Current Exhibitions

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.

From the earliest days of fandom to the rise of iconic superheroes and gritty anti-heroes, Detroit has been a quiet but powerful force in shaping comic book history. Heroes vs. Villains: Detroit’s Comic Book Story shares the histories of the iconic characters and local creatives who helped define the modern world of comics.

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.