Forgive Detroit if she is not in the greatest celebratory mood today. In 2013, Detroit is current vying with Cleveland for the top spot as the most maligned and vilified metropolis in the country. I interned at the former (Detroit Free Press) and lived near the latter (Akron, Ohio, 30 minutes away), so it’s hard for me to speak intellectually about either city.
Whenever I hear either city’s named uttered, the underdog part of my personality makes me reflexively shift into defense mode. Whether counting the number of unemployed and vacant structures or, infinitely worse, counting the number of serial killers and kidnappers, outsiders are only emboldened in the their negative view of the once flagship American cities struggling to transition into the new realities of the new century.
When Detroit became the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy, non-Detroit and non-Michigan residents — particularly those who have never set foot inside the city limits — had their already skewed perspective of the Motor City as a vast economic wasteland with little to no redeemable qualities enhanced.
But that is so far from the truth. Perhaps because I interned here and then have visited the city frequently, I’ve become well acquainted with, and appreciate, the great landmarks that are native to this important Midwest metropolis.
As the city celebrates its 312th birthday on Wednesday, July 24 — it was founded by French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac who settled along the Detroit River — we take a look at many of the most treasured cultural jewels and landmarks that make Detroit a prime traveling destination to this day.
