The City of Detroit

Symbolic of the new Detroit is the Renaissance Center, a towering glass and steel complex beside the Detroit River in the heart of the city. This futuristic structure is the focus of riverfront development that has become a bustling convention center and a gathering place for Detroiters. In this area are Joe Louis Arena, home of Red Wings hockey, and Cobo Conference/Exhibition Center. Also on the riverfront, Hart Plaza is a summertime refuge for office workers on their lunch hour.

A couple miles from main campus are Ford Field, the new home of Lions football, and Comerica Park, the new home of Tigers baseball.

Music — Less than one mile from the main campus on Woodward Avenue is the Max M. Fisher Music Center, home of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the world’s greatest classical music by the renowned Detroit Symphony Orchestra, The Max hosts jazz, pops, family concerts and much more.
The free Detroit International Jazz Festival has attracted visitors and locals to an end-of-summer ritual on Labor Day Weekend that celebrates one of America’s most important art forms. The festival boasts six stages and 100 acts over four days in a city well known for its musical legacy.
The birthplace of Motown, Detroit continues to produce excellent local musicians, and top popular artists and groups appear regularly at Joe Louis Arena.

Theater — The Fisher Theatre just north of the main campus presents extravagant productions including many pre-Broadway and post-Broadway hits featuring their original casts. The Michigan Opera Theatre presents its operas at the Detroit Opera House. The Masonic Temple auditorium, next to the medical campus, also presents touring shows. The Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts features a wide variety of live entertainment year-round. In November 1988, Detroit’s venerable Fox Theatre reopened its doors following a multimillion dollar year-long renovation. The 4,500 seat theatre, built in 1927 at a cost of more than $6 million, is truly one of the most breathtaking performing arts and historical attractions in the United States. Today, the Fox is host to live theatre productions, Las-Vegas type extravaganzas, and entertainers representing virtually every musical taste. Windsor Light Music Theatre, across the Detroit River in Canada, has been presenting consistently superior community music theatre productions of professional quality for more than 60 years. In addition, the Detroit Repertory Theatre is recognized for its pioneer efforts in all phases of theatre and its strong community involvement.

Restaurants — Detroit is a great restaurant town. There are the usual fine steak and seafood establishments plus dozens of small ethnic restaurants around campus. Greektown cuisine is within a student’s budget! Also reasonably priced and a short drive from campus are several excellent restaurants in Mexicantown.

Shopping — If it’s inexpensive, fresh food you are looking for, Eastern Market’s got it, from fruit, vegetables and meat to herbs, spices, nuts and candies. Retailers and wholesalers spread their offerings over a 43-acre area, a short drive from campus.

Casinos — The three Detroit casinos Greektown Casino, the MGM Grand and MotorCity Casino offer gaming, dining and nightlife.

Belle Isle park — Historic Belle Isle, the crown jewel of Detroit’s public park system, is in the Detroit River, America’s busiest inland waterway. The 983-acre island park is known for its spectacular views of Detroit, Canada, freighter traffic and the Ambassador Bridge. In 1883, the designer of New York City’s Central park, Frederick Law Olmstead, created the master plan for Belle Isle’s transformation. Highlights include the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, world’s largest collection of scale-model Great Lakes ships, maritime memorabilia and special hands-on exhibits; the huge, carved white marble Scott Memorial Fountain; the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, which includes permanent displays of cacti, ferns, palms and one of the largest collections of orchids in the country; the Jazz on the Beach concert series; Kid’s Kingdom Playscape; 200 acres of woodlands; fishing piers and bulkheads; bicycle and nature trails; Lakeside Grill & Convenience Store; handball, racquetball and basketball courts; a nine-hole golf course, driving range and putting greens; nine baseball diamonds; 10 lighted tennis courts; cinder running track and ice skating.

Culturally Rich Neighborhood

The sprawling, historic main branch of the Detroit Public Library (DPL), on Cass Avenue across the street from the main campus, includes 10 subject departments and a number of collections used nationally and internationally. For example, the Hackley Collection focuses on the contributions of African Americans to the performing arts. It includes rare books, manuscripts, sheet music, photographs and recorded sound.
Next to the DPL is the Detroit Historical Museum, where visitors can enjoy a host of permanent and temporary exhibits that will help deepen their understanding of the region’s rich history. Visitors can walk back in time, to the cobblestone streets of 1840s Detroit or watch a live “body drop” in front of an authentic assembly line.
Other exhibits feature artifacts from classic automobiles and vintage gowns to a wide range of sports memorabilia.
Across the street from the Detroit Historical Museum is The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). The DIA completed in November 2007 one of the most ambitious renovation and expansion projects in its history. For more than a century, the DIA has housed some of the world’s greatest works of art. The institution offers films, workshops and classes, as well.
One block from the DIA is the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the world’s largest institution dedicated to the African American experience. Housing more than 30,000 artifacts and archival materials, the museum is home to the Blanche Coggin Underground Railroad Collection, Harriet Tubman Museum Collection, Coleman A. Young Collection and the Sheffield Collection, a repository of documents of the labor movement in Detroit.
Next to the Wright Museum is The New Detroit Science Center, where creative exploration is the key to discovering the wonders of science and technology.
From Michigan’s only IMAX® Dome Theatre to the Dassault Systèmes Planetarium, family programs to field trips, live science demonstrations to hands-on exhibit laboratories, the Science Center has something for kids ages 2 to 92.