Once on of the largest metropolises in the United States, Detroit is synonymous with the automotive industry which built the city. Despite its size, this city is largely unknown to tourists.
Detroit is located on the Detroit river which connects Lake Erie and Lake Saint Clair. The river marks the border between Detroit and Windsor on the east which is part of Ontario, Canada.

The Detroit downtown area is one of the most run-down I have ever seen in the States and symbolized the decline of Detroit together with the decline of the Motor industry.  It is no surprise that this city was the setting for the movie Robocop. The downtown area is a mixture of old art deco-style skyscrapers, half demolished buildings, desolate areas and parking lots. Some of the buildings still showing the grandeur of the old Detroit include the 1928 Fisher Building and the 1922 General Motors Building. They are located on West Grand Boulevard between 22nd Avenue and Cass Street. When it was constructed, the General Motors Building was the largest corporate office complex in the United States. Both the Fisher Building and the General Motors Building are designed by the architect Albert Kahn, who designed many factories and corporate office buildings for the automotive industry. Another great architect who designed some high-rise buildings in Detroit is Daniel Burnham from the Chicago School of Architecture. He designed the 1906 Dime Building at 719 Griswold Street and the 1909 Ford Building at 615 Griswold Street.

The glistening Renaissance Center provides a striking contrast with historic downtown Detroit. The complex, also known as the Ren Cen consists of 4 office towers of 39 storeys and a 73 story hotel tower. It was built in 1977 and was a symbol for the rebirth of Detroit. The Renaissance Center still stands as the largest privately financed development in the United States.
You can have a great view on the Detroit area and on Windsor across the river from the observation deck on the top of the central hotel tower. You can also take a meal at the revolving restaurant, offering some great views on Detroit while you eat.

In 1926 Henry Ford founded the Edison Institute, now known as the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. It is the largest indoor-outdoor museum in the United States.

The Henry Ford Museum's major attraction is the large collection of cars. The main exhibition shows the history of the automobile in America. Another exhibition describes the story of the life of Henry Ford. Other exhibitions include Made in America, a display of applicances that changed the life of Americans in the 19th and 20th century. There are also several trains and airplanes on display.
The exhibition I found most interesting is the one currently showing 100 years of automotive industry in America, starting with the inventions of the French and Germans, up to the first imported Japanese cars. Many cars are on display, not just Fords, but also other cars like Cadillacs or Volkswagens. Also interesting is the background information of the companies that shaped the automotive industry in America : General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and the Tucker Company. Some famous cars on display include the Ford T, the original Beetle and the limousine in which President Kennedy was assassinated.

Adjacent to the Henry Ford Museum is the Greenfield Village, an outdoor assemblage of historic structures. The village comprises several streets with historic homes dating back to the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Greenfield villages also contains houses of some of America's famous inventors, like Thomas Edison's laboratory and Orville and Wilbur Wright's home and bicycle shop.

The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are adjacent to each other and can be visited together. The compound is located on 20900 Oakwood Boulevard in Dearborn, the birth place of Henry Ford, which is not far from Detroit.