Exploring Detroit Between Conference Sessions

Every other year, I have the opportunity to attend a three-night work conference with colleagues. Since we’re all urban planners who work for local governments, you can bet we use every spare minute between conference sessions to explore the host city. This year’s conference brought us to Detroit, where we spent most of our days cooped up inside the convention center. But every time we had a 30-minute break or longer, we made a beeline for the door to see as much of the city as we could.

I certainly can’t claim to have fully experienced Detroit given the conference schedule. This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive city guide. Instead, it’s for anyone attending a conference in this city who has a few minutes to spare here and there and wants to make the most of them.

Practical Takeaways

• Like many convention centers, Detroit’s sits along the waterfront. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the more vibrant parts of downtown. If you’re attending a conference, it’s well worth venturing beyond the immediate convention center area after you’ve explored the Detroit Riverwalk.
• Conference attendees typically stay in one of the designated conference hotels, so you may not have much choice in where you book. My colleagues and I ended up spread across several hotels. Most stayed at the Marriott at the Renaissance Center. The place is enormous and feels bigger than some small cities. While it’s the most convenient option for the convention center, it’s a bit farther from the heart of downtown. I stayed at the Hotel Indigo, which struck a nice balance between the convention center and downtown. Others in our group stayed at the Westin, which probably had the best combination of accommodations and location.

Places to See and Eat When Attending a Conference in Detroit

Guardian Building: Built in 1928, the Guardian Building is one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture. The main lobby of this office building is open to the public, allowing visitors to see its spectacular cathedral-like ceilings lined with custom ceramic tiles. I’ve never seen another building interior quite like it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for a tour, but I would recommend one to anyone visiting Detroit. We also popped our heads into the Book Tower, which features exquisite details in its lobby.

Pewabic Pottery: My colleagues were so impressed with the tiles in the ceiling of the Guardian Building that they did some research and found that we could take a 15-minute Uber ride to Detroit’s east side and visit the pottery studio where the tiles were made. Pewabic was founded in 1903 by Mary Chase Perry, who handcrafted pottery during Detroit’s automotive industry boom.

Today, the space continues to be active. The top floor serves as a museum and exhibit hall and the ground floor as a studio and shop for local artists. We all had quite a difficult time selecting just one piece to purchase and bring home. They also offer tours and workshops, which, sadly, we did not have time for. This was certainly an out-of-the-way excursion from the downtown area, but it was completely worth it for the unique experience.

Woodward Avenue: Detroit’s main historic street, Woodward Avenue, is known for being the site of the world’s first mile of concrete-paved road and the first three-color traffic light. Today, the section between Campus Martius Park and Comerica Park, home of the Tigers, serves as Detroit’s downtown hub. This is where you’ll find restaurants and shops, including the flagship Shinola store. You can either walk along Woodward or take the QLine, Detroit’s light rail system.

The Belt: Not far from Woodward Avenue is The Belt, an alley featuring a rotation of public art and murals by well-known artists such as Shepard Fairey. In the alley, you can also find some not-so-obvious entrances to bars, such as Skip, an island-themed cocktail joint.

Cannelle: This bakery is unbelievable. I typically prefer trying new places each day that I’m in a new city. I made an exception for Cannelle and returned here three mornings in a row. The halloumi croissant and goat, olive & oregano pastry are absolutely delicious. I woke up extra early just to go here before the first conference session started.

Eastern Market: I was fortunate that one of my conference sessions included a walking tour of Eastern Market with the president of the Eastern Market Partnership. This gave us a special opportunity to learn about this continuously operating food market, which started in the late 1800s. Today, the market is thriving with local farmers and culinary start-ups using the on-site community kitchen to get their footing. With robust food access programming, event spaces, and up to 40,000 visitors per Saturday, Eastern Market is a Detroit institution that makes a direct impact on the local economy. Note that it is only open on Sundays and Tuesdays, so it may not work with many conference-goers’ schedules.

Supergeil: One night, we ventured to the Corktown neighborhood to try this highly rated Turkish and German restaurant. The decor was beautiful and the food was excellent. We shared the lutenitz, chili and apricot ribs, eggplant fries, and beet and carrot salad.

This is worth the Uber ride, or the long walk from downtown. It is not far from Michigan Central, if you want to check out this landmark building while in Corktown.

Que Deli: This is the closest coffee and sandwich shop I could find to the convention center. The owner was extremely friendly, and the sandwiches are absolutely worth leaving a conference for if you only have a short break.

Helpful Hints

• For the most part, I only ventured to places where my legs could take me and found public transportation to be limited (this is the Motor City, after all). If you don’t have a car, bring a really good pair of sneakers. I learned the hard way that I should have gone to every conference session prepared for exploring in comfortable footwear.
• Unfortunately, the Motown Museum was closed for a major renovation while we were there, which was a bummer. I look forward to returning to Detroit when it reopens.
• We did not have a chance to cross the border into Canada, though from the windows in the convention center, we could see our neighbors across the river. If you want to venture through the tunnel and into Windsor, don’t forget to pack your passport!