Items below will be deleted.  Go to "HOME PAGE" and then "ATTRACTIONS CTD." 

ALL CONTENT ORIGINATED IN ANOTHER FORMAT AND MUST BE RE-CONFIGURED FOR WEBSITE SOFTWARE.  ALL PAGES ARE LISTED IN THIS INTRODUCTION AND MAY INCLUDE LATER ADDITIONS.

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THIS WEBSITE'S INTENT IS TO OFFER THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF DETROIT ENTERTAINMENT AND TOURISM AVAILABLE.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE,

​THE AUTHOR

BEAVER INVADE DETROIT

The beaver got it all started in Detroit.  It was a lucrative trade that brought the French, British and several First Nation tribes to the area.  But the beaver was trapped out of existence in Detroit and environs, and it seemed -- for good.

However, several beaver have returned with a vengeance to the nearby Canadian Provincial Park of Peche Island, Detroit's Conner Creek power station canal and even to the Rouge River on Detroit's industrial west side.

White tail deer have been seen on Detroit's Belle Isle a short distance from Downtown and it's hardly unexpected that Peche Island beavers will find their way there as well.  

Fewer People, More Land...

Motown has lost so many people, the city has largely reverted to prairie in many areas attracting a lot of wildlife.  This is no little statistic. Detroit has a total of 143 square miles including its surrounding water.  

Add the two internal cities with which it shares services (Hamtramck and Highland Park) and the area becomes 151 square miles -- about half the size of New York.  

All of Paris could fit comfortably within the city's abandoned expanses with room to spare.

This is a view of the river and RiverWalk from the east end of Milliken State Park's nature area toward Windsor and Downtown Detroit.  The great distances on the RiverWalk provide challenging exercise for joggers, power walkers, bikers and inline skaters.

Now ranked the best fireworks in the nation, the Detroit International Freedom Festival fireworks are launched from three barges in the Detroit River near Hart Plaza.  They are the only fireworks commemorating the independence of two nations.

A symbol of Detroit's defiance and resilience.

  Joe Louis defeated Max Schmeling, symbol of Nazi superiority, on the eve of WWII.  It's a popular backdrop for wedding photos.  (North of Hart Plaza/RiverWalk, Jefferson.)

North of Hart Plaza/RiverWalk, Woodward and Jefferson.

North of Hart Plaza/RiverWalk, west of Woodward on Congress.

A true "Cathedral of Finance," this building features Aztec, Mayan and Woodland Indian design themes that are spectacular.  Designed by Wirt Rowland in the art deco style, it also was the "Arsenal of Democracy" headquarters in WWII.  (Near RiverWalk at Woodward or Griswold and Larned.)

MUSKRAT DEN

Muskrats have colonized several ponds in the Milliken State Park area.

Located at the east end of Hart Plaza, this church is part of the tune, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," by Gordon Lightfoot memorializing the tragic loss of the ship by that name in Lake Superior in 1975.

EASTERN MARKET

The above building is one of the most visible that identifies the southern boundary of Eastern Market nearest to the Dequindre Cut exit.  It will remain so until the Cut is expanded in the coming year.  

Eastern market is open all day long on Saturday and is now considered by many to be the largest farmers' market in the nation.  It has 4 large sheds, more than 250 vendor stands, several small sheds and numerous other attractions within 12 blocks.  It continues to expand and undergo renovation.

Restrooms, Drinking Fountains & Picnic Areas.  You can find  restrooms and fountains on the west side of this facility and plenty of places to picnic with a view of the river.

A broad sidewalk (shown on photo, right) parallels Atwater Street.  Continue following that east, if on foot or climb the adjacent Harbor Hill and take a break.  

The new asphalt bike trail winds around the Harbor Hill with a gentle grade.  You can traverse this route or follow the concrete walkway a short distance north to the Atwater Street sidewalk.  You will reach the same point from either side.

The Cut trades rail tracks for a strip of asphalt, bike lanes and strollers.   (This intersection joins with E. Lafayette Street.)

(One day a travelling puppet show appeared in the Cut.)

The Cut's concrete viaducts are scribbled with graffiti and work by artists who paint over every available patch for bragging rights.  Rain washes the Urban Glyphs away and a new contest starts.  Art geeks win this trump.  Who's next?

Primary access  This particular spur runs  at a right angle from the Walk northward (starting next to the Globe Trading building/Outdoor Adventure Center).  If you're  feeling like an extra stroll, you'll be rewarded with some interesting artwork along the way, including more DIA weatherized art pieces and Urban Glyphs.

If you're here on Saturday, Eastern Market offers a great destination at the other end of the Cut -- as long as your arrive by 3:00 p.m. to catch the best deals.  Bring along a sack or two and pack some of the market's fine bread, cheese, produce or cider for your return trip.

SNAPSHOT The Dequindre Cut links the RiverWalk to Eastern Market with a 1.25 mile pathway, and is part of the expanding Detroit Greenway project, eventually connecting 100 miles of trails.

The Cut is a former railroad line that runs below grade with roads passing over and ramps leading out.

Some walkways are covered by steel plates forming Walleye and Bass reliefs.  Historic markers honor Detroit's early residents and Civil War deeds.

The renovated Dequindre Cut Greenway runs north at the nearby street intersection.  

(You may turn north here along the Dequindre Cut or continue east on the Walk.  Go to Returning to RiverWalk, if you plan to skip the Cut section.)

Boats await another day of exploration on the river and Lake St. Clair.

Light breezes breathe fresh air through a harbor under silver skies.

A lone mariner returns to the lighthouse for the evening

Glistening waters reflect a brilliant, cloud-filled sky over the north shore and river.

The Lighthouse is a a smaller version of the Tawas City Lighthouse on Lake Huron.  At 63 feet it's exactly 9/10 of the original.  As you tramp your way to the river, a nautical theme of mast-mounted flags and ship's anchor is featured at the riverside grounds, once known as St. Aubin Park and Marina.

Adjacent to the park canal is a covered picnic area and restrooms.

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The Boat Marina is surrounded by a landscaped peninsula, with weeping willows, guarded by a white lighthouse with a circular fishing rail at the marina entrance.

A small diorama of welded ship steel, the size of a bathtub tells the story.  Note the Globe Trading Building, foreground. (This relic was found buried beneath dirt and debris.)

This portion of the Walk follows the street east, past the hill, dredged from the riverbed.

Local History  Milliken State Park is part reliquary of the Globe Trading Company dry dock canal, and a kind of spa for lake freighters that docked Downtown.  The canal's water was sealed off and water was pumped away so ships could be re-fitted and re-stocked for the next voyage.

For a good view, climb the nearby hill.  The scene from this perch looks upon the dry dock canal, park facilities and harbor to Chene Park beyond, delivering a river panorama with conviction.

The ramshackle Globe Trading Company building at this intersection was shuttered for renovation.  Big gaping holes revealed an interior that looked like the rust heap where Peter Weller got cornered in the Detroit based movie, Robocop. (Incidentally, a $60,000 Robocop statue may soon be erected three miles west at the abandoned Train Station.  Detroit has its priorities.)

But a more ambitious building project started.  The old brick warehouse and grounds transformed into classrooms, a forest interpretive area, zip lines, rock climbing walls, simulated kayak runs and an archery center in 2014.   (An apartment retail complex with potential for 500 units will adjoin the site.)

He could be an ambassador offering a message.  Is it a warning or a promise?  OR is he some guy from a crime scene fleshed out in brushed steel, shot with holes by rival rum runners?  After all, this was Purple Gang turf.  The world of artist, John Sauve landed on this place at the river where stands a large monument called "Seinsfrage" (...the question is...).  It's transforming this intersection of the urban and the natural into a third realm.

Along the sidewalk at the eastern edge of the nature area, stands a tall steel figure with fedora who beckons you.

Kiosk interpretive areas profile old sailing ships, freighters and river fish.  Other kiosks provide wetland information. The low-built railing is designed to eliminate a casting barrier for fisherman.

Stop for a moment and take a gander at a lifelike statue honoring Peter Stroh, longime Detroit philantropist at the riverside location.  

Local History  Stroh's Beer Company was established in Germany in 1775, and then in Detroit in 1850, where it was a popular Detroit-made brew.  It was sold to Pabst a decade ago.  

Mr. Stroh's likeness protrudes waste-high from a solid block of granite.  A low-profile fisherman's rail with interpretive areas, offers you and fishermen a survey of the river.  One provides binoculars.

If you listen closely you may hear a Red Winged Black Bird's tremolo or the bull frog's "HARR-UMMM."  

​Milliken State Park and Harbor contains a fifth-mile long Nature Walk with manmade ponds, streams and wetlands designed to restore the shoreline not seen for a couple hundred years.

The ponds are fed from the river by an underground sluice with a cyclone filter that activates as the pond levels drop, replenishing the water supply cleanly and naturally.

Three paved areas meander through meadows planted with native plants to attract wildlife. Ducks, geese, pheasants and muskrats colonize the area in summer, and once a coyote was seen loping through the nearby fields (until it was trucked away to give birth in the wild).  In April the terns appear by the shore, and hungry cormorants and gulls dive for fish in the river just beyond.

Bull frogs and turtles are appearing in the ponds for the first time.

Numerous visual aids guide you through the areas's attractions and wildlife.

The Plaza merges with the new MIlliken State Park and Harbor, now one of two urban State Parks in Detroit.

Tours √Rec The Diamond Belle and Diamond Queen pick up passengers for unreserved riverboat tours here.

Two landscaped berms are expertly planted in the summer and fall with eye catching flowers by pools that gush over ledges on long spillways (Boll Family Fountains).  A colorful carousel of fantasy fish, birds and mermaids revolves to old-time carnival music.

Another 30-foot map of metropolitan Detroit and Windsor is engraved in granite paving.

A glass relief map provides a window on Great Lakes geography.  (Note the outline of Michigan, the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.)

Tours and Information Wheel House Detroit is located at the north side of the plaza building.  It offers bike rentals, repair services, tours, RiverWalk maps and information.

The counters offer beverages, Coney dogs and ice cream, at the south end of the plaza.  A new kids' playscape was built on the opposite side.

Food, Beverage and Recreation Options  Rivard Plaza provides recreation and refreshment.  This is a popular, pavilion seating area providing restrooms and visitor information.  Stop at the Wheel House Detroit bike rental, Cafe Classics, Sweets & Treats and Expresso Express counters.  Or just take a load off.  Rent a bike and finish the tour on wheels, if you like.

The adjacent area parking lots host the annual River Days, International Freedom Festival Midway carnival and

entertainment venues.

As the Walk rambles east, it broadens to include a landscaped lawn with more groves of river birch trees and shoreline benches, turning 40 feet to the river at Rivard Plaza.

Stroll for another quarter mile on 18 feet of pavement landscaped with River Birches, mini-parks and benches. These are decorated by hedgerows of ornamental grasses, festooned with large, flower-filled vases set among ground cover and pea gravel.

Sculptures and weatherized copies of Detroit Institute of Arts museum pieces line the park by-ways along the Walk.

"TAKE ONE, LEAVE ONE LIBRARY"

(Book Lending Nook)

These appear to be large birdhouses.  But if you look closer you'll discover there are books stored inside the front door for the convenience of a stroller who might like to sit and read.  

Continue your walk toward Rivard Plaza and a comfortable rest area.

Restaurant/Bar Options A short detour north will take you to one of the three venues between Schweizer's and Riopelle: Waterfall's Ultralounge and Grille (673 Franklin), Steve's Soul Food Restaurant (1440 Franklin) for authentic Detroit food or Vondie's On the River Bar and Restaurant (260 Schweizer's Place).

and a landscaped lighting area with piped-in classical music.   (Atwater Street passes between it and the Wintergarden atrium.

This location includes a 200 ft. fountain array that erupts with shifting sprays of water, delighting kids -- who can't resist splashing through it --

ANTOINE DE LA MOTHE (LAUMET) CADILLAC

Cadillac was as much a paradox as the city he founded.

• He was as much Huguenot Protestant as Jesuit Catholic
  

• He was as much gentleman as gentleman pirate 
  

• He was as much Native American admirer as Native American manipulator
  

• He was as much fortune seeker as administrator
  

• He was as comfortable in the French Court as in the wild 
  

• He was as much a builder as negligent landlord
  

• He was perhaps as much speculator as thief
  

• He was as much soldier as entrepreneur
  

• He was as much a prisoner of state as honored French citizen
  

• While from a modest background, Cadillac had a family crest, which became the logo for GM's luxury brand​

Many wedding receptions are held near the RiverWalk.   Here a carriage awaits -- big diapered horse included.

The Walk then merges with the giant Renaissance Center and GM Promenade a wide stretch of brick pavers and granite terraces elevating walkers to Atwater Street at the Ren Cen Wintergarden.

Restaurant Options  Visit Andiamo's restaurant on the 1st floor and Joe Muer's Seafood restaurant on the 2nd floor. They face the river.  The 42 Degrees North restaurant and buffet provides a good meal and a grand river view just as dramatic from the east side of the Wintergarden, 2nd floor level.

The Port Detroit complex handles Passenger embarkation for cruise ships and river boats.

The facility is at the forefront to make Detroit the Great Lakes Cruise Ship Capital according to the Federal Department of Transportation.   Ships dock at the new wharf attached to this part of the Walk.

Two cruise ships made several visits in 2012.  More followed beginning with the Hamburg in 2014 a 400 cabin cruise ship that visited Windsor. The St. Laurent will visit Detroit in 2015.

(Artists may offer to sketch your portrait here.)

The 2-story building and wharf have been added to the RiverWalk.  Several vessels dock here in the summer.

Local History This cannon barrel was pulled from the bottom of the river in front of Cobo Convention Center in 2011. It was brought to the area by the British to put down the Pontiac rebellion not long after French capitulation. Another cannon found a bit west was recently displayed at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum at nearby Belle Isle Park. The British were in a hurry to scuttle their cannon when Americans claimed the city in 1796.

Detroit was alternately occupied by the French, the British, the Americans, and then the British again before reverting to American administration in 1815.  For a time in 1763 it was nearly overrun by Chief Pontiac's 900 warriors who occupied the surrounding territory and brought the city to siege exacting cruel revenge on captives.  (Refer to Detroit Weird and Wonderful, Mystery History section for details on great Native American leaders of the region.)

Construction on the new Port Detroit, Great Lakes Cruise Ship Terminal and Wharf was completed in 2011.

Hart Plaza will be renovated into a GREEN park area.  Granite pavers will be replaced with grass.

Statues of Underground Railroad travelers are perched on a RiverWalk overlook.  Detroit was a major stop for escaped slaves heading to Canada until the Emancipation Proclamation  in 1863.  Former slave, Thornton Blackburn established the first major escape route to Canada in 1831.

This section contains donor-engraved brick pavers honoring contributors to the RiverWalk project.

Ford Auditorium, recently demolished, may be replaced with a new 5,000 seat, pavilion amphitheatre, adjoining this location or built at the Uniroyal site.  Hart Plaza is a popular festival staging area.  There remain seven major festivals at the plaza since some were moved to Grand Circus Park.   For a description of current festivals refer to Theatre Page 3 or Events Calendar Page 17.

the Landing of Cadillac statue (or the "Hippie," as it appears to some), and a few small outdoor stages that ring the area. (This statue is not an accurate depiction of Cadillac whose likeness more closely resembled fictional character, Cyrano De Bergerac.) 

Local History  Cadillac landed within yards of this location with his coureur des bois in 1701 before building Fort Pontchartrain (after Comte Pontchartrain) a short distance north at Fort and Shelby.  In time it would be known as Fort Detroit.

Other attractions  include the Labor Union, Ring of Transcending (or the "Pinky Ring," if preferred), the DNA monolith (which resembles a "swizzle stick"), 

The plaza is dominated by the Noguchi Fountain (known as the "Space Doughnut" or Dodge Fountain).

The new M-1 rail is being built from Larned a block north to the New Center three miles up Woodward.

Return to the RiverWalk and head East...

See Chene Park in "Attractions Cont'd" (by clicking on that selection at top of this Page)

The eventual network of trails in Detroit will extend 100 miles.

Returning to RiverWalk 

Upon your return to Atwater Street, you can continue past the Cut, east of Milliken State Park and toward Chene Park Theatre.  (Or refer to Eastern Market, Page 12 for details.   The Dequindre Cut ends at Gratiot and most of the market's outer buildings are not clearly indicated from a distance.)

Some landscaped portions bloom lily orange in summer.