US Travel Guide - Detroit

Detroit Entertainment

Riding in the car and listening to the radio has been Detroits idea of entertainment for the last 50 years. So it is natural that Detroit entertainment choices should revolve around automobiles and music.

The Motor City is also one of the worlds most sports-crazy cities. Golf, bowling and softball dominate participatory sports, but everything from Belgian feather bowling (at the east side Cadieux Café) and cricket (on Belle Isle) to cross-country skiing (at the Metroparks and elsewhere) demonstrate the wide range of recreational choices.

Highbrow and lowbrow culture exist comfortably side by side in this casual, eclectic and diverse area. There are plenty of people who are serious about theater, poetry, dance and art. Casinos are a new attraction, adding another option for Detroiters, who share a passion for good times.

Downtown
With the advent of a genuine if rudimentary theatre District and the blossoming of Greektown into a center of nightlife, at least part of downtown has become an entertainment mecca. The magnificent, restored Fox Theatre is at the center of the action, and its worth visiting just to see the building, no matter whats on stage. The smaller, exquisitely decorated Gem Theatre is also a must-see. The nearby State Theatre is operating again after years of being shut down. The The Second City Detroit comedy club also attracts large audiences to the Theatre District.

Nearby, the Detroit Opera House boasts a huge orchestra pit and excellent acoustics. The Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts is one of the nations premier venues for dance, drama and jazz. It can get crowded in the area when the Detroit Tigers are playing baseball at the new Comerica Park.

Parking can also get tricky around Greektown, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. There are a good number of small venues for jazz, rock and other nightlife. Tiffanys & Terrys Comedy and Jazz Café is a center for soulful laughs and music, and Bomacs Lounge is usually jumping. Grungy St. Andrews Hall features alternative rock. Small clubs abound.

Perhaps it is fortunate that the temporary casinos are located on the other side of downtown. These are self-contained entertainment venues that haven't spawned anything around them except parking lots. The same isolated, suburban-style experience surrounds Joe Louis Arena, home of the National Hockey Leagues Detroit Red Wings. The Wings attract large crowds, which mostly disperse afterwards by car to various far-flung bars. Cobo Arena, which used to host the Detroit Pistons in long-gone days, now has occasional concerts and off-beat sporting events.

During summer months, Hart Plaza hosts ethnic festivals and concerts nearly every weekend. The Montreux-Detroit Jazz and Blues Festival on Labor Day weekend is one of the worlds premier music attractions.

The Cultural Center
The Cass Corridor and Wayne State University have spawned a vital and varied nightlife scene. Choices are plentiful. Wayne States Hilberry, Studio and Bonstelle theatres are first-class venues with uniformly good productions of student-staffed plays. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra performs in the acoustically near-perfect, wonderfully restored Orchestra Hall between downtown and the Medical Center. The Detroit Film Theatre attracts big crowds every weekend for non-mainstream movies in its auditorium at the rear of the Detroit Institute of Arts. The huge, ornate Masonic Temple 'the largest Masonic Temple in the world' often hosts concerts. The Union Street Saloon is usually jammed with drinkers and diners. Across the street from it, the Majestic Theatre, the site of magician Harry Houdinis last performance, is a venue for alternative rock shows and poetry readings. Alvins is another long-running campus hot spot for the same hip young crowd.

In the New Center Area, the sedate, elegant Fisher Theatre hosts touring Broadway shows. It is worth the trip just to see the buildings spectacular golden lobby and the ornate theater.

The West Side
Bars, bowling alleys and a few clubs dominate the far-flung suburban scene. Its hard to pinpoint many areas of concentrated nightlife here. For the outdoor-minded, Hines Park stretches along the Rouge River and provides miles of picnic areas, plus facilities for activities ranging from horseback riding to ice skating.

Oakland County
Sports and music dominate in the northern part of metropolitan Detroit. In the summer months, popular concerts are held at two outdoor venues in northern Oakland County - Pine Knob and Meadow Brook. Concerts are held year-round at Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the National Basketball Associations Detroit Pistons, and occasionally at the Silverdome in Pontiac, where the National Football Leagues Detroit Lions play. The Palace is also home to the Detroit Shock of the Womens National Basketball Association, the Detroit Rockers of the National Professional Soccer League (indoor soccer), and the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League. Hazel Park raceway hosts harness racing each year from April through October, with Northville Downs handling the ponies the remaining months. Both tracks now have simulcasting of races around the country.

Oakland University's acclaimed Meadow Brook Theatre presents a schedule of plays during the school year. The Chamber Music Society of Detroit performs in Farmington Hills. The charming Birmingham Theatre hosts professional touring companies.

Downtown Royal Oak is a nexus of a young club scene and also hosts Mark Ridleys Comedy Castle, a venue for national acts. Downtown Pontiac has the popular Industry and other dance clubs in an old converted warehouse district.

The East Side and Macomb County
Just east of downtown, Chene Park near the Detroit River is a popular venue for outdoor concerts in the summer, especially jazz and blues. Much farther out, the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts in Clinton Township has a 1,200-seat theatre that features a variety of local and touring acts, and Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights hosts outdoor concerts and other events in the warm months. Andiamo Celebrity Showroom in Warren offers national music acts, mostly golden oldies, in an Italian restaurant setting.

Windsor
Its a whole different country here, and a pretty crowded nightlife scene. Casino Windsor is the main entertainment destination, but Windsor is also full of nightclubs whose acts range from jazz to pop to rock to adult entertainment.

Michael Betzold