This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at USFSP chapter.

Truthfully, the negativity you see and hear about Detroit, Michigan in mass media is exaggerated and misleading. Journalists and news organizations take the “bad” parts of Detroit and produce sensationalized media about them, making non-Detroiters think that the city is nothing but a dump and ask each other, “Why would anyone go there?” Yes, Detroit as a whole needs a lot of help still. But the city is getting better all the time; it’s constantly being restored and made more beautiful and safe. It is not a dump. There’s so much to see and do, and it’s so easy to go have a fun day downtown. Detroit has a vibrant art scene, a rich history, and a tremendously diverse range of international cultures. I love Detroit and swear I always will. If you ever have a chance to visit the 313, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Here are some of the coolest places to see.

Eastern Market.

Eastern Market is the largest historic public market district in the country, right in the city. Visitors can purchase tons of fresh meat, produce, spices, and flowers from more than 150 different vendors in the open-air market held every Saturday. Sunday through Friday, you can visit the awesome restaurants and really unique specialty shops which are permanently there. Rocky’s, one of my favorite stores ever, is located here. It’s an enormous store that sells nuts, spices, and tons of candy. Think of any candy from any era, and Rocky’s will have it. All generations love Rocky’s. Last time I went, I got root beer barrel candy. Where do you find those anymore?

General Motors Renaissance Center.

The General Motors Renaissance Center is the world headquarters of General Motors, which today consists of Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC. It’s literally a city inside and is truly beautiful, inside and out. Obviously, there are tons of offices inside, but a very large portion of the building is for public access and use. There are stores, restaurants, bars, and a Marriott hotel inside. The first floor is the most fun, though. It’s a showroom with all the new GM models for the year. My cousins and I would take pictures of each other sitting in the driver’s seat of some fancy, limited-edition, super expensive Cadillac we’ll never own. Okay….we still do that.

RiverWalk.

Along the Detroit River right outside the Renaissance Center is the RiverWalk. It’s littered with tons of lawn chairs and features green, open space for fun outdoor events. There are beach volleyball courts, a carousel, and really pretty gardens to walk through, as well.

Greektown.

This neighborhood in the city was the home of Detroit’s large wave of Greek immigrants and their businesses in the early 1900s. Today, you can get a great gyro at one of the many awesome Greek restaurants and enjoy some cool bars, too. Most famously, Greektown is home to the Greektown Casino-Hotel.

The Detroit Institute of Arts.

The DIA is a very large and extraordinarily beautiful art museum with over a hundred galleries. Inside, you’ll find works by Cézanne, Degas, Van Gogh, Seurat, and Diego Rivera among tons of other artists. Rivera painted a whole room in the DIA; he painted amazing murals called the Detroit Industry Murals that depict the city’s rich history and culture. They’re really breathtaking, and you honestly could spend hours in there studying all the interesting details he chose to include.

Belle Isle.

In my opinion, Belle Isle takes the cake for the best transformation in Detroit, or should I say, “glow-up.” It’s known today as the “Jewel of Detroit.” Belle Isle was apparently a whole different world when my dad was growing up, but today, it’s an incredible area with lots to do. It’s a natural island in the city which today features an aquarium, a nature center, a museum, a driving range, a beach, and even a giant slide for kids. (And that’s Windsor, Ontario on the left, by the way! Canada is that close.)

Campus Martius Park.

A sweet little park in the city, which I got to see for the first time this past Thanksgiving. I found the city’s official Christmas tree, little geodesic pods selling hot chocolate, and a really cute ice skating rink!

And the loveliest port to Canada, eh.

The Ambassador Bridge is there, but why would you do that when you could drive underground? A quick drive underneath the Detroit River! So cool.

By the way, Detroit is home to….

The first mass-produced automobiles.

The technology had already been around, but Henry Ford wanted to bring the automobile to the everyday citizen. He conceived the famous Model T in 1908, known as the first automobile for everyday Americans. It cost $850 at the time, and after the invention of the assembly line, cost $300 by 1925.

The assembly line, for goodness’ sake.

Talk about things we take for granted and don’t think about often. Also conceived by Henry Ford, the assembly line is a quick and efficient system for assembling complex items with many parts. It made workers’ jobs easier, as they only had to learn one specific task, and sped up the rate of production hugely because many cars could be in the assembly process at one time, just in different stages. The assembly line is very commonplace today and seems so obvious, so we forget that there was a time before it! The first one was created in a Detroit Ford factory in 1913.

Motown music.

Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, and The Supremes all migrated to Detroit to record some of the most recognizable hits in music history and be an integral part of the incredible Motown era, whose name derives from “Motor Town” for Detroit.

Surprisingly, techno music.

The Belleville Three, a group of three high school kids named Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson, are credited with inventing techno music in their hometown of Detroit in the 1980s.

While we’re on the topic of music, lots of musicians.

Both Jack and Meg of The White Stripes (creators of the one of the most iconic guitar riffs ever), Glenn Frey of The Eagles, and Alice Cooper all call Detroit home. Oh, how could I forget both Eminem and the Insane Clown Posse as well.

Lions and Tigers and Redwings and Pistons….oh my.

Detroit sports fans are pretty passionate. They love their city. These teams play football, baseball, hockey, and basketball respectively. Personally, I’ve only seen the Tigers play (so far), and their Comerica Park is really gorgeous. It’s literally right next door to Ford Field, too, where the Lions play. They share a parking lot!

Faygo and Vernor’s.

It’s pop, not soda. Rock N’ Rye or Redpop? And Vernor’s is the oldest soda in the United States, invented in 1866. Coca-Cola didn’t even come along until 20 years later, 1886.

Cheers to you, Detroit! We love you forever.

Love, Annie

References and Images:

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/detroit/reasons-the-world-should…

http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/michigan/detroit/12-things-from-detroit-dt/

https://www.ranker.com/list/detroit-bands-and-musical-artists-from-here/…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Detroit

http://content.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1994456_19…

http://greektowndetroit.org/about/

https://www.history.com/topics/model-t

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fords-assembly-line-starts-r…

https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/eastern-mark…