Museum Adventure Pass - Detroit Historical Museum

Martha Griffiths, Michigan’s first female Lieutenant Governor and 20-year Congresswoman (photo courtesy of the Michigan Women’s Historical Center & Hall of Fame)

Chief Pontiac, chief of the Odawa (image courtesy of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library)

Coleman Young, Detroit’s first African American mayor (photo courtesy of the Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University)

Hours:
Wednesday through Friday – 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday – Noon to 5 p.m

Closed Monday and Tuesday

www.detroithistorical.org

Permanent exhibits include

    * The famous Streets of Old Detroit
    * Frontiers to Factories
    * The Motor City
    * The Glancy Trains

Among the new exhibitions which opened last year is Hero or Villain? Metro Detroit’s Legacy of Leadership, which focuses a critical eye on 16 key figures in the region’s 300+ year history and gives visitors the final judgment as to whether they should be revered or reviled.These personalities represent all periods of Detroit’s history and include a cross-section from politics, sports, commerce and religion. Each historical figure is presented through individual displays, offering visitors a multi-faceted view of their life, times, character, and the issues that defined their legacies. Popular perceptions of each are reflected through the eyes of their contemporaries, with a balanced selection of opinions offered by both devotees and detractors. The human personality behind the public persona will be established using portraits, paintings, period clothing, and personal artifacts.

Another new exhibit, Fabulous 5: Detroit’s Entertainment Venues, showcases a sampling of places where Detroiters go to have fun. The venues featured include the following: the Michigan State Fair, Tiger Stadium, Orchestra Hall, the Masonic Temple and the Fox Theatre. Community partners for the Fabulous 5 exhibit include the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan State Fair and the Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy.

Automotive Showplace, an ode to the American art form of automotive design, will celebrate the Model T Centennial with a 1911 “Tin Lizzie” on display. The automobile featured originally belonged to Perry Andrews of Detroit, who offered the car to his son-in-law in 1923. When Andrews heard his son-in-law intended to turn the car into a “hot rod,” he angrily withdrew his offer and buried the car in a field. In 1966, popular WJR radio host Bud Guest heard about Andrews’ actions and organized “The Big Dig” to recover the car. The volunteers who retrieved and restored the car donated it to the Detroit Historical Museum’s collection in 1982.

The final new exhibit, entitled 100 Years Ago, uses photographs, newspaper articles and images of the period to give visitors a snapshot into the lives of Detroiters in 1908. This exhibit is presented by the Detroit Historical Society Guild.

Resources

Learn more about it at your metro public library!

All Ages:

The Detroit Almanac: 300 Years of Life in the Motor City, Detroit Free Press, 2000.

Detroit: First City of the Midwest, Shirley McTyre McRae and Norman McRae, Heritage Media, 2001.

The Way It Was, Hour Detroit Magazine, Momentum Books, 2004.

Numerous Detroit-themed titles from Arcadia Publishing. www.arcadiapublishing.com

Your Adventures

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Our family had a wonderful time here. Our children are 6 and 13. There was something for both of them. We especially like walking through the streets of old Detroit as well as the model trains.

-Tracy

Thank you for such a wonderful museum! Besides my five children, I took two other friends who are very new to the Detroit area. The train display was my 3 year Son's favorite, and the basement "town" was so enjoyable; the friendly people "working" in the shops made it come alive. We're so thankful for the "Adventure Pass Program" and have spead the word to friends through conversation, emails and blogs. THANK YOU!

Lovin' Detroit,
-Netta