Detroit - Corktown
Corktown, Detroit's oldest neighborhood, is a tight-knit community with one of the best bar and restaurant scenes in the city and an eclectic array of shops.
Corktown, located just west of Downtown Detroit, is the city’s oldest neighborhood. It takes its name from the Irish immigrants who settled here. The neighborhood has seen many iterations and suffered in the 1950s and 1960s when highway construction and business district encroachment impacted dozens of residential blocks. Today, Corktown is rapidly redefining itself and is a trendy, youthful area that retains its historic charm.
Photo credit: Motown Museum
Corktown is home to unique bars, restaurants, and shops. Otta Via serves up rustic Italian cuisine, including delicious pasta and pizza, while Ima provides the perfect cold weather meal—a hot bowl of ramen. Pull up a seat and grab a board game at Batch Brewing Company.
A favorite of many, Eldorado General Store is stocked with vintage clothing and treasures of all sorts. Into music? Check out Hello Records and its vinyl selection.
Corktown is home to the Motown Museum, which is a global tourist destination for music and history fans that celebrates the authentic story of Motown. It’s located in the original headquarters and music recording studio for Motown Records and is filled with artifacts, photographs, costumes, and other memorabilia.
Corktown’s resurgence is best exemplified by Ford’s purchase and renovation of the beloved Detroit landmark, Michigan Central Station. Michigan Central Station was once considered to be one of the grandest railway stops in the United States. Today, the station will include new and revitalized buildings, multiple outdoor plazas, open spaces, and commercial public space and be a hub for Ford’s future mobility research. Construction work is slated to be complete by the end of 2023.
The Corner Ballpark sits on the site of the former Tigers Stadium and is now a gathering place for Corktown’s close-knit community. The field is used for a variety of athletic programs, concerts, and movie nights.
Photo credit: Curbed Detroit
The neighborhood offers housing options from the many restored Victorian-era homes to new, mixed-use apartment developments. The area is easily navigated on foot or bike, with streets lined with stores of all sorts, coffee shops, and popular after-hours locations. North Corktown is a quieter counterpart to the growing Michigan Ave. Business District but is still full of parks and green spaces, public art installations, and one of the city’s oldest bars.
The Corktown Business Association, in partnership with the many small businesses in the neighborhood, holds the Annual Corktown Aglow in December to celebrate the holiday season with live music, food trucks, and fun activities. In the summertime, residents can enjoy Corktown Sounds, a weekly, outdoor, music festival.
