100 Things All Detroiters Should Do Before They Die

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9) Belly up to the bar at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge: Not only is historic Baker’s the oldest continuously operating jazz venue in the world, having opened in 1934, it also hosts terrific live bands. But it also has a bar worth looking over. One national magazine declared it one of the best bars in the country, with its stylish piano keyboard design.
9) Belly up to the bar at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge: Not only is historic Baker’s the oldest continuously operating jazz venue in the world, having opened in 1934, it also hosts terrific live bands. But it also has a bar worth looking over. One national magazine declared it one of the best bars in the country, with its stylish piano keyboard design.
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4) Picnic on Belle Isle: There are so many things to do on Belle Isle, from nature trails disc golf to the conservatory to the museums to even Hipster Beach, suffice it to say even a picnic should provide an adventure. True Detroiters know: It’s always 10 degrees cooler on our city’s island park.
4) Picnic on Belle Isle: There are so many things to do on Belle Isle, from nature trails disc golf to the conservatory to the museums to even Hipster Beach, suffice it to say even a picnic should provide an adventure. True Detroiters know: It’s always 10 degrees cooler on our city’s island park.
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19) Make out with a goth at City Club: For almost 30 years, an edgy dance scene has occupied the lower level of Detroit’s historic Leland Hotel. On some nights, this is Goth Central, just the place to find a languid, pallid hottie weary of this mortal coil.
19) Make out with a goth at City Club: For almost 30 years, an edgy dance scene has occupied the lower level of Detroit’s historic Leland Hotel. On some nights, this is Goth Central, just the place to find a languid, pallid hottie weary of this mortal coil.
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8) Ride the Critical Mass: The ride that departs from the corner of Trumbull and Warren at 7 p.m. on the last Friday of every month is a great way to meet cyclists, navigate the streets of the city in tandem with others, and maybe have a drink or two afterward. Yes, some riders are all sunglasses and spandex, but all experience levels are welcome at this genuine community event.
8) Ride the Critical Mass: The ride that departs from the corner of Trumbull and Warren at 7 p.m. on the last Friday of every month is a great way to meet cyclists, navigate the streets of the city in tandem with others, and maybe have a drink or two afterward. Yes, some riders are all sunglasses and spandex, but all experience levels are welcome at this genuine community event.
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17) Shit, just dance at Movement (and DEMF): Is there any downtown in the country that hosts this much techno? Heck no! With two big festivals in the offing this year, and probably a gazillion accompanying loft parties, club events, and other all-night sonic benders, thousands will descend on Detroit from all over the world. Join them and shake your ass off.
17) Shit, just dance at Movement (and DEMF): Is there any downtown in the country that hosts this much techno? Heck no! With two big festivals in the offing this year, and probably a gazillion accompanying loft parties, club events, and other all-night sonic benders, thousands will descend on Detroit from all over the world. Join them and shake your ass off.
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18) Cheer a team at Detroit Derby Girls: You don’t need to know a thing about the rules. Just pick a team and cheer on your colors. Even if you’ve never seen it before, you’ll soon be rapt watching these ladies of grace and fury roll down the boards — and hear yourself screaming.
18) Cheer a team at Detroit Derby Girls: You don’t need to know a thing about the rules. Just pick a team and cheer on your colors. Even if you’ve never seen it before, you’ll soon be rapt watching these ladies of grace and fury roll down the boards — and hear yourself screaming.
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30) See international cinema at the Detroit Film Theatre: Tucked away in the back of the Detroit Institute of Arts off John R, the Detroit Film Theatre has programmed a high-quality selection of hard-to-see films for a generation or more. On any given night, chances are high you’ll see a challenging work that provides plenty to talk about over drinks afterward. What’s more, the seating is very comfortable.
30) See international cinema at the Detroit Film Theatre: Tucked away in the back of the Detroit Institute of Arts off John R, the Detroit Film Theatre has programmed a high-quality selection of hard-to-see films for a generation or more. On any given night, chances are high you’ll see a challenging work that provides plenty to talk about over drinks afterward. What’s more, the seating is very comfortable.
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23) Admire Orchestra Hall while watching the Detroit Symphony Orchestra: Seeing our DSO, under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, is a feast for the ears. And experiencing this in the historic gem that is Orchestra Hall instead of some modernist cube adds a note of pageantry not heard often enough.
23) Admire Orchestra Hall while watching the Detroit Symphony Orchestra: Seeing our DSO, under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, is a feast for the ears. And experiencing this in the historic gem that is Orchestra Hall instead of some modernist cube adds a note of pageantry not heard often enough.
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6) See the Tigers, though your mileage may vary on Opening Day: Seeing the Tigers play at gleaming Comerica Park is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon or evening, from the quaint crack of the bat to the 10,000-megawatt display board. But on Opening Day, most of the errors are outside the stadium, where you’ll find hundreds of drunken baseball fans littering, puking, pissing and drunk driving all over downtown. On that, we call foul.
6) See the Tigers, though your mileage may vary on Opening Day: Seeing the Tigers play at gleaming Comerica Park is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon or evening, from the quaint crack of the bat to the 10,000-megawatt display board. But on Opening Day, most of the errors are outside the stadium, where you’ll find hundreds of drunken baseball fans littering, puking, pissing and drunk driving all over downtown. On that, we call foul.
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22) Seduce a mate at the Detroit Opera House: An opera is rich with seductive opportunities. Yes, the unhappy endings can be a bummer. But the rich interiors and lush staging excite the senses. The tragic stories and passionate singing inflame the emotions. Plus, nothing screams class quite as deafeningly as the opera, and your date knows it. No matter what you do later that night, that person you took to the opera will have to grudgingly admit that you at least aspire to culture.
22) Seduce a mate at the Detroit Opera House: An opera is rich with seductive opportunities. Yes, the unhappy endings can be a bummer. But the rich interiors and lush staging excite the senses. The tragic stories and passionate singing inflame the emotions. Plus, nothing screams class quite as deafeningly as the opera, and your date knows it. No matter what you do later that night, that person you took to the opera will have to grudgingly admit that you at least aspire to culture.
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20) Buy a black-and-white print of a penis at The Dirty Show: You gotta hand it to Jerry Vile: He turned a jerry-rigged art event into the biggest art event in town, with thousands attending over two weekends. Yes, sex sells, and The Dirty Show is the perfect place to buy that immodest piece of art to add a little slap-and-tickle to your walls.
20) Buy a black-and-white print of a penis at The Dirty Show: You gotta hand it to Jerry Vile: He turned a jerry-rigged art event into the biggest art event in town, with thousands attending over two weekends. Yes, sex sells, and The Dirty Show is the perfect place to buy that immodest piece of art to add a little slap-and-tickle to your walls.
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3) Spend a Saturday morning shopping at Eastern Market: One of the last large historic outdoor urban food markets in America, the market fills up with food-loving metro Detroiters on Saturdays. The sheds are undergoing remarkable upgrades, and it seems a new attraction opens up every month in the area. Now if we could just get people with double-barrel baby carriages to not stop four abreast and talk to each other in the aisles. …
3) Spend a Saturday morning shopping at Eastern Market: One of the last large historic outdoor urban food markets in America, the market fills up with food-loving metro Detroiters on Saturdays. The sheds are undergoing remarkable upgrades, and it seems a new attraction opens up every month in the area. Now if we could just get people with double-barrel baby carriages to not stop four abreast and talk to each other in the aisles. …
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13) Tour the 19th century at Greenfield Village: The collection of historic buildings at the Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village is without parallel anywhere in the world. The old man himself paid to have these landmarks moved to the site piece by piece, and a walk down the street can be jarring: one moment the Deep South, the next stately New England, then merry old England. It’s also the only place in town where Model T’s regularly putter down the street, or where you can watch a game of old-time baseball.
13) Tour the 19th century at Greenfield Village: The collection of historic buildings at the Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village is without parallel anywhere in the world. The old man himself paid to have these landmarks moved to the site piece by piece, and a walk down the street can be jarring: one moment the Deep South, the next stately New England, then merry old England. It’s also the only place in town where Model T’s regularly putter down the street, or where you can watch a game of old-time baseball.
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5) Eat a pastry in the Guardian Building’s mezzanine: The magnificent art deco building gets its Native American color theme from designer C. Wirt Rowland, who inlaid the 40-story treasure with colorful hues. But the interiors can be just as stunning. Drop in for a bite at the Rowland Café in the building’s mezzanine to see an almost psychedelic display of geometric shapes all around you.
5) Eat a pastry in the Guardian Building’s mezzanine: The magnificent art deco building gets its Native American color theme from designer C. Wirt Rowland, who inlaid the 40-story treasure with colorful hues. But the interiors can be just as stunning. Drop in for a bite at the Rowland Café in the building’s mezzanine to see an almost psychedelic display of geometric shapes all around you.
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16) Navigate through thousands of sunbathing country fans at Hoedown: Maybe you expected us to take some cheap shots at the Hoedown. Hardly. The biggest annual event in downtown Detroit, this hootenanny regularly draws as many as a million guests, and features acts from all over the country. For a region in which so many residents call the South the old country, the Hoedown brings on the twang something fierce. Yup. We reckon so.
16) Navigate through thousands of sunbathing country fans at Hoedown: Maybe you expected us to take some cheap shots at the Hoedown. Hardly. The biggest annual event in downtown Detroit, this hootenanny regularly draws as many as a million guests, and features acts from all over the country. For a region in which so many residents call the South the old country, the Hoedown brings on the twang something fierce. Yup. We reckon so.
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7) Eat, bowl and see a show at the Majestic complex: For nightlife, the Majestic is one-stop shopping. Visitors can park in the pay lot behind the building, then see national and local acts in three different venues, grab a slice, order a beer, look at art, sit down and dine, or even knock down pins at Detroit’s oldest bowling alley.
7) Eat, bowl and see a show at the Majestic complex: For nightlife, the Majestic is one-stop shopping. Visitors can park in the pay lot behind the building, then see national and local acts in three different venues, grab a slice, order a beer, look at art, sit down and dine, or even knock down pins at Detroit’s oldest bowling alley.
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27) Take a selfie in front of Michigan Central Station: Doesn’t it seem like every “social entrepreneur” online has that picture in front of that magnificent symbol of Detroit’s decay? Don’t let them hog the action! The imposing 1913 train station and office tower was built to last, just like the Corktown neighborhood that surrounds it. Take your snapshot, and then go on to photograph the small businesses springing up along Michigan Avenue so everybody gets the full picture.
27) Take a selfie in front of Michigan Central Station: Doesn’t it seem like every “social entrepreneur” online has that picture in front of that magnificent symbol of Detroit’s decay? Don’t let them hog the action! The imposing 1913 train station and office tower was built to last, just like the Corktown neighborhood that surrounds it. Take your snapshot, and then go on to photograph the small businesses springing up along Michigan Avenue so everybody gets the full picture.
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2) Stop, in the name of love, at the Motown Museum: The little house with the big history on Grand Boulevard wasn’t always a museum, but so many people dropped in at Hitsville after Motown left town that it was converted into what it is today: a music museum like no other. The offices and studios are now filled with historic exhibits documenting the rise of the house Berry Gordy built.
2) Stop, in the name of love, at the Motown Museum: The little house with the big history on Grand Boulevard wasn’t always a museum, but so many people dropped in at Hitsville after Motown left town that it was converted into what it is today: a music museum like no other. The offices and studios are now filled with historic exhibits documenting the rise of the house Berry Gordy built.
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26) Take a fresh look at the Packard Plant: Some wag made a website claiming to tell you whether the Packard Plant was on fire that day (the joke being it was always on fire). Sure, it’s a symbol of the city’s decay. But not many people know that Packard closed the plant, which first sprang up in 1903, in the year 1958. By now, the auto plant has been closed longer than it was ever open. Bear that in mind when you drive past (or dirtbike through) the ruin.
26) Take a fresh look at the Packard Plant: Some wag made a website claiming to tell you whether the Packard Plant was on fire that day (the joke being it was always on fire). Sure, it’s a symbol of the city’s decay. But not many people know that Packard closed the plant, which first sprang up in 1903, in the year 1958. By now, the auto plant has been closed longer than it was ever open. Bear that in mind when you drive past (or dirtbike through) the ruin.
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10) Watch an arena giant at DTE Energy Music Theatre (aka Pine Knob): The national acts this venue pulls in guarantees almost everybody will attend a show at one time or another, and the outdoor seating makes DTE Energy Music Theatre a blast in the summer. But older folks still get a thrill defying the corporate branding and enjoying a night at good ol’ Pine Knob.
10) Watch an arena giant at DTE Energy Music Theatre (aka Pine Knob): The national acts this venue pulls in guarantees almost everybody will attend a show at one time or another, and the outdoor seating makes DTE Energy Music Theatre a blast in the summer. But older folks still get a thrill defying the corporate branding and enjoying a night at good ol’ Pine Knob.
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