The Atlas Obscura Guide To

Detroit

35 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Detroit, Michigan

Unusual
Attractions
in Detroit

Grande Ballroom

Detroit, Michigan

Grande Ballroom

Abandoned concert venue legendary for its rock counterculture.

42.3646, -83.1286

Added by Allison

Inside St. Agnes Church

Detroit, Michigan

St. Agnes Church and School

This Detroit ruin was once a gothic bastion of its community, but now it stands as a haunting ruin.

42.3668, -83.0934

Added by hrnick

Detroit, Michigan

Michigan Central Station

A Beaux-Arts triumph temporarily saved from demolition, but with an uncertain future.

42.3287, -83.0775

Added by Annetta Black

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Children's Zoo

The bones of an old zoo crumbling in the shadow of a new one.

42.3406, -82.9813

Added by zackofalltrades

Detroit, Michigan

Heidelberg Project

One man's attempt to create an artistic wonder on a run-down block in Detroit.

42.3586, -83.0215

Detroit, Michigan

Michigan Theatre

Opulent downtown movie theater now houses cars as an indoor parking garage.

42.3345, -83.0531

Added by Nicholas Jackson

Detroit, Michigan

Motown Historical Museum

Berry Gordy Jr.'s old home, the original headquarters of Motown Record Corporation.

42.3641, -83.0883

Added by Nicholas Jackson

A postcard from the inside of the aquarium, dating to 1907 or 1908.

Detroit, Michigan

Belle Isle Aquarium

The Beaux Art aquarium boasts a vast collection of saltwater and freshwater fish on an island in the Detroit River.

42.3379, -82.9856

See All 35 Things to Do in Detroit See All 35 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Detroit

Boston Cooler

Gastro Obscura

Boston Cooler

Detroit's signature soda shake blends Vernors ginger ale with vanilla ice cream.

Gastro Obscura

City Chicken

Gastro Obscura

Meats & Animal Products

City Chicken

The Midwestern mock-poultry classic is fading away.

Gastro Obscura

Added by rachelrummel

Cherry Burger

Gastro Obscura

Cherry Burger

When life gives you cherries, puree them in burgers.

Gastro Obscura

Added by Alex Mayyasi

Rock N' Rye Pop

Gastro Obscura

Rock N' Rye Pop

A Prohibition-era flavor from a soda company beloved by Detroiters and Juggalos.

Gastro Obscura

Added by rachelrummel

Explore Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Leaderboard

Places Added

Places Edited

Places Visited

Recent Detroit Activity

kpart51 wants to go to Detroit Salt Mine

frankbellamy has been to John K. King Used & Rare Books

Pixie Jenn has been to Guardian Building Art Deco Lobby

Pixie Jenn has been to Detroit Masonic Temple

Pixie Jenn has been to Geodesic Dome House

Stories
About Detroit

The one, the only, coney.

Why Michigan's Favorite Hot Dog Has a New York Name

How did Coney Island get to Detroit?

A rendering of the Container Globe in action.

Staging Shakespeare in Shipping Containers

The "Container Globe" project wants to use modern materials to bring back some of the Bard's 17th-century zing.

October 24, 2017

Take a book, leave the planet.

Detroit Now Has a TARDIS-Shaped Library

Dr. Who would be proud.

by Eric Grundhauser

A section of Woodward Avenue circa 1910.

When Cyclists, Not Drivers, Led the Charge for Better Roads

In the 1800s, American roads were bad.

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