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Best metro-Detroit downtowns?


ZachariahDaMan

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I asked this same question about mid-Michigan in the other forum. I was wondering what you guys thought are the best downtowns in metro-Detroit?

My only source of transportation is a bike but I ride it all the time and have been to 4 downtowns. Here is how I rank them:

1. Plymouth- I've been here many times since I live just south of it. Panera Bread and the Box Bar are two great places to eat. (Both are located near the intersection of Main Street and Ann Arbor Trail). A new bookstore will be opening in the end of May or early June. In the Old Village part of downtown the buildings are pretty nice looking however some are vacant. If you are in the area go for a drive in the neighborhood west of the Old Village, they are nice old houses. Along Main Street is an awesome museum that I have been to many times.

2. Northville- Two places to check out are Mill Race Village and Marquis Theater.

3. Belleville- Going south down Main Street always makes for a nice view of Belleville Lake. If you like museums go to the Belleville Area Museum, I plan on going soon.

4. Wayne- if you enjoy going to cemeteries then Wayne is the place for you. There are several cemeteries in it along Michigan Avenue. I also suggest going to the State Wayne Theater, it doesn't cost much to get in.

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Ann Arbor. I'm not just saying that because I'm from there. I've been to all of those other cities. I went through Plymouth last year and was really impressed, and found it had a lot in common with A2's downtown. But Ann Arbor is a lot more "city like" despite only having a population of 115,000.

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1. Ann Arbor

2. Dearborn

3. Royal Oak

4. Hamtramck

5. Birmingham

6. Plymouth

7. Pontiac

8. Wyandotte

9. Ferndale

10. Howell

11. Mount Clemens

12. Northville

13. Brighton

14. Grosse Pointe

15. Farmington

and so on...

I've never been to Rochester, Utica, Milford or many of the other old villages in the northern portions of the metro.

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  • 1 year later...

As you guys can probably tell from my photobucket, since getting my license I've been able to explore MANY downtowns around southeast Michigan. Here is how I rank them:

1. Ann Arbor- very big compared to the others, better architecture, much more busy

2. Howell- historic, home to the beautiful Livingston County Courthouse, very nice war memorial

3. Plymouth- my local downtown, been here many many times, seen it change a lot over the years, a lot of good places to eat. They are working on the Plymouth Community Veterans Memorial Park infront of Central Middle School on Main. The war memorials are being brought over from various places around town. One thing I love seeing in my downtown adventures is war memorials and I'm sure they will have the best when it is completed.

4. Chelsea- I like the clock tower, Chelsea Depot and welfare building. There is also the Chelsea Milling Company (Jiffy) along with the court.

5. Ypsilanti- not a big fan of downtown along Michigan Ave. but I love Depot Town. Depot Town is kept in a lot better shape and has very colorful facades.

6. Northville- I like the Victorian theme in Northville along with the Marquis Theatre. I go to the Victorian Festival every year.

7. Brighton- Nice bridges extending out over the lake downtown.

8. Milford

9. Saline

10. Dexter

11. Belleville- tiny and isn't gifted when it comes to nice architecture but the lake provides for some nice views.

12. South Lyon- I'm here all the time since my girlfriend lives not far from it. Small downtown but still has nice architecture, especially the South Lyon Herald building.

13. Pinckney- very tiny, it's just one side of a street but the architecture is nice. Unfortunately they don't seem to be doing that good of job getting businesses open downtown.

14. Wayne

15. Dearborn

Hudkina, you had Dearborn number 2. I drove out there but was disappointed in finding a small downtown. Did I miss something? I took Michigan Ave. down a ways past Telegraph.

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Wolv, Ann Arbor may only have 115k people in it, but it's landlocked by Michigans awful incorporated townships. After Detroit, and Grand Rapids it's the next most dense city in Michigan. And it has a great downtown!

I've always been partial to downtown Birmingham. Mount Clemens is nice too. Troy sucks, it's a suburb thru and thru.

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As you guys can probably tell from my photobucket, since getting my license I've been able to explore MANY downtowns around southeast Michigan...

Wow, what a difference a year makes!

Congratulations on your freedom :) , too bad the price of gas is supposed to get outrageous this summer. :(

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Thanks BarGal, it's great not having to get rides from my parents anymore. I can just leave whenever I want.

That's too bad about gas, I guess I already use a lot of it but that's all I really spend money on anyways. Whenever I get checks I put them right in the bank and rarely take any out.

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Hudkina, you had Dearborn number 2. I drove out there but was disappointed in finding a small downtown. Did I miss something? I took Michigan Ave. down a ways past Telegraph.

There are two "downtowns" in Dearborn. Eastborn and Westborn. Eastborn is where you'll find a lot more arabic stores as well as many of the city services. (City Hall, Police Headquarters, etc.) It's centered on Michigan Ave. and Schaefer Rd. Westborn is more "upscale" and is becoming a center of nightlife for the area. It has quite a few bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. Westborn is centered on Michigan Ave. between Oakwood Blvd and Outer Dr. I'm not sure how far east you went past Telegraph, but Westborn is only about 1 mile further.

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In Eastborn, you can also follow Schaefer north from Michigan Ave up to Ford Rd and even up to Warren if you wish to check that area out. You can tell that Schaefer was once more of a neighborhood shopping district. If you go south on Schaefer you go through a new townhouse community.

Also, Windsor is on my shortlist of favorite international metropolitan downtowns. Ann Arbor, of course, as well.

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God you wouldn't believe how awful those country two lane roads between Ann Arbor and Canton are. During rush hour, I've seen a traffic backup a mile long, just for a stoplight. This is likely because there is no freeway access between Canton and Ann Arbor, because of all the interchanges preventing access ramps from being built. Typically people get off at Ford Road, but that's already a ways out. I'm glad a lot of Ann Arbor's recent sprawl has at least been medium and occasionally high density forming a sort of continuation of the city. I wouldn't be surprised if Superior township finds itself annexed just like Pittsfield.

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The problem is that M-14 and I-94 already connect to Ann Arbor, so there's no way a new expressway would be built. Granted, it would probably solve a lot of traffic problems if Ford Rd was turned into a median divided highway (e.g. Telegraph, 8 Mile, Gratiot, etc.) Though I think those people should suffer the horrible traffic conditions. It's their fault for deciding to move out there.

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Downriver isn't so bad when it comes to traffic. The infrastructure was built to support a much larger population so you rarely see the traffic problems seen in the northern and western suburbs.

Yea, why is that, it seems like the region thought that there would be more of a population boom south of Detroit rather than north.

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