Recently business took me to Detroit, the 6th largest city in the United States, and known worldwide as The Motor City. As headquarters of the automotive industry in the U.S., Detroit is on the move. That was apparent as we approached the downtown region by automobile from the south.
First to catch our eye was the massive new home of the Detroit Tigers, the city's professional baseball team, where an open-air 42,000-seat stadium is being constructed. Scheduled to open in the year 2000, the ball field will co-anchor a new sports and entertainment district built around Detroit's existing theater district. Ground has also been broken on the new home for the Detroit Lions, the city's football team, with a domed stadium slated to open for the 2005 season with 65,000 seats, 120 suites, and a family area. Nearby will be the Avenue of Fun, featuring a new Hard Rock Café which will salute Detroit's musical heritage (the Motown Sound) and feature souvenirs from Detroit-born rockers such as Madonna, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent, and others. Even The Renaissance Center, the six gleaming towers full of shops, movie theaters, and offices, is undergoing a massive transformation with the surrounding 23-acre green area getting new landscaping, added pathways for joggers and in-line skaters, art sculpture, and a village complex with residential, retail, and entertainment areas. The freeway system of Detroit is also undergoing a massive renovation -- getting ready for the millions of people expected to visit Detroit in the early years of the new century.
Riverfront developments alone are expected to draw five to seven million new visitors each year with the opening of three planned casinos--the MGM Grand's hotel and casino complex; the Atwater/Circus Circus hotel and casino complex with a plaza and garden, mall, spa, brew pub, and a performing arts center for Las Vegas-style shows; and the Greektown/Chippewa Indians new twin hotel-casino towers featuring a theater, restaurants, and children's center.
Getting around downtown Detroit is a snap with the Detroit People Mover, an elevated, computer-operated transportation system that connects hotels, offices, shops, restaurants, and Cobo Conference Exhibition Center in the central business district. For only 50 cents a ride, you can make your way around downtown Detroit and see some of the area's finest installations of art in the 13 train stations.
A quick trip across Ambassador Bridge, the longest international suspension bridge in the world, that links Detroit and its international neighbor Windsor, Canada, is a must. Casino gaming action, Las Vegas style, is already in Windsor with the Casino Windsor, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. On the return trip, use the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel to cross under the Detroit River. Either the tunnel or bridge will get you back to downtown Detroit in minutes.
Detroit is a shopper's heaven, especially those who frequent discount centers. The Great Lakes Crossing goes beyond the usual with its 117 acre complex featuring not only discount outlets, but also department-store clearance centers such as T.J. Maxx, Burlington Coat Factory, Off 5th (a Saks Fifth Avenue clearance center), and Las Call (a Neiman Marcus clearance center). Eateries include a Rainforest Café and the unique cuisine of renowned West Coast chef Wolfgang Puck's eatery. The Crossing also features a picnic-theme kids' play area and interactive games, where youngsters can run around a huge slice of watermelon and a tipped-over cup, complete with tumbling ice cubes. A great climbing area is the gigantic hot dog, topped with mustard and other condiments.
A must for every new visitor to Detroit is to spend at least a day at the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, the nation's largest indoor/outdoor museum complex. The Henry Ford Museum is filled with innovations of generations of Americans with exhibits on the automobile, aviation, clockwork, furniture, glassware, jewelry, silver & pewter, and transportation. Greenfield Village is a walk through the daily lives of famous historical figures and everyday heroes of an evolving America.
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is a breathtaking structure and the largest African-American exhibition in the country. The core exhibit features a 400-year survey of African-American history, including an 800-foot structure the size and shape of the ships used to transport African captives to the Americas.
Just an hour from downtown Detroit is Port Huron, in a largely rural area of the Thumb region of Michigan (the lower peninsula of Michigan is shaped like a mitten). Here you can watch massive freighters while enjoying scenic views of Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay.
Countless chain motels and luxury hotels abound in The Motor City and restaurants range from very casual to very elegant and expensive. For an online review of many of the area's best restaurants, go to http://www.ddc.com/forks/. There you can get a good idea of the diversity of the menus and the price range of the many excellent restaurants in the area.
As a person with diabetes, I found the portions to be quite large so be careful to stick to your meal plan so your blood sugar levels remain in control. Frequently I found great satisfaction in ordering a seafood appetizer such as plump New Zealand mussels in a white wine sauce or Poached Michigan Whitefish with a zippy salsa and a house salad, with unusual additions such as tart, dried Michigan cherries. Dessert usually consisted of a piece of fresh fruit back in the hotel room, although I will admit to have a spoonful of my husband's dessert choice, an incredibly light peach sorbet, served in a pool of peach puree.
Did you know that Detroit is just a 90-minute flight from 60 percent of U.S. cities. Its expanding Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport is Northwest Airline's largest hub and supports more than 1,500 takeoffs and landings from major U.S. and international carriers. Change is also noticeable here with a new 74-gate mid-field terminal, a fourth parallel runway, and a new 12,600 car parking structure by 2001.
If you love jazz, you might want to quickly make your reservations to be around the Labor Day Detroit Jazz Festival --the largest free jazz festival in the world - and the arts and crafts offerings of the Dally in the Alley street fair on the Saturday after Labor Day.
Detroit, you're a city that's truly on the move, offering a lot of diversity and action for the tourist. Next visit, I'll stay longer!
