The Detroit Historical Museum is located at 5401 Woodward Avenue in the Cultural Center Historic District, which is in Midtown Detroit. The museum tells the story of the Detroit area, including cobblestone streets, 19th-century stores, car assembly lines, toy trains, and fur trading from the 1700s. It also covers many other important events in the region's history.

History

In 1914, attorney and historian Clarence M. Burton gave his collections to the Detroit Public Library. This helped create the Detroit Historical Museum. In December 1921, Burton gathered 19 important local historians to start the Detroit Historical Society. The group aimed to protect and share the city’s history. In 1927, the society rented office space, and treasurer J. Bell Moran was chosen to set up a museum. A curator was hired, and on November 19, 1928, the museum opened in a small room on the 23rd floor of the Barlum Tower, now called the Cadillac Tower.

William Edward Kapp, an architect from the firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylls, designed the building.

On July 24, 1951, the museum held a special ceremony to mark the 250th anniversary of Detroit’s founding by Antoine Laumet de la Mothe Cadillac. Leaders such as Governor G. Mennen Williams, Mayor Albert E. Cobo, U.S. Senator Homer S. Ferguson, the French and British ambassadors, and Ralph Bunche, a Detroit native and Nobel Peace Prize winner, attended the event.

In 1949, the Detroit Historical Museum acquired the J. T. Wing, one of the last commercial sailing ships on the Great Lakes. The ship was displayed as a museum until 1956, when it closed due to poor condition. On July 24, 1961, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum opened on Belle Isle Park. It became a branch of the Historical Museum focused on maritime history.

From 1949 to 2006, the museum also managed Fort Wayne, a military site built in 1845 near the Detroit River. After World War II, parts of the fort were no longer used, and the barracks and defenses were handed over to the city for museum purposes. The remaining areas were transferred to the city by the army through 1976. In 2006, the Detroit Recreation Department took over managing the fort.

After the death of Detroit News columnist Charlotte "Tavy" Stone in 1985, the museum created the Tavy Stone Fashion Library. The library and costume gallery are located on the second floor and hold the museum’s collection of historical clothing and designs.

Detroit Historical Society

The Detroit Historical Society (DHS) was started in December 1921 by Clarence M. Burton, a well-known Detroit historian who became its first president. At first, the group focused on studying and discussing Detroit’s history. In 1927, under the leadership of J. Bell Moran, a director of the DHS, the society created the Detroit Historical Museum (DHM).

The museum first opened in Barlum Tower, which was called "Detroit's best kept secret." Over time, important people from Detroit and members of the public added items to the museum’s collection. Today, the museum has more than 200,000 items.

By the late 1930s, the DHS had become more like a social club than a historical group. In 1941, the society invited George Stark, a writer for The Detroit News, to join. It was later said that the DHS wanted Stark to mention the society in his daily column, but instead, Stark became a leader of the DHS. At this time, J. Bell Moran was serving in the government due to the war, so Stark took charge and started a campaign to build a new museum building in 1942.

At that time, the museum was located in the former home of Homer Williams on Merrick Street, across from the current Cass Avenue entrance to the Detroit Public Library. The Williams home, where future Michigan Governor G. Mennen "Soapy" Williams grew up, was later replaced by part of the Wayne State University campus.

In 1946, after a public vote led by the DHS and the City of Detroit, the Detroit Historical Commission was created to manage the museum. The DHS gave the city its collection and large building fund, and took on the role of being the main financial supporter of the museum.

Recent history

By the 1990s, the Museum experienced a period of success. In 1993, the Detroit Historical Society raised almost $4 million for exhibits, educational programs, and an endowment fund to support the Museum. Because of the campaign's success, a new permanent exhibit opened in 1995—The Motor City Exhibition. This exhibit shows how Detroit became the Automobile Capital of the World and includes an assembly line that moves car parts between two floors at the General Motors Cadillac Division Clark Street Plant. In 1998, the Museum opened another permanent exhibit, Frontiers to Factories: Detroiters at Work 1701–1901. This exhibit shows how the city grew from a French fur trading post to a major industrial center over its first 200 years.

In March 2006, the Detroit Historical Society took over managing the Museum after signing an agreement with the City of Detroit. Four months later, the Museum closed for a major renovation and reopened on September 29, 2006, with six new exhibits and improved lighting, signs, and building features.

The museum closed again from May 21 through November 22, 2012, for renovation. New exhibits were added, including the Allesee Gallery of Culture; Detroit: Arsenal of Democracy, which explores the city’s role in World War II; a sign from Tiger Stadium; the Kid Rock Music Lab, created with a $250,000 gift from performer Kid Rock; and the Gallery of Innovation and Doorway to Freedom: Detroit and the Underground Railroad, which allows visitors to experience the journey of a runaway slave traveling through Detroit to Canada.

In October 2019, the museum announced it would charge admission starting November 1 due to a $297,000 deficit the previous year. Admission for adults was set at $10, with lower prices for children, seniors, active military, and some other groups.

On March 13, 2020, the museum, along with other institutions in Michigan, closed through April 5 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions from Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The closure was later extended into June. On June 25, several museums in the city announced they would reopen on July 10, 2020, after creating a plan to keep staff and visitors safe.