Everyone has a favorite secret spot, but few are eager to share. For this year’s City Guide, we took on the challenge. Along with revealing a few of our own picks, we gathered recommendations from contributing writers, tour guides, and other insiders. And while logging in thousands of steps, we peeked behind closed doors and over balconies, and we ventured inside two completely off-the-grid locations that safeguard some of Detroit’s most precious artifacts.
In 2021, The Henry Ford consolidated its collection into the 250,000-square-foot former engineering building next to the museum. It now houses 26 million American culture-defining artifacts, like J.P. Morgan Jr.’s 1926 Rolls-Royce limousine and boxes of household items from the newly acquired Jackson Home, an important site in the Civil Rights movement, which opens in Greenfield Village the week of June 9.
While the museum is known for its extensive collection of one-off concept cars and early automobiles, The Henry Ford’s textile collection is even larger. In June, in honor of America’s 250th anniversary, the museum will open the Fabric of America: Our Fashions, Textiles, and Technologies exhibit, which draws heavily on its collection of period pieces, including the Dior suit on the top left of the page.
One of the challenges of operating a collection of this size is curating the items for display. The Henry Ford works with individuals to fill specific gaps, but it also receives large-scale donations from major collectors and sometimes museums, as was the case with the textile collection that came to the museum in 2017, shortly after the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts, closed.
Just outside the car collection space is a hallway filled with vintage signs you might see on a road trip. Through another door is a room dedicated to furniture from America’s past. Shelves filled with artifacts from bygone eras, like a cross-sectioned La-Z-Boy chair and early Herman Miller office chairs, serve as reminders of how far the art of comfort has come.
The Henry Ford’s collection is not generally open to the public, but private group tours of the facility are offered, giving metro Detroiters a glimpse into our national history.
More of Hour Detroit‘s “Hidden Detroit”
Things You May Have Missed at the Detroit Institute of ArtsSports, Hats, Scenic Spots, and ArtifactsConnecting with Old Detroit and Its Boozy PastUnder the Radar RetailRyan Patrick Hooper’s Favorite Food & Drink SpotsThe Guardian BuildingThe Artifact Collection of the Detroit Historical SocietyFishing for Secrets at the Fisher Building
Park West Museum in Southfield
Art Galleries You May Have Overlooked
Places to See the City from a Bird’s-eye View
Views from a High-rise Window-cleaning Technician
This story originally appeared in the April 2026 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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