I’ve never done acid, but I can imagine it feeling something similar to walking around downtown Detroit. My friend and I were working in Ann Arbor, MI over the summer and decided we had to visit Detroit (plus there was a free bus ride to and from the university, so who could refuse). So, we boarded the next bus to Detroit from the CCTC and spent a good 45 minutes hoping for the best.

I guess I should explain why I’m even writing this blog post in the first place. I was thinking the other day if there is a single city that I would need to visit again to have a better experience. Out of all the places I’ve been to, Detroit is the only city that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, well besides Orlando but those are for other reasons unrelated to the actual city. Walking around Detroit made me feel a wide range of emotions. Sometimes I was amused, sometimes I was sad, but most of the time I was confused. You see, Detroit is making an earnest attempt at a come back, and I have to give them credit for that. They’ve structure their downtown area to look like its own separate metropolis, with little sections each themed differently. Their public transportation for getting around downtown was called a “People Mover”, which (in my opinion) sounds like something straight out of a dystopian novel. The People Mover drops you off at the different sections, so that you don’t find yourself wandering through old, abandoned buildings. I can’t imagine it being widely used by the actual locals, since it only covers a small perimeter of downtown Detroit.

We opted to just walk around downtown, and boy did that make a difference. Each little section of downtown Detroit is only separated by a couple of blocks, but it was enough to remind us of the tragedy that befell the once great city of Detroit, Michigan. Emma and I started off somewhere in the center of downtown and we walked around for a bit before we found this hipster-esque cafe situated at the corner of these old buildings. It looked like everything they sold was locally produced. I was starting to pick up this young, vibrant vibe radiating out of small modern storefronts in the midst of decrepit buildings. It seemed as though Detroit did not lack in cool coffee shops. With land and space becoming cheaper after the population decline, Detroit became an attractive place for young entrepreneurs to have their shot at starting their own businesses.

The whole situation that happened in Detroit opens it up as almost a blank canvas for budding artists and the like to make a name for themselves. It’s also a great opportunity for small businesses to grow and thrive, like Lafayette Coney Island. I wasn’t even aware that Detroit was known for their coneys, but we were determined to try the best. So, we entered this tiny, retro diner off of Lafayette Blvd in search for some hearty coneys. This place was like taking a trip back into the the 1940s, it’s cramped, crowded, and cheap. They even stilled used an old cash register. Theres nothing fancy about the place and thats how you know you’re in the right place. From starting off at a hip, modern coffee shop to eating lunch at a quintessential Detroit diner, I felt like I was getting the best of both worlds.

So, with full bellies, we were ready to embark on the journey that is exploring downtown Detroit. Asides from all of the empty buildings, things were looking up. We had great coffee and just finished eating what was known to be the best coney dogs in America. With no real plan, we decided to just walk around and see what we found, without the thought that perhaps we wouldn’t see much besides old buildings. While there were a couple of art installments scattered here and there, for the most part it felt like we were just wading through a sea of abandoned buildings. Granted, these buildings were absolutely beautiful. The architecture showed that they once housed important people, but were now probably providing shelter for a community of squatters. I couldn’t help but feel morose for the city. It was a hub for dedicated people who either stuck through the city’s bankruptcy or looked past the facade of a fallen city and saw potential for growth in more creative markets. But regardless of the people that remained in hopes of making a name for themselves, the feeling of vacancy was inevitable as you walk through entire blocks of unoccupied buildings. Detroit was trying to build relevancy by creating different focal points dispersed through the downtown area, and the only way to buy into that was if you took the people mover and avoided all the space in between points.

Walking around showed us pockets of just straight-up weirdness. For example, after we walked through a car museum a couple of blocks later we found ourselves at the heart of Greektown, where music filled the streets and people were drunk gambling in the large Greektown Casino at two in the afternoon. We walked a couple of blocks to Grand Circus Park and saw live music performances and people walking on stilts making ballon animal, and only moments later we wandered into a Jimmy Buffet tailgate taking up at least 5 blocks. My mind couldn’t grasp how we could go from areas full of people eating and laughing and day time drinking, to areas devoid of human life within a matter of minutes. After the tailgate it was pretty obvious we were on the outskirts of downtown, so we headed back to find a place to eat before our bus came back. I think it was only 6pm when we were searching and maybe it was because it was a Sunday, but a majority of restaurants were already closed. Even their downtown Starbucks was closed, which was probably a good sign we were not going to find anything else in that area. We settled on eating at Michael Symon’s own restaurant: Roast. Though it was completely out of our budget, it was [1] open, [2] close to our bus stop, and [3] another great example of Detroit’s versatility. Our meal was incredible, so I can’t complain about the price, though it was a stark difference from Lafayette’s coneys just blocks away. Our bus was due to arrive at around 8pm, so we patiently waited for it while taking in everything we saw that day. Detroit wasn’t a skeleton of the city it used to be, but rather an example of what happens when dedicated and persistent individuals refuse to let the past define their future. And, while being there was a storm of sights and no real sense of collectiveness, I think that’s what they were going for. Detroit has a rich and diverse history of once being America’s finest, and though it has fallen from its pedestal, that just means that the people who live in Detroit are incredibly loyal to their city. I won’t lie, being just a group of two small, young girls walking around Detroit didn’t always feel safe. In fact, as the sun began to set and shops began to close, walking block after block through run-down buildings did not sit easily with us. But, it was the small unique finds, like a puppet museum or a cool coffee shop, that showed us more about Detroit than the empty buildings did. I can’t tell if I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, but I can tell you it was unlike visiting any other city in North America. I feel like I would have to venture out of downtown to fully experience what is Detroit, but even for just a short day trip, I gathered way more than expected.