Current Exhibitions

The Detroit Historical Society is home to one of the largest collections of Great Lakes ship models in the country. Most of the more than 150 models are five or six decades old, while at least one dates to 1854. The ship models represent over 300 years of North American fresh water maritime history. In many cases, the models themselves are historic; in other cases they represent significant examples of technological advances that powered social and economic aspects of the region’s history.

Explore a collection of maritime artifacts on the shores of Belle Isle, including the bow anchor of the legendary Edmund Fitzgerald, naval cannons from the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812, a nautical flag pole and an anchor from the USS Yantic.

Watch the river from our new observation telescope and relax on the landscaped river walk.

Miss Pepsi, the fastest hydroplane in the Detroit River in its time, was perhaps the most famous symbol of a family that made their livelihood distributing nationally famous soft drinks to Detroiters and residents of the region. The company was Dossin’s Food Products.

“Get me a Michigan Regiment… quick!” –General Philip Kearny

Although no battles occurred on state soil, Michigan residents played a crucial role in the American Civil War, from the first shots at Fort Sumter, South Carolina until the final surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. Not all Michiganders were in favor of going to war, but when the war came, thousands of Michigan men and women willingly stepped forward to help secure the Union.

Before television, visual advertising was dominated by talented illustrators.  During World War II, the U.S. Government leveraged these artists’ talents to create posters that delivered important messages in a single glance.

Transportation was his passion.

Born in 1913, Jerome Biederman was a nationally recognized illustrator of transportation. Whether his subject was an automobile, aircraft, or locomotive, his renderings were technically accurate and highly detailed. His medium of choice was tempera paint on illustration board.

After graduating from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, he entered the advertising world where he did almost everything except illustration. By 1940, he chose to leave the corporate advertising world and return to the creative atmosphere of a studio.

From 1972 to 1984, the Detroit Historical Museum partnered with the Center for Creative Studies (now the College for Creative Studies) to create the Documenting Detroit photography series. Students explored aspects of documentary photography using the people and landscape of Detroit as their subjects. Many of the photographs were exhibited at the museum, and all became part of the Detroit Historical Society Collection.

From 1972 to 1984, the Detroit Historical Museum partnered with the Center for Creative Studies (today the College for Creative Studies) to create the Documenting Detroit photography series.