Why would anyone want to spend time in Detroit? Sarah Torrance went to find out and was fascinated.
“Why would you want to spend your precious time in Detroit?” asked the passport superintendent at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Stunned, I was saying to myself, “Well it’s the birthplace of Motown, the hometown of Aretha Franklin. It has the wonderful Detroit Art museum not excluding the Ford museum”. He upstretched an eyebrow – he was either thinking I was a prominent personality or I had done my research.
“In that case” Have a nice day”, he said.
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
As a matter of fact, I wasn’t really surprised at the chit-chat. Detroit has a reputation for being shabby and a bit unloved. The last ten years in the city has been spent going through a revival process where iconic buildings and forsaken skyscrapers are still being repaired.
The busiest part of Detroit in downtown Detroit, where a square mile offers 175 restaurants and bars. Detroit is also the home to a heritage immersed in ice hockey called Detroit Red Wings. For baseball, there’s the Detroit Tigers, and for American football, there’s the Detroit Lions who cooperatively lure hundreds of thousands of fans into the city’s famous stadiums.
Furthermore, Detroit is a part of the State of Michigan, which is known for two remarkable feats, both of which will get you moving. The first happens to be the motor industry, all thanks to Henry Ford while the second is the renowned Motown music.
A lot of people have said that the city reminds them of New York because of the skyscrapers. In truth, like New York, homes are heated by underground pieces of machinery and to let out the pressure, steam is released from holes within the ground. Fair enough, but that is where any similarity ends.
The Aloft Detroit Located at the David Whitney building is a must stay.
Aloft Detroit High-Tech Hotel
The Aloft hotel is situated in the iconic David Whitney Edifice. It was constructed in 1915 with a Neo-Renaissance elegance exterior, a lovely terracotta, and glazed brick fascia. Recently, it underwent a massive refurb costing $92 million which resulted in 136 modern-day styled rooms dispersed over 19 stories. The X-factor is the unbelievable four storey foyer and skylight that wallows daylight over a large lobby that is unabashedly enclosed in gold leafing and marble.
You need to tour the Ford Rouge Factory.
Detroit also known as Motor City has a long history related to the Ford family. The city is widely known for the production of General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford in the Henry Ford factory. It positively impacted the city by employing over 10,000 of the city’s two million population. But then came robots and automation and the workforce reduced drastically. Today there are about 3,000 people who manage the smooth running of the construction line.
Though it might seem odd to suggest a visit. Watching how cars move through the assembly line with the correctness of human interference is fascinating. A new car passes through the assemblage line every 53 seconds, averaging 1,500 trucks daily. You also get to see the Legacy Gallery exhibition of the ground-breaking V-8 series, the classic Mustang, and Thunderbird.
Henry Ford Museum of American Revolution, A Must See.
This is a rather, a big snapshot of American life showed through Henry Ford‘s massive collection of Americana which he began in 1929. You’ll be opportune to see his first ever automobile, the “Quadricycle,” which operated on four bicycle tires. You’ll also see some airplanes, presidential cars, a museum of Mathematica, tractors and even furniture.
Ford’s first car – The Quadrangle c. Sharron Livingston
In full view is the bus which Rosa Parks, christened the Mother of Human Rights, famously used in making a stand against discrimination which caused a city-wide embargo of the bus company of Montgomery in the year 1955. According to the story, Rosa (a black woman) was asked to give up her seat in the bus to a white person which she resentfully refused. It was her arrest that steered the wave of protest and the civil rights movement.
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus
Other attention-grabbing artifacts are the rocking chair in which President Abraham Lincoln died in after he was shot, tens of tractors, cars and even planes.
There’s also the real Model T, the first reasonably priced Ford car, which is dismantled daily and visitors can assemble it again. It’s really very simple.
Conclusion
At the end of my tour of Detroit, I learned quite a lot and created amazing new memories. I know you can’t wait to visit Detroit, there is never a dull moment.
