New Center Area
Tour Overview
 New Center is located approximately three miles (4.8
km) north of downtown along Woodward Avenue. This
"city within a city" offers two National Historic Landmarks as well
as a number of shops, restaurants, art galleries, the renowned Fisher
Theatre, and the Motown Historical Museum. Developed in the 1920s, New Center was designed to
create a business hub that would offer convenient access to both downtown
resources and outlying factories. Some
historians believe that the New Center may be the original "edge
city", a sub-center remote from but related to an urban core. New
Center continues to experience steady growth, including several recent
condominium and loft developments.
Spend a fun-filled day in Detroit's unofficial second downtown!
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Fisher Building
3011 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit
Website
 This National Historic Landmark is an
architectural gem and entertainment destination all-in-one. Built in 1928 in art-deco style (see photo
above) and featuring a "golden tower," the Fisher Building is an icon of the Detroit skyline. It was designed by master architect Albert
Kahn and is perhaps his most significant achievement. In addition to a number of restaurants, shops, and galleries, the Fisher Building houses the highly regarded Fisher
Theatre. This 2,089-seat theatre hosts a variety of
Broadway performances and has held world premieres of Hello Dolly, Fiddler
on the Roof, Sweet Charity and Golden
Boy.
Cadillac
Place (General Motors Building)
3044 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit
 Cadillac Place, also known as the General Motors Building, is the New Center area's second National Historic Landmark. The building served as GM's headquarters
from 1923 to 1996 prior to relocating downtown to the Renaissance Center. Like the Fisher Building, Cadillac Place was designed by Albert Kahn. Consisting of eight wings projecting from a
central spine and a five-story hipped-roof annex connected to the rear
façade, the building symbolized General Motors' dominant position in the
automobile industry. The building is
now occupied by State of Michigan
government offices. In addition to
great architectural significance, Cadillac Place also offers several retail shops.
Motown Historical Museum
2648 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit
Website
 In 1959, upstart Detroit songwriter and record
producer Berry Gordy Jr. purchased a humble two story home, moving his family
into one half and setting up a studio in the other. He christened it "Hitsville U.S.A." and from this building grew Motown from a
startup business to what became by the mid-70s the largest independent record
company in the world. The Motown Historical Museum includes models of eight houses on West Grand Boulevard acquired by the company to house its growing
operations until it moved its offices to a high-rise in downtown Detroit in 1968.
Among the many displays, visitors are treated to a tour of the studio
where Motown greats such as Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey
Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and
the Pips, Diana Ross and the Supremes, and the Jackson Five actually recorded
their hits. The Motown Historical Museum is located on West Grand Boulevard just west of the New Center area across the M-10
Lodge Freeway.
More Information
Click on the links below to
view additional information on the New Center area as well as other related Experience Detroit
tours:
Architectural Tours
Automotive Heritage
Historic
Sites
Music
Heritage
National Register of Historic
Places
New Center Place
New Center Website
Theatres
Woodward Avenue Scenic Tours
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