20 | MOTOWN & MOTOR CITY


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‘DANCING IN THE STREETS’ OF DETROIT


the process that leads from test pressings to the turntable in your home. In a city famous for its musical past, it’s a testament to its ongoing influence. After our Third Man tour, my friend Beth


ANDREA MCVEIGH explores Detroit, widely known as ‘Motor City’ and the birthplace of Motown...


BY ANDREA MCVEIGH


ONLY in Detroit can you sing My Girl in the studio in which it was recorded, and the next day, ride in a 1914 model T Ford then sit in the actual bus seat that Rosa Parks refused to give up to a white man in the segregated U.S., an act of protest that helped galvanise the civil rights movement in mid-Fifties America. That all happened in my first two days in Detroit, and the rest of my trip was equally eventful, filled with experiences only available in this vibrant Midwest city. Located in Michigan state, the world- famous Motor City – so called because it was the centre of the U.S. automobile industry in the early-mid 20th century - offers a striking mix of history, culture and innovation. From the soulful sounds of Motown to the revolutionary contributions of Henry Ford, the city invites visitors to step back in time, while also embracing its vibrant present. Because it’s not all about history – there


are chic new hotels and a diverse arts scene, from the Detroit Institute of Arts, home to one of the top six collections in the country, to Parker’s Alley for Instagrammable street art and murals. And, like the song says, people here are Dancing in the Street, particularly on a stretch that plays musical notes as you step – or waltz - along the musical sidewalk


installation on Woodward Avenue. There’s music in the air across Detroit, not


least in the Motown Museum, also known as Hitsville USA where the soulful sounds of the 1960s and ‘70s were born. Located in the house where Berry Gordy founded Motown Records, it’s a celebration of the artists who defined an era, with stories of the challenges and triumphs of both the acts and the man who helped them rise to fame.


Visitors can stand in the very rooms in


which Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes recorded their chart-topping hits and see Gordy’s former upstairs apartment, the label’s control room and numerous photographs, costumes and items of memorabilia. If your favourite Motown records were recorded between 1959 and 1972, they were recorded in this room, said our guide as he led us into Studio A, and encouraged us to join him in a rendition of My Girl, first recorded by The Temptations in this very spot in 1964. Aside from Motown, the city is also famous


for being the birthplace of Detroit techno in the 1980s, and is home to Third Man Records, the label of White Stripes frontman Jack White, a born and raised Detroiter. A combination of both record store and


live performance venue, Third Man Records allows you to see vinyl records being manually pressed and to learn more about


and I rounded off the day at a stage-side table in Cliff Bell’s, a speakeasy-style supper club, listening to live jazz. It was like stepping back into the sort of glamorous world of cocktails and cool couples you’d see in an old movie. But Detroit’s legacy extends far beyond


music. At the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, a 20-minute drive from downtown in the suburb of Dearborn, you’ll discover the birthplace of the modern automotive industry, and much more. I recommended setting aside


a full day to visit both the museum and the adjoining Greenfield Village, as I spent an engrossing six hours across both venues and still didn’t get to see everything in full. The museum is home to stories of American innovation through artefacts, technology and culture, and especially modes of transport. There’s a replica of the Wright brothers’ first aeroplane, the presidential cars of Roosevelt, JFK and Reagan, and the original bus in which Rosa Parks carried out her brave act of resistance in 1955, sitting in the ‘whites only’ front of the bus in defiance of racial segregation in Alabama. Seeing the actual seat she occupied


My hotel, the Westin Book Cadillac, was


built in 1924 on Washington Avenue, the ‘Fifth Avenue of the Midwest.’ Perfectly located near one end of Woodward, I was able to easily walk to all of the downtown places I wanted to visit, including the Art Deco Fox Theatre. Sightseeing is hungry work, so I made


sure to try a Detroit-style deep pan pizza, with its rectangular shape and crispy crust. Another must-try is the city’s signature Coney Dog. Hot-dog aficionados can do their own taste test between the rivals American Coney Dog and Lafayette Dog next door (top tip: the ‘snap’ and the sauce are said to be better in American Coney). There are also fantastic Middle Eastern restaurants, influenced by the large Lebanese population, and for brunch, don’t miss Dime Store where you might need


to wait for a table, but the home cooked biscuits and gravy (what


we’d call savoury scones and sausage white sauce) are worth it. For some real insider insights, take a walking tour with City Tour Detroit. My


February 2025


tour guide had the low down not just on Detroit’s history, but it’s future too. He pointed out areas of regeneration as we walked along the RiverWalk, looking out to Canada just one mile across the Detroit River.


Circling back to the City Tour HQ, in


is a humbling experience. Exit out of the museum and you step into Greenfield Village, an 80-acre ‘living history’ museum set up like an old town, where you can experience the sights, sounds and sensations of 300 years of American life. It was here that I got the chance to be driven around in various historic Fords, including a 1914 and a 1923 Model T, as part of a ticket that also gave me unlimited rides on the steam- powered tourist train that circles the site, and a 1913 fairground carousel. Greenfield also features the recreated homes


and workshops of famous figures in American history, such as Thomas Edison, as well as an old grocery store of the kind featured in Little House on the Prairie. Nellie Oleson eat your heart out! Most tourists stay in downtown Detroit, at


hotels centred around Woodward Avenue, a main road that includes globally known stores such as Nike and H&M.


the stunning 40-storey Guardian Building, we stood in wonder at this building’s magnificent ‘Aztec Deco’ architecture and interior. Completed in 1929, its grand lobby and vaulted ceiling is adorned with tile mosaics, and its floor made of polished marble.


Friendly and resilient, Detroiters aren’t


afraid to discuss the city’s manufacturing decline when the motor industry largely relocated in the 1960s, but they’re also full of hope and enthusiasm for the city’s current renewal and future. With its world-famous music, history


and special culinary offerings, Detroit invites visitors to experience a city that continues to shape American culture. In the words of some Motown greats,


you don’t need to Hear It Through the Grapevine, take it from me, Detroit has What’s Going On.


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