Current Exhibitions

Rickenbacker automobiles were built in Southwest Detroit from 1922 to 1927 and engineered with a host of innovative features, including a double top frame (for more strength and durability), steel disc wheels, twin flywheels (one at each end of the crankshaft) and four-wheel brakes, which were considered revolutionary—and controversial—at the time.

The Detroit Historical Society's 1924 Model C was donated by its original owner in 1956 and remains unrestored.

This pop-up exhibition for Detroit's Month of Design pays tribute to the contributions of nationally and internationally acclaimed Detroit-born fashion designers, brand strategists, industry entrepreneurs, trade and media specialists, as well as educators, curators, and fashion models.

View mid-century Detroit through the lens of photographer Norman Zadoorian, tracing a journey from the shadowed, noir-inflected images of the immediate post–World War II years to the vibrant, optimistic street scenes of the 1950s and beyond. 

Leni Sinclair arrived in Detroit from East Germany in 1959 with only a suitcase and a Zeiss Ikon 35mm camera. She was drawn to Detroit at a moment when the city’s cultural and activist voice was coming into focus, and jumped right in. She recorded creativity around her, from cultural and political events of the time to daily life and street people, police interactions, and musical performances of all kinds. 

On November 18, 1926, the Detroit Cougars played their first game in the National Hockey League. In the century since, the Cougars became the Red Wings, the most storied of all American hockey clubs, winning 11 Stanley Cup championships. The Red Wings have produced some of the game's all-time greats and created a distinctly Detroit hockey culture. 

Come explore how Detroit became Hockeytown in this special centennial exhibition!

The J.W. Westcott Company has been an active and beloved presence on the Detroit River for over 150 years. Casually referred to as the “mail boat,” the Westcott is the U.S.A.’s only floating zip code – 48222. Westcott staff deliver mail, packages, crew members, and even pizza to the vessels that journey across the Great Lakes during shipping season from April to December, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Still a family company today, the Westcott has evolved with the times. In this new exhibition, learn how Captain John Ward Westcott started his business in 1874 as a marine reporter, documenting river traffic and delivering company communications to ships via rowboat.

Joseph Parent, Detroit’s first recognized brewer, arrived in 1706, just five years after the new French trading post was established. Generations of English, Irish, Belgian, Polish, German and Detroit-born brewers followed, shaping a local scene that thrives to this day. Learn more about the city’s beer barons, neighborhood breweries and beer-drinking customs in Detroit’s Brewing Heritage.

In addition to local brewing legends like Stroh’s, Altes and Goebel, the exhibit explores the smaller breweries that served as neighborhood gathering places and the brewers who played an outsized part in the city’s cultural and political scene.