Downtown Detroit has been undergoing a major renaissance during recent years. Visitors who haven’t ventured into the heart of the city for many years are sure to be surprised and pleased.
Of course, General Motors’ towering Renaissance Center on the banks of the Detroit River is still the area’s most prominent landmark. Elsewhere in the city, once-shuttered luxury hotels have renovated and reopened, shopping and fine dining have reappeared, and a spirit of renewal can be sensed everywhere.
Sports are big here. The NHL’s Red Wings sell out the Joe Louis Arena, and both the baseball Tigers (Comerica Park) and football Lions (Ford Field) have sparkling new downtown homes. Three downtown casino resort hotels (Motor City Casino, M.G.M. Grand Casino and Greektown Casino) all offer visitors exciting, Las Vegas-style gaming.
Greektown itself, with its numerous shops, restaurants and nightspots, is a genuine tourist mecca. The fabulous Fox Theatre is home to all types of popular music concerts and Broadway theatre productions. And right up Woodward Avenue is the Cultural Center, where you’ll find such attractions as the New Detroit Science Center and the outstanding Detroit Institute of Arts, home to one of America’s most incredible collections of art treasures.
Here also is the elegant Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, where you even might find me at a performance of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, again presenting a full schedule of classical and pops programs. With the settlement of the labor issues, the orchestra’s management and musicians have embarked on a series of innovative new community outreach efforts, so your group will now find ticket prices for a world-class orchestra to be far lower here than you will find anywhere else in the country. And fans of the famed “Motown sound” are sure to enjoy a visit to the popular Motown Historical Museum, also nearby!
Renaissance Center, Detroit
