Tours
Saturday Heritage & Tuesday After Work Walking Tours
Heritage Walking Tours are $10 per person. Tours last approximately two hours. The 2013 tour season begins on Saturday, May 4.
2013 Saturday Heritage Walking Tours every Saturday at 10am. Prepay online or pay in person at the start of the tour.
Cultural Center and Midtown Tours – All tours in the Cultural Center and Midtown cycle depart from the David Mackenzie House, home of Preservation Detroit, located at 4735 Cass Avenue, Detroit MI. This year, the Cultural Center and Midtown tours will be offered on alternating Saturdays during the months of May and September. During the summer months, June through August, we will have specialty tours interspersed with the Midtown and Cultural Center tours. The specialty tours are Cass Corridor, Yamasaki in the Cultural Center, and Wayne State University Campus.
Cultural Center – The vision for Detroit’s Cultural Center began more than 100 years ago and has continued to evolve through decades. Uncover the stories behind the buildings representing Detroit’s great cultural institutions as well as the neighborhood, its people and their magnificent homes.
Midtown - Set on Detroit’s original ribbon farms, this dynamic neighborhood became an upscale living enclave for Detroit’s movers and shakers! See some of the city’s most cherished historic homes and avant-garde businesses. Transformed from “Piety Hill” to “Skid Row” to today’s vibrant urban neighborhood, Midtown is full of distinctly Detroit stories.
May Cultural Center and Midtown Tour Schedule:
Saturday, May 4th – Midtown
Saturday, May 11th – Cultural Center
Saturday, May 18th – Midtown
Saturday, May 25th – Cultural Center
Saturday, June 1st – Cass Corridor
Saturday, June 8th - Cultural Center
Saturday, June 15th - Midtown
Saturday, June 22nd – Yamasaki in the Cultural Center
Saturday, June 29th - Midtown
Saturday, July 6th – Cultural Center
Saturday, July 13th – Midtown
Saturday, July 20th – Wayne State University Campus
Saturday, July 27th – Cultural Center
Saturday, August 3rd – Midtown
Saturday, August 10th – Cultural Center
Saturday, August 17th – Wayne State University Campus
Saturday, August 31st – Yamasaki in the Cultural Center
Saturday, September 7th – Midtown
Saturday, September 14th – Cultural Center
Saturday, September 21st – Midtown
Saturday, September 28th – Cultural Center
Downtown – May thru September, every Saturday at 10:00 AM, tours depart from Campus Martius which is right across from the Hard Rock Cafe in the Compuware building. The tour meets in front of the Fountain Bistro Café.
Our award-winning walking tour of downtown Detroit! Explore the plan for the city from the ground up. Way up! Historic high-rises, towering monuments, grand boulevards, parks and plazas are all part of this groundbreaking tour. Spanning over 300 years of Detroit history, see Detroit gems from streetscape to skyline.
Eastern Market - May – September, every Saturday at 10:00 AM, tours depart from the Welcome Center at 1445 Adelaide. The Welcome Center is located between Sheds Two and Three.
The Saturday, May 25th Eastern Market tour is sold out!
Experience the sights, sounds and smells of America’s oldest and largest outdoor farmers market. From woodlands to cemeteries, railroads, prisons, breweries, rum-running, and crime, find out what makes Eastern Market so fascinating and learn about the exciting plans for its future.
Auto Heritage – Saturday, August 3rd and Saturday, September 28th at 10:00 AM. The Auto Heritage Tour begins on the second floor of the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant located at 461 Piquette Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48202. Parking is off-street in the Piquette parking lot. Please pay for your tour when you arrive on the second floor. All monies for this tour go to the Piquette Plant. (For $5 more, you can combine the Auto Heritage Tour with a tour of the Ford Avenue Piquette Plant.)
Walk in the footsteps of Henry Ford, Henry Leland and the Fisher Brothers. See the birthplace of the Model T and the Ford Motor Company. Marvel at the General Motors and Fisher buildings. From the assembly line to the executive high rise, visit the landmark places of automotive innovation. All tour proceeds go to the ongoing preservation of the Ford Piquette Plant. The Groupon promotion does not apply to the Auto Heritage tour.
2012 Tuesday After Work Tours – May thru September (all tours leave from Campus Martius in front of Fountain Bistro Restaurant at 5:30 pm. Please park at the Compuware Parking Garage located on Farmer Street. After the tour, if you stop in for a bite to eat, they will validate your parking.) If the tour uses the Detroit People Mover, guests are expected to pay their own fares (75 cents/person).
Downtown Skyscrapers: First Tuesdays
Albert Kahn Downtown Buildings: Second Tuesdays
Downtown Sculptures, Fountains and Art: Third Tuesdays
Art in the People Mover Tour: Fourth Tuesdays (Please note: Even though we take the People Mover on this tour, there is still a fair amount of walking–much of it is on stairways. Most of the art is at the street level.) Guests are expected to pay their own fares (75 cents/person).
On months when there is a fifth Tuesday, there is no Tuesday After Work Tour scheduled!
SPECIAL EVENTS 2013 – Click on the event title for more information and to register.
Preservation Detroit Theatre Tour – Saturday, August 10th, 2013. Click here to register
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Theatre Tour has been rescheduled from Saturday, August 24th to Saturday, August 10th. If you have purchased your tickets, we will contact you about the change. Thank you.
Bootlegging Tour on the Detroit River - Wednesday, September 25, 2013, 6:00 – 8:00 PM.
October is Historic Cemetery Tour Month.
Woodmere Cemetery Tour - Saturday, October 5, 2013 at 2:00 PM
Elmwood Cemetery Tour - TBD
Mt. Elliott Cemetery Tour -TBD
Woodlawn Cemetery Tour - Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 2:00 PM
Haunted Fort Wayne Tour - TBD
Private Group Tours
Interested in booking a private group tour? Please contact us at least one month in advance to discuss opportunities to discover Detroit by foot or charter bus.
