Travel writers discover surprises in Detroit: ‘It’s so underrated’

Detroit — For most of the greater than 200 journey writers visiting from all through North America this week, Detroit has provided loads of surprises. And for first-time customer Juliana Broste of Denver, town exceeded her expectations.

“It’s so underrated,” she mentioned. “Like, the magic of just walking around in this very walkable part of the city, getting a chance to just be inspired by the art and the cool-looking architecture, the beauty of nature right here on the riverfront, there’s so many wonderful attractions here, and for me, that was the complete surprise, in a wonderful way.”

Broste, a journey host and filmmaker often called Travelingjules, was amongst attendees of the Society of American Travel Writers Annual Convention, hosted this week on the Westin Book Cadillac in downtown Detroit.

The premier skilled group for journey journalists, editors, photographers and content material creators highlighted the Detroit area with its first-ever conference within the metropolis. It’s the society’s seventieth anniversary.

The three-day occasion contains skilled improvement periods, networking alternatives, night occasions at space sights and excursions to present the content material producers a take a look at Detroit and its surrounding areas.

“It comes down to the stories,” mentioned Chez Chesak, journey author and president of SATW. “We have members who are attending for professional development and networking and all those good things. But in the end, they want to come here to be able to tell the story of a destination and post that on their blog or sell it to an outlet. And, you know, Detroit has such a wide variety of rich stories, between the automotive industry, Motown, the Underground Railroad, culinary scene, sports … just goes on and on. So just this incredible diversity of storytelling opportunities that really attracted us.”

Claude Molinari, president and CEO of Visit Detroit, identified the importance of internet hosting the journey writers. While the conference itself is comparatively small, he mentioned there is a potential ripple impact.

“As they say, the pen is mightier than the sword,” he mentioned. “And these 200 writers might put somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 stories out about their adventures in southeast Michigan.”

Molinari said Detroit was selected for the convention after a site visit about a year and a half ago, during which society leadership saw the city’s historic architecture, developments and the Detroit River.

“I always say, if we can get them here, we can get them here,” he said. “And once we got them here on a site visit, we knew they’re going to choose us. We’ve got this. And we’re so excited that they did.”

In addition to the convention, attendees had the option to attend pre and post tours in Detroit and Ann Arbor, as well as other parts of the state, including Frankenmuth, Grand Rapids and Gaylord.

Molinari said that although the immediate economic impact of the event in Metro Detroit is modest at about $150,000, he expects a long-term impact.

The itinerary showcases The Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Attendees are also encouraged to explore of neighborhoods and lesser-known areas.

“We’re excited to show them everything that we have to offer, from Henry Ford to the DIA to the downtown to the suburbs,” he mentioned.

Broste mentioned leaving area in her schedule allowed her and a fellow attendee to discover on their very own and come upon sudden places just like the Belt and Parker’s Alley, in addition to the Shinola and Siren resorts.

“We saw this list of recommendations and I think a lot of people might see that in like one hour, just walk through and be delighted,” she said. “But we spent like three hours there. Just like wow, let’s go into this shop. What’s the Shinola Hotel? We discovered the Siren Hotel, gorgeous property. The Candy Bar. I mean, I love pink. And finding that place was like home.”

Broste mentioned she poked her head into the Post Bar and watched development staff having lunch throughout the road from a development web site.

“It is fun to see that work in progress, as well as seeing the shiny stuff,” she mentioned. “My biggest thought was, why aren’t there more people?”

During the conference’s opening ceremony Thursday, attendees listened to a panel share their experiences within the metropolis. The audio system have been E. Scott Morris, chair of footwear at The Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design; Adriana Jimenez, proprietor of Vecino; Jason Hall, founding father of RiDetroit; Dr. Hubert Massey, grasp artist, muralist and trainer, and Amy Peterson, co-founder and CEO of Rebel Nell.

Mark Downey, a journey photographer from Portland, Oregon, mentioned the panel provided a deeper perspective on Detroit’s tradition.

“I’m very inspired by all of the speakers and their stories,” he said. Though he had heard of Detroit’s comeback and its “phoenix story,” he said the panel gave him new insight.

“There’s always more to the story,” he said. “It’s the people who are the catalyst for that. It’s one thing to be on the outside of it, it’s another to be able to understand it intimately from the people who are doing it. These people on the stage epitomized that.”

As soon as his airplane landed on Tuesday, Larry Bleiberg, a travel writer from Virginia, headed to Dearborn for Middle Eastern food at Al Ameer on Warren Avenue, where he said he had the best hummus he’s ever eaten. Then he headed to the Motown Museum on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit.

“I got chills in Studio A,” he said. “I mean, the music I’ve literally been hearing all of my life, probably was playing in the hospital when I was born, was recorded right in that room. It just sent shivers down my spine. That was incredible.”

Bleiberg mentioned he frolicked learning the Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Murals on the Detroit Institute of Arts. He mentioned he needs to carry his spouse again to city to see that. He’s seen Rivera’s work in Mexico City and had seemed ahead to his go to on the DIA.

“This just was even more than I expected,” he mentioned. “I spent probably an hour, hour and a half, just with those murals, and they were incredible.”

Also on his record of locations to go to is the not too long ago restored Michigan Central Station. The structure of Detroit’s buildings stood out to him.

“I love the details of zooming in my phone and see the terra cotta work, the figures, the engravings, and just some beautiful stuff here,” he mentioned.

He’s also looking forward seeing some lesser-traveled areas.

“I’m looking forward to discoveries and seeing some street art, seeing Eastern Market … getting out into some neighborhoods, which I think would be more surprising,” he said.

Besides the places, Bleiberg said the locals have left a good impression on him.

“A really nice part of it is just how friendly people are,” he said. “Not pretentious. People are just comfortable. People are friendly and open and they’re comfortable. They’re not trying to put on a show, put on a new act. It just seems to be a real, a self-comfort and a comfort with having people come by. A genuine hospitality. I’m talking to people on the street, talking with people at museums they’re like ‘Oh, that’s great. I’m glad you’re here.’ This has happened time and time and again.”

This wasn’t Al Bonowitz’s first visit to Detroit, but it had been more than 30 years. In 1994, he wasn’t in town as a travel writer, but as an Ohio resident making quick road trips to catch games at Tiger Stadium. While he appreciated during his recent visit to Comerica Park for the first time, he said he preferred the old ballpark.

Bonowitz, now an editor for the Auto Club of Southern California, had a good impression of the city and the time he spent in Corktown in the 1990s. Although the area felt a little run down back then, he said he never felt unsafe.

In addition to visiting Comerica Park this week, he went to the Henry Ford Museum, dined in Greektown visited the Riverfront and walked along the Dequindre Cut.

“I know Detroit has been coming back,” he said, adding that what he’s seen so far is proof of that. “I hope to come back.”

cwilliams@detroitnews.com

@CWilliams_DN