For years, I was a tour guide at the Fisher Building in Detroit. It’s a stunning architectural masterpiece covered in marble, bronze, and frescoes. You could debate whether it’s the prolific architect Albert Kahn’s greatest achievement, but I think it is.
Leading tours was one of my favorite jobs I’ve ever had — and I’ve had a lot of them! That has more to do, however, with choosing journalism as a primary career and having to make up the difference elsewhere.
In all, I’ve done at least 600 tours of the Fisher. There I was every weekend, leading tourists from around the world and local suburbanites who had never bothered to check out “Detroit’s largest art object.” The Fisher is far from a “hidden gem,” but as Detroiters, we don’t always value what’s right in our backyard. Just ask any Detroiter whether they’ve actually been to the Motown Museum just down the block. There’s no shame in the game! Here at Hour we’ve dedicated a whole issue to discovering and rediscovering our city on our terms.
I’d make the same joke at the end of every tour, turning to the crowd and saying, “I’ve given 600 of these tours … but I think today’s tour with you might’ve been the best one yet.”
And maybe that was true sometimes! I do know that the absolute best part of the job was showing off something I loved about Detroit to someone who perhaps never knew it was there or what was hidden inside.
After the tour, patrons would often ask me for my recommendations. “What else should we do with our day? What else should we see while we’re here?”
I never sent them somewhere painfully obvious or thoughtless — like shuffling them off to the Greektown tourist district — or, more importantly, somewhere I didn’t personally frequent.
After wrapping a tour, I’d often run into tour guests at the spots I had just recommended, which brought the biggest smiles to their faces. “Oh, you actually told us your own hidden gems! You actually go here!”
It was a reminder that the art of the personal recommendation still rules in an era when AI looms over us and weaves itself into every aspect of our lives.
It’s a special feeling to find a hidden gem, but it’s the best feeling in the world when you get to share that with someone else, and they’re oh so grateful that you took the time to let them into your own private Detroit.
Ryan Patrick Hooper is the host of In the Groove on 101.9 WDET Detroit Public Radio (weekdays from noon to 3 p.m.).
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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