There is a two-story house painted white and blue in Detroit that looks like an ordinary family home. Address: 2648 West Grand Boulevard. It was the first headquarters of Motown Records, bought by Berry Gordy in 1959 for USD 23,000 (financed by an USD 800 family loan). Inside is Studio A. Small room, worn wooden floor, 1877 Steinway piano still working. It was in this studio that Michael Jackson, age 11, recorded "I Want You Back" in October 1969. And "ABC". And "The Love You Save". And "I'll Be There". This guide takes you there: 90-minute tour, USD 18 admission, how to get there from DTW in 25 minutes, where to sleep (The Foundation Hotel or Shinola), where to eat real Detroit-style pizza, and how post-bankruptcy 2013 Detroit became one of the most interesting cities in the US for Black music history. Plus: how to extend to Chicago (5 hours by car) or Toronto (4 hours) and close a complete Motown route.
17 min read
Berry Gordy was 29 when he bought the house at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in January 1959. He was a Ford assembly-line worker at the Lincoln-Mercury plant. He earned USD 86 a week. The house cost USD 23,000, equivalent to about USD 250,000 today. The down payment came from "Ber-Berry Co-op", an informal Gordy family fund where each sibling deposited USD 10 a week. Berry pulled out USD 800. He financed the rest over 30 years.
He moved in with his wife Raynoma and their newborn son. He put the family on the second floor and converted the front room of the ground floor into an office. The garage in the back became a studio. A 25-square-meter room with low ceilings and acoustic insulation improvised with Celotex panels. He called it Studio A. He put a neon sign on the facade that read Hitsville U.S.A. It was ambitious for a guy still punching the clock on the assembly line.
Ten years later, in October 1969, five boys from Gary, Indiana walked into that same Studio A to record a song called "I Want You Back". The youngest was 11. His name was Michael Joseph Jackson. The song climbed to number 1 on the Billboard chart in January 1970 and stayed there for four weeks. The other singles that followed in that year and a half — "ABC", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There" — all number 1, all recorded in that same garage room.
Today the house is still standing, same address, same white-and-blue facade, same "Hitsville U.S.A." sign out front. It became a museum in 1985 when his sister Esther Gordy Edwards turned it into a foundation. In 2026 it receives about 80,000 visitors a year, a modest number compared to Graceland (550,000) or Abbey Road (a zillion tourists peering over the wall), but that is exactly what makes the place special. You walk inside and you have room to stand still in front of the piano where Stevie Wonder recorded "Signed Sealed Delivered" without being shoved by a tour group.
This guide is for people who want to do this visit right. Exact address, how to book, what to expect from the tour, and how to put together 2 days in Detroit while taking advantage of the fact that the post-bankruptcy 2013 city reinvented itself in ways few people outside the US have noticed.
Why Detroit is back on the cultural tourism map
TL;DRDetroit declared bankruptcy in July 2013, the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history, USD 18 billion in debt. Twelve years later, downtown is full of restored buildings, Eastern Market is the largest historic public market in the US, and the American music roadtrip once again includes the city as a mandatory stop between Chicago and Toronto.
For decades Detroit was synonymous with urban decline. Population peak in 1950: 1.8 million. In 2013, when it declared bankruptcy: 700,000. Empty factories, abandoned houses in entire neighborhoods (Brightmoor, Delray), public lighting cut on some streets, homicide rate among the five worst in the country. The image stuck. The international tourist simply did not think of Detroit as a destination.
But something started changing after 2014. Billionaire Dan Gilbert (Quicken Loans, now Rocket Mortgage) bought more than 100 buildings downtown and began restoring them. Shinola, founded in 2011 to manufacture watches in Detroit, became a global industrial-luxury brand. Award-winning restaurants began opening (Selden Standard won a James Beard in 2015, Lady of the House in 2017). In 2020 the city reactivated the QLine tram system connecting downtown to Midtown.
The Motown Museum also went through renovation. In 2016 it launched a USD 50 million expansion to build an annex visitor center, with a 350-seat theater, outdoor plaza and education area. The renovation finished in phases. The original house is preserved exactly as it was in 1972 (the year Gordy moved Motown to Los Angeles), and the modern annex sits on the corner. Good preservation decision. You visit the real Hitsville, then enter the new center for rotating exhibitions and merch.
For an international traveler who has been to the US ten times and never stopped in Detroit, this is the moment. Direct flights to DTW are limited, but Detroit is a Delta hub, so connections via Atlanta or via JFK cost the same as flying into New York. Downtown lodging 30-40% cheaper than Chicago. Food just as good. And you still have the "no one in my bubble has been there" filter, a rare thing in American travel today.
Hitsville U.S.A. (Motown Museum): the tour, what to see, how to book
TL;DRAddress 2648 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit, MI 48208. 90-minute guided tour, USD 18 adult. Book via motownmuseum.org with a minimum of 2 weeks' notice (June-August sells out a month ahead). No free admission. You enter only with a tour, in groups of 20 people. Tours leave every 30 minutes, first at 9:30 am, last at 5 pm.
The ticket buys three things in sequence:
First stop — Exhibition room (new annex)
You start at the newly built visitor center. A room with a Motown timeline from 1959 to 1972, display cases with original stage costumes (MJ's white glove isn't here, it's in Las Vegas, but you'll find the first rhinestone jacket he wore on the Ed Sullivan Show, age 10), and a big screen playing the Jackson 5's first appearance on Ed Sullivan in December 1969. You spend about 15 minutes in this room before the guide calls you in for the tour.
Second stop — The original house (Hitsville U.S.A.)
You leave the annex, cross the sidewalk, walk through the front door of the 1959 house. Here the real tour begins. First room: Berry Gordy's office. Wooden desk, Smith Corona typewriter, black bakelite telephone. The guide tells you Berry rejected 9 out of every 10 demos that arrived by mail. Stevie Wonder was accepted because his aunt knocked on the door with the blind 11-year-old playing harmonica right there in the room.
You climb a narrow staircase to the second floor. Here is the A&R (artists & repertoire) room, where producers chose which songs went to which artist. There is a 1968 tape-listening machine still working. The guide plays a snippet of a demo of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" sung by Smokey Robinson before Marvin Gaye recorded it.
Third stop — Studio A (the magic room)
You go back down the hallway, cross the original kitchen (1959 refrigerator still in place, with a note taped to the door reading "Don't steal Berry's Coca-Cola"), and enter Studio A from the back.
The room is smaller than you imagine. 25 square meters. Dark wooden floor, worn from cables and amps being dragged across it. Low ceiling (about 2.80m). At the back, the 1877 Steinway piano — bought second-hand in 1960, used on virtually every Motown hit from 1960 to 1972. Still tuned, still working. Stevie Wonder comes back to Detroit every few years just to play that piano.
Behind the piano, the wall has a poorly patched hole from one of James Jamerson's bass amps (Jamerson was the Funk Brothers bassist who played bass on practically every Motown single). Jamerson came in drunk one night in 1969 and threw the amp at the wall. They never fixed it properly.
At the back of the room, a tape mark on the floor shows where the Jackson 5 stood in October 1969 when they recorded "I Want You Back". The five in a semicircle, MJ at the front. Five AKG C12 microphones (no longer there, on loan to the Smithsonian). The guide plays a snippet of the song through the studio's sound system. You hear the same natural reverb of the room that you hear on the 1969 recording. Guaranteed chills.
Fourth stop — Shop and plaza
You exit through the annex again. The shop sells vinyl reissues of the Motown catalog (Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Temptations, Supremes, prices USD 25-40), Hitsville logo t-shirts (USD 32), and a coffee-table book of photos of the house (USD 65) that is worth it.
Logistics:
- Tour lasts exactly 90 minutes. No discount for children under 5 (free); 5-17 years USD 10
- No photos allowed inside Studio A (strict rule, the guide will call you out)
- Accessibility: the annex is wheelchair accessible, but the original house has a narrow staircase to the second floor. Video alternative on the ground floor
- Free parking next door, but limited spots
- Closed Mondays (until April) and on national holidays
- The surrounding neighborhood (Virginia Park) is quiet by day, with nothing to do on foot. Come by Uber direct
United Sound Systems: where MJ recorded solo material
Most visitors stop at the Motown Museum. But there is a second studio in Detroit that needs to enter the list for a serious MJ fan: United Sound Systems Recording Studios, address 5840 Second Avenue, in the Cass Corridor neighborhood (today "Midtown").
Founded in 1933, it is the oldest independent studio in the US still in operation. George Clinton recorded the classic Funkadelic and Parliament records here (Maggot Brain, One Nation Under a Groove). Aretha Franklin recorded demos here before going to Muscle Shoals. And Michael Jackson came back to Detroit several times in the 1970s-80s to use the B room of this studio when he wanted a different atmosphere from what Motown LA offered.
The place almost became a parking lot in 2014. An I-94 highway was going to be expanded and would demolish the building. There was a preservation campaign (Berry Gordy signed a letter), and the studio was saved. Today it operates as an active commercial studio plus tour. The tour costs USD 25, lasts 1 hour, you need to book by email (unitedsound.com, no online booking).
Worth visiting if you have extra time on the second day. If you're tight, leave it as a bonus for next time. The Motown Museum is the essential.
Complete 2-day Detroit itinerary
TL;DRTwo days is enough for Motown Museum + Detroit Institute of Arts + Eastern Market + Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn) + a gastronomic evening. Three days if you want to include United Sound Systems, Belle Isle, and Corktown at a relaxed pace.
Day 1 — Morning: Motown Museum
- 9 am breakfast at the hotel or at Dime Store (downtown, 719 Griswold St, "diner upgrade" food, sweet potato pancake, USD 18-25)
- 10 am Uber to Motown Museum (15 min from downtown, USD 12)
- 10:30 am 90-minute guided tour
- 12:30 pm Uber back downtown
Day 1 — Afternoon: Detroit Institute of Arts
Address 5200 Woodward Avenue, Midtown. Admission USD 14 for adult non-residents (residents of 3 counties, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, enter free, but that won't benefit you). The DIA has one of the best art collections in the American Midwest, but the number 1 attraction is the set of Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera, 27 panels painted in 1932-33 in a dedicated room (Rivera Court). Rivera spent 11 months in Detroit studying Ford's Rouge plant before painting. He himself considered it his most important work (more so than the National Palace murals in Mexico).
There is also a decent Impressionist collection (van Gogh self-portrait, Degas, Monet), Islamic and African art. Reserve 2 hours minimum.
Day 1 — Dinner: Selden Standard
Address 3921 Second Avenue, Midtown. Farm-to-table restaurant that won a James Beard Award in 2015. Small plates to share, seasonal vegetables (in May: Michigan asparagus, ramps), local protein. Average bill USD 75-95 per person with wine. Book via Resy 1-2 weeks ahead. Premium alternative: Grey Ghost (1310 Antietam Ave, Brush Park, modern steakhouse, USD 90-120).
Day 2 — Morning: Eastern Market
Address Russell Street + Adelaide. Largest historic public market in the US, operating since 1891, open 6 am to 4 pm on Saturdays (the main day). Six large sheds (Sheds 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), fresh-produce vendors from Michigan farms, bakeries, Midwestern cheeses, prepared food. Saturday gets 45,000 visitors. Arrive early (8:30-9 am) to have room.
Breakfast right there: Russell Street Deli (2465 Russell, pastrami sandwich that rivals New York, USD 18-22) or Supino Pizzeria (2457 Russell, Neapolitan-style pizza).
Day 2 — Afternoon: Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn)
20 minutes by Uber from downtown (USD 30 one way, combine Uber, there's a bus but it takes 1h). Address 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn. USD 28 museum admission, USD 32 museum + Greenfield Village combo (worth it if you have the whole day).
The museum covers American industrial history. Iconic items: the bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in 1955 (the actual bus, restored), the Lincoln limousine where Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 (impressive in its rawness, plates, blood cleaned but stain visible on the fiber), the theater chair where Lincoln was killed (preserved), and the first Ford Model T production line. For anyone interested in American history, it is one of the best museums in the country. Reserve 4 hours minimum if you do Greenfield Village (park next door with a 19th-century town replica, the Wright Brothers' workshop transplanted from Dayton).
Day 2 — Dinner: Buddy's Pizza (Detroit-style)
Original address: 17125 Conant Street (1946, first Buddy's). Detroit-style pizza is a serious thing. Rectangular dough, Wisconsin brick cheese (not mozzarella), sauce ON TOP of the cheese, caramelized cheese edge running down the side of the steel pan. Invented at that exact address in 1946. Bill USD 25-35 per person, American vintage atmosphere (red booths, jukebox).
Upscale alternative: Lady of the House (1426 Bagley St, Corktown, one of the best kitchens in the Midwest, focus on French technique with local product, USD 90-130).
Optional Day 3 — Belle Isle + Corktown
Belle Isle: 400-hectare island in the Detroit River, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (same as Central Park). Has an aquarium (the oldest in the US still in operation), botanical conservatory, James Scott fountain (white marble), and a gorgeous view of Detroit + Windsor (Canada across the river). Free admission for pedestrians, USD 13 for cars.
Corktown: oldest neighborhood in Detroit, founded by Irish immigrants in the 19th century. It suffered decades of abandonment, now it is the most hipster neighborhood in the city. Ford bought the old Michigan Central Station (1913 art deco train station that sat in ruins for 30 years) and restored it from 2018 to 2024, it became an innovation campus. Worth going just to see the restored facade. Lunch at Ottava Via (Italian, 1400 Michigan Ave) or Folk (1701 Trumbull, award-winning breakfast).
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Where to sleep: hotels with history in Detroit
The Foundation Hotel — 250 W Larned St, downtown. Building of the former Detroit fire department headquarters (1929), restored in 2017 keeping the original red garage doors where the trucks used to come out. Today it is a boutique hotel with 100 rooms, industrial design with Shinola furniture (yes, the same watch brand). The ground-floor restaurant is the Apparatus Room, well rated, decent breakfast. Rate USD 280-380 (peak May-September).
Shinola Hotel — 1400 Woodward Avenue, downtown. Opened in 2019, it is Shinola's "brand-hotel". Five restored historic buildings, integrated into a single 129-room hotel. The lobby has a bookstore curated by Hudson's, café-bistro, and everything decorated with Shinola products (watches, speakers, bicycles). More expensive: USD 320-450/night. Unmatched location, in front of Woodward Avenue, a 5-minute walk from the Detroit Opera House and Comerica Park stadium (Tigers).
Westin Book Cadillac Detroit — 1114 Washington Boulevard. Historic 1924 building (33 floors, it was the tallest hotel in the world at opening). Large rooms, generous breakfast, Marriott Bonvoy program. USD 230-320/night. Good option for a Bonvoy fan stacking points.
Element Detroit at the Metropolitan — 33 John R Street. Marriott Element in a restored historic 1925 building. Apartments with kitchenette (useful for families). USD 180-250/night, best cost-benefit of the three premium options.
Avoid hotels outside downtown / Midtown. The city still has problem areas and Uber for longer distances adds up.
How to get there and real costs 2026
International flight
Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) is a Delta hub. Practical options for international travelers in 2026:
- Via Atlanta (ATL): connect through ATL on Delta. 2h layover. Total time 13-15h depending on origin. Economy fare USD 850-1,200 round trip
- Via New York (JFK): connect through JFK on Delta or American. 2-3h layover
- Via Toronto (YYZ): fly to YYZ, then rent a car (4h direct, crossing through Windsor-Detroit Tunnel or Ambassador Bridge). Good if you want to combine Toronto on the trip
- Via Miami (MIA): route possible but longer connection (16-18h total)
DTW airport to downtown Detroit: 25 minutes by Uber, USD 35-50 (peak with surge). No urban train. FAST 261 bus (Michigan Avenue route) leaves the airport for downtown every 30 min, USD 2, but takes 1h and you have to walk with luggage in the transfer center. Uber is worth it.
Estimated 3-day cost in Detroit (1 person)
- Lodging 2 nights (Element or Foundation): USD 480-700
- Food (3 breakfasts + 3 lunches + 2 dinners): USD 280-400
- Attractions (Motown Museum + DIA + Henry Ford + Belle Isle): USD 75
- Local transport (Ubers + parking): USD 100-140
- 3-day total: USD 935-1,315
Does not include international flight.
Combining Detroit on a bigger roadtrip
The real appeal of Detroit in 2026 is treating it as a stop on an American music roadtrip, not an isolated destination. Two combinations work excellently:
Motown → Chess route (Detroit → Chicago, 5h by car)
Leave Detroit on I-94 west. 5h direct to Chicago via Indiana (passes through Gary, birthplace of the Jackson 5, although there is nothing left to see there). In Chicago, focus on:
- Chess Records Studio (2120 South Michigan Avenue), where Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry and Etta James recorded. The Rolling Stones recorded "2120 South Michigan Avenue" as a tribute. Today it is the Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven Foundation, tour USD 15
- Buddy Guy's Legends (700 S Wabash), legitimate blues club, Buddy Guy still plays there in January
- Chicago-style pizza (Lou Malnati's, Pequod's), to compare with Detroit-style and pick a side in the eternal fight
Complete itinerary Detroit (2 days) + Chicago (3 days) = 5 days minimum, comes to USD 1,800-2,500 including car rental.
Detroit → Toronto route (4h by car)
Cross via the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel (USD 5 toll) or Ambassador Bridge. Passport mandatory (Canada is a separate country). Many travelers need an eTA, online electronic authorization, CAD 7, 5 minutes to issue.
In Toronto: 3-4 days is enough for CN Tower, Distillery District, Kensington Market, ROM, and a day at Niagara Falls (1h30 by car). Bonus for music fans: Lee's Palace in Toronto has been a Canadian indie rock temple since 1985.
Itinerary Detroit (2 days) + Toronto (3 days) + Niagara (1 day) = 6 days, USD 2,200-2,800 with car rental and Canadian exchange.
Complete "Great Lakes Music Roadtrip" route
For anyone with 10 days who wants to do everything: Chicago (3) + Detroit (2) + Toronto (3) + Niagara (1) + return. One-way car rental is expensive (return fee in a different state, USD 200-400), but viable. Complete itinerary comes to USD 3,500-4,500 per person including round-trip flight.
Best time to visit Detroit
May to September: high season, pleasant weather (20-28°C), Belle Isle open, festivals (Detroit Jazz Festival in September, free, at Hart Plaza). Hotels 30-40% more expensive. Motown Museum sells out 3-4 weeks ahead.
October: fall foliage season. Cold weather but still ok (10-18°C). Hotels begin dropping. Good window.
November to March: harsh Midwestern winter (-5 to 5°C, frequent snow). Visit to Motown Museum works normally (indoors), but Belle Isle and outdoor activities are compromised. Cheaper hotels. Acceptable if you are cold-resistant and want to pay less.
April: transition. Unstable weather (5-15°C, rain). Hotels still in low season. Acceptable.
Motown Museum visit etiquette
The house has been a national historic landmark since 2024. You are walking through the room where Michael Jackson was a child when he recorded a classic. Some unwritten rules are worth respecting:
- Do not touch the Steinway piano in Studio A. There is a velvet rope separating it. Visitors have tried, and the museum has already replaced the keyboard lid twice since 2010
- Photos only in outdoor areas and annex. Inside Studio A it is prohibited (strict rule, guide will call you out)
- Silence during audio playback. When the guide plays a snippet of "I Want You Back" in the studio, it is a solemn moment for many people, the feeling of hearing the song where it was recorded is strong. Respect those who are absorbing it
- Tip for the guide: voluntary but common. USD 5-10 per person if the tour was good (and it usually is, guides are fanatics, many lived through Detroit in the Motown years)
- Surrounding Virginia Park neighborhood: quiet by day, but it is a family residential zone. Don't wander side streets photographing other people's houses
Why this visit matters
Anyone who grew up watching Michael Jackson on television in the 80s, on MTV in the 90s, bought Thriller on vinyl or CD, memorized the lyrics to "Billie Jean" without understanding a word, knows this story. That fan now is 45-55 years old, with a teenage child who discovered MJ through Spotify and got blown away.
Visiting Hitsville U.S.A. is different from visiting Graceland (Elvis's place in Memphis). Graceland is a temple of excess, gilded mansion, giant lawn, mausoleum. Hitsville is the opposite: modest house, garage turned into a studio, second-hand piano. The history feels more palpable because the place is small and the human scale is evident.
You leave understanding that "I Want You Back", a song that to this day is a reference for perfect pop, was recorded by an 11-year-old boy in a garage in Detroit in 1969, with five microphones, an 1877 piano, and a poorly patched hole in the wall behind the bass player. It is the kind of trip that changes the way you hear the music afterward.
For a serious Michael Jackson or Motown-era fan, Hitsville is mandatory pilgrimage, along with Neverland (which does not open to the public), Gary Indiana (where the Jackson family house still exists but is a small showing), and Las Vegas (Cirque du Soleil ONE Michael Jackson, permanent show). Detroit sits at the top of the list because it is where the music began.
For a casual fan of American music, Detroit still delivers. The set of Motown Museum + Detroit Institute of Arts (with the Diego Rivera murals) + Eastern Market + Henry Ford Museum is strong enough for 2-3 well-spent days, in a city no one in your bubble has been to.
Decide whether the roadtrip is Detroit-Chicago (music), Detroit-Toronto (complete global city) or the whole Great Lakes (10 days). Buy the Delta ticket via Atlanta. Book the Motown Museum tour now, not on the eve. Put the Foundation Hotel on Booking. And get ready to hear "I Want You Back" in your earphones while you cross the street on West Grand Boulevard, looking at the blue neon sign that says Hitsville U.S.A., facade exactly the same as 1959, thinking that inside that house, an 11-year-old boy named Michael recorded one of the greatest singles of the 20th century in a 25-square-meter garage.
Detroit is back on the map. Worth going now, before it becomes a tour-bus line.
Key points
Motown Museum / Hitsville USA: 2648 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit MI. Admission USD 18, mandatory 90-minute guided tour, book 2 weeks ahead (sells out fast June through August)
Studio A: the room where the Jackson 5 recorded "I Want You Back" (Oct 1969, MJ age 11), "ABC", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There" (1970-71). Original Steinway piano still in place
United Sound Systems Recording Studios: 5840 Second Avenue. Where MJ came back to record solo material, and where George Clinton made Funkadelic
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About the author
Curadoria Voyspark
2 years in the Voyspark editorial team
Time editorial da Voyspark — escritores, repórteres, fotógrafos e fixers em Lisboa, Tóquio, Nova York, Cidade do México e Marrakech. Coletivo. Sem voz corporativa. Cada peça com checagem cruzada por um editor regional e um chef ou curador local.
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