap

By chance, I learned that Jack White has opened up a Third Man Records store in his hometown of Detroit. He is trying to help the city refresh an area known as the Cass Corridor. While much of the area is desolate, his store is fixed between an upper end clothing store and an upscale brewpub. There is much work to do to revitalize areas like this, but it is heartwarming to know that natives like White are willing to come back and help the city where they can.

After the huge lunch at Pegasus, I chose pub grub for dinner on my last night. R.P. McMurphy's in Wyandotte serves up an excellent choice of brews, sandwiches and salads. Despite its name, it advertises itself as a German restaurant as that is was in the building originally.

"The Fist" in downtown Detroit

Reflecting on my brief visit to Detroit, I am hopeful that the city will return to its days of glory. Just within the past few days the city was released from state financial oversight and Mayor Mike Duggan stated that "Detroit is once again a city of full self-governance." Much work needs to be done, but it seems that the Motor City is on the right track.