Founded in 1701, Detroit is the largest city in the state of Michigan. Detroit is nicknamed the Motor City as the city serves as the center of the automobile industry for the United States. Besides being a hub for transportation, the city offers many cultural attractions.
Comerica Park serves as the home of the Detroit Tigers, a Major League Baseball team that plays in the American League Central Division. The park opened in 2000 at a cost of $300 million and contains several statues of tigers with baseballs in their mouths. Comerica Park also pays tribute to some of the best players in Tigers history with statues of many legends including Ty Cobb and other Hall of Fame players. Comerica Park also serves as a concert venue for major recording artists.
The Henry Ford Museum is named after the famous pioneer of the automobile industry. The museum started as Ford's personal collection of historic artifacts which date back to the early 1900s. Presently, the 12-acre site mostly houses machinery, cars, locomotives, displays, and American memorabilia. The complex consists of Greenfield Village, an outdoor museum that is dedicated to buildings from the 17th century to modern times. Buildings on the premises include Thomas Edison's New Jersey laboratory and the Wright Brothers bicycle shop from Ohio. While at the museum, visitors can also tour an automobile factory, which includes a visit to an assembly line.
Dating back to the 1880s, the Detroit Institute of the Arts houses 658,000 square feet that includes more than 100 galleries and more than 60,000 paintings, sculptures, and other art items. The museum also is home to murals by Diego Rivera that portray the artist's view of the world. Known for its diversity, the museum contains works of African, Asian, Native American and Islamic art. In the 1960s and 1970s, the museum expanded with the addition of two wings. A major renovation and expansion started in 1999 was finished in 2007. The museum offers free guided tours. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the museum is closed.
Located in downtown Detroit, the MGM Grand Detroit is an $800 million casino and hotel complex that opened in 2007. The complex was the first luxury casino to be built in a major metropolis outside of Las Vegas. Visitors can partake in 4,000 slot machines and more than 90 table games. MGM Grand Detroit also provides 30,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, restaurants, shopping, and dining. The resort is a major employer in Detroit with more than 3,000 workers.
The Motown Historical Museum is a tribute to the Motown record label, its performers, and music. The museum opened in 1985 and is owned and run by Esther Gordy Edwards, sister of Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown. Visitors can see pictures, and records from the Motown era. Guests can also go back in time and tour "Studio A," the studio where Motown songs were recorded, and learn how the classic sound was produced.The museum also houses numerous costumes designed for Motown performers, including the jeweled white glove and black fedora hat donned by Michael Jackson.
