Located in Dearborn, the Henry Ford Museum showcases the fascinating history of American innovation. You'll find a 1909 Ford Model T on display, as well as the bus that Rosa Parks made a stand on in 1955. See a kitchen from the 1930s, a locomotive, and other interesting historic memorabilia. The range of items in the museum is wide, featuring interesting pieces relating to manufacturing, transportation, entertainment, and technology.
View nearly 60,000 amazing works of art at the Detroit Institute of the Arts. 100 galleries are filled with sculptures, paintings, and other artworks that will fascinate. The Thinker, the famous sculpture by Auguste Rodin is placed near the entrance. Permanent collections in the museum include Islamic, Flemish, pre-Columbian, European, African, Asian, and American art. Cultural events are held throughout the year at the auditorium and recital hall.
One of the world's largest museums of African American history and culture, this impressive building opened in 1997 and is named after the local doctor and activist who first established it. With 120,000 square feet (11148 meters) of exhibit space, the Charles H. Wright Museum includes several exhibit galleries, a research library, classrooms and a museum store. The anchor exhibit, “Of the People: The African American Experience,” uses Detroit's own history to tell the story of the African-American experience in the United States. Previously, much smaller incarnations of the museum existed, dating back to 1965.
One of the many spirited attractions in downtown Detroit, Comerica Park is an extensive verdant field which has been a host to some iconic sporting events and concerts in the past. Named after the bank whose funds made its creation possible, Comerica Park overlooks some of the soaring high-rises residing in the city's downtown. Home ground of the Detroit Tigers, this sprawling ballpark is anything but a run-of-the-mill, neighborhood stadium. Strewn across its course are glorious tiger statues, a baseball-themed Ferris wheel, and the enormous Chevrolet Fountain. Hence, Comerica Park harbors a lively, further amplified by enthusiastic cheers and celebrations when the Tigers hit a home run. The ballpark is also home to the Big Cat Court, which offers a wealth of delectable foods like pretzels, deli sandwiches, French fries, Chicago-style hot dogs and more.
The National Football League's Detroit Lions played outside the city at the Pontiac Silverdome since abandoning Detroit's Tiger Stadium at the end of the 1974 season. In 2002, The Lions moved back to the city and into their new digs at Ford Field, a massive 65,000-seat stadium of steel and glass in the city's downtown entertainment district. Besides sporting events, the facility holds concerts, banquets, corporate events and other special events as well.
The Detroit Zoological Park is one of the nation's oldest and most stately zoos. Its huge main campus is located on land situated in the suburb of Huntington Woods but owned by the city of Detroit. Renovations of many of the zoo's older buildings and new exhibits have modernized the zoo. Popular exhibits include the new Amphibiville, home of the National Amphibian Conservation Center, a Wildlife Interpretive Center and adjacent butterfly/hummingbird gallery, a chimpanzee exhibit, a penguinarium and a model farm. The grounds are large and a free train is often crowded in summer.
HandleBar Detroit offers a unique tour. This is a mobile bar showing patrons around Downtown, Detroit while potent drinks keep their spirits high. The vehicle used to move people around is called a 'peddle pub', and it can easily accommodate close to 16 people. A driver steers the vehicle while patrons on board are required to peddle it. You can bring your own drinks to enjoy them during your sightseeing excursion or you can quench your thirst at one of the many bars that the 'peddle pub' takes pit stops at. Patrons only above 18 years of age are allowed on the tour.
A spacious and splendid banquet hall housed within the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, the Esquire Room can accommodate a large audience with much ease. Designed in an elegant style, it hosts many corporate events and retreats. The catering for these events, of course, is handled by the expert staff at the hotel itself and they leave no room for disappointment with their impeccable service.
Located in the basement of Saint Andrew's Hall, the Shelter is a live music and DJ performance venue. This cellar venue hosts more intimate concerts. Almost every night of the week you will get a taste of the up-and-coming bands in town. On nights where there is no live music you can listen to alternative rock and punk. Some of the city's most famous bands started performing in this basement venue.
The Detroit Princess riverboat is about everything grand! Docked on the Detroit River near Hart Plaza, the ship undertakes both private as well as public cruises and offers separate private charterers too. The cruises are generally two to three hours long, with the quaint and scenic beauty of the Detroit River placed at your disposal. The ship specializes in a variety of cruises including moonlight cruises, fall color cruises and dinner cruises. Serving as many as 1800 people, the beautifully structured Detroit Princess is used for hosting parties, conferences, family outings and a lot more!
TCF Center, also known as Cobo Center and Cobo Hall, is a spacious convention center located on the Detroit waterfront. It boasts 24,000,000 square feet (222967 square meter) of open floor space. The hall has witnessed several international music and sports events in the past. The Center has also played host to some prestigious events like the International G-7 Job Summit and the annual North American International Auto Show. Besides the massive floor space, the Center also comprises several banquet rooms and 80 meeting halls. Event catering is exclusively provided by the Center. Ample parking space is available.