These American Art and History Museums in Detroit should be on your list. OK, my love of museums and Detroit is no secret, but as someone who’s been to many of the most revered museums in the world, I’m telling you, these are worth the time.
Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA)
The best thing about the DIA is its fabulous modern and contemporary collections. They have several van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, O’Keeffe, Warhol and — my favorite the Diego Rivera Industry Murals. He painted 27 fresco murals that portray the geological, technological, and human history of Detroit. These are frescos, forever enshrined in an enclosed courtyard now known as Rivera Court. Nearby is a recent acquisition from his wife, Frida Kahlo.
The museum has a full complement of art – American, African, Egyptian, European and Islamic, to name a few. There are over 65,000 pieces in the collection.
Aside from the fantastic art inside the building, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the building itself. The museum’s Italian Renaissance Revival architecture is magnificent. High ceilings, elaborate tilework, and carved cornices.
Take a break at the Kresge Court — a repurposed, enclosed courtyard/bar made of stone and big windows that filter the sunlight and cast golden shadows.
Fun Fact: The DIA was the first American museum to purchase a van Gogh painting. (Self-Portrait, 1887)
Find it at: 5200 Woodward Avenue Detroit.
Detroit Historical Museum
The Detroit Historical Museum showcases 300+ years of Detroit’s rich history with real-life exhibitions. My first visit to the museum was on a field trip as an elementary school student and I’ll never forget it. In the basement, there is a complete re-creation of the streets of Detroit from 300 years prior.
It’s called “Streets of Old Detroit” and it exhibits old cobblestone streets that are difficult to walk on and shop windows that are so detailed and spectacular they’ve never left my mind. There is information about the various industries and many recognizable business names.
Upstairs they have more modern exhibits honoring Detroit like the Kid Rock Music Lab and Motor City Music featuring a lot of Motown history. Another good one is Detroit: The Gallery of Innovations showcasing Detroit’s contributions to developing new ideas. Metro Detroit has more innovators than you are likely aware and this exhibit is a delight.
Find it at: 5401 Woodward Ave., Detroit.
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
You can’t talk about Detroit history without the African American story. Founded in 1965, the museum holds the world’s largest permanent exhibit of African American culture. Can you believe that? The museum has long been a standout and it continues to be to this day.
It now holds some of the most important modern African American artifacts in existence. It’s home to the Harriet Tubman Museum Collection and the Blanche Coggin Underground Railroad Collection. It also houses an impressive compilation of documents about the labor movement in Detroit called the Sheffield Collection.
My favorite part of the museum is the interactive exhibit, “And Still We Rise: Our Journey through African American History and Culture,” named in honor of the great Maya Angelou poem. It features a walk through various African Americans’ lives and re-tells their trials and triumphs in a riveting fashion.
Find it at 315 E. Warren Ave. Detroit.
Motown Museum
There aren’t many museums you’ll love more than this one. I know many people who have visited, and everyone says the same thing – they sang and danced all the way through. Few museums leave you feeling as inspired and upbeat as the Motown Museum.
Created by Motown founder Berry Gordy’s sister Esther Gordy Edwards in 1985, the museum holds the most impressive collection of Motown history anywhere in the world. It’s also where history was made as the home of Hitsville U.S.A. and the famous Studio A.
They have Micheal Jackson’s famous glove, dresses from the Supremes, and the candy machine young Stevie Wonder used to get his candy from! It is a time capsule and a walk through history unlike any other. Highly recommend!
Find it at 2648 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit.
Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village
These are technically two separate museums, but they go together and are well worth spending two entire days visiting. Yes, two full days – that’s how big and impressive these are.
The Henry Ford Museum is a showcase to America and the people who’ve made it what it is. They have Rosa Parks‘ bus. The car John F. Kennedy was assassinated in. The chair Abraham Lincoln sat in at the Ford’s Theatre and thousands of other important artifacts and automobiles (the Weinermobile) from every decade and important American history moment. The museum even has George Washington‘s army cot and Thomas Edison‘s last breath sealed in a tube. It’s doesn’t get more real than that.
Greenfield Village is an outdoor museum and collection of homes and facilities important to history too. There you’ll find Thomas Edison’s laboratory where he invented electricity, the bike shop the Wright Brothers owned when they developed flying and many other interactive displays. The village is complete with actors who walk around and provide demonstrations, hold conversations about their time in history and never break character. I think some of them think they really are those characters!
There’s no place else like this in the world.
Find it at 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, MI.
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD)
Housed in a relatively small, one-story building, The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is HUGE on originality. Giving a home to local and international contemporary art, it is uniquely different each time I’ve visited.
The space morphs itself around the exhibits at hand. I’ve seen walls erected. Mazes developed, and oddities hung from the ceiling. They’ve hosted light installations that made me wonder what planet I was on.
MOCAD says its mission is focused on art to nurture social change and human understanding. I guarantee you it will always open your mind.
As a community hub, it’s also one of the best places to relax and get to know real Detroit. Plus, Café 78 is an uber cool place to hang out and grab a cup of local roast coffee, baked goods, or a cocktail.
Find it at 4454 Woodward, Detroit.
Pewabic Pottery
Not a traditional museum, but it’s a historical icon worth mentioning. It’s more of a ceramic studio, shop and school. Founded in 1903, it’s well known for its unique iridescent glazes and traditional craftsmanship – all of which you’ll learn about if you visit.
Pewabic is also a National Historic Landmark. Created in the Arts and Crafts style, the pottery and tiles have Detroit durability enabling them to last — maybe forever. The jury is still out, but Pewabic tiles still grace many of Detroit’s most famous buildings and many museums in Detroit.
The building is now a ceramic arts education center and cultural destination. Go buy something historically amazing.
Find it at 10125 East Jefferson Avenue, Detroit.
Fairlane, Home of Clara and Henry Ford
If we’re talking about unique museums in Detroit, we can’t skip Fair Lane. It was the estate of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Ford. It has been open for historic tours and events recently but periodically closed due to restoration work. Still, if you can get in – GO.
This 31,000-square-foot “house” sits on 1,300 acres in Dearborn, just outside of Detroit. Built alongside the Rouge River, it includes a hydroelectric powerhouse and dam Henry made to power the home. You can access it from a secret underground tunnel. Seriously. It’s amazing.
There’s also a greenhouse, an indoor pool that has been filled in and is now a restaurant, a skating house, staff cottages, a bowling alley, and a pony barn. I could go on, but you should see for yourself.
The house will open periodically for workshops and events to show the restoration in progress.
If the museum is closed, you can still tour the gardens and grounds and marvel at how poor you are and how rich the Ford family is. This is also the place where I learned what a dumbwaiter is. It’s a rich people thing.
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