My family and I travel to Michigan often—after all, my husband is from Battle Creek and some of his family still lives in the area—but I spent very little time in Detroit. We scheduled our Michigan vacations around family time, and honestly, I didn’t feel a strong pull to the state’s largest city. One unplanned adventure while I was in Detroit for work, though, completely changed my mind about Motown: I discovered the mecca of Detroit street art.
Eastern Market is a small neighborhood just north of Downtown Detroit and Ford Field that hosts a farmer’s market every Saturday (the longest-running year-round farmer’s market in the country). In 1969, an artist commissioned the neighborhood’s first murals, and the Detroit street art scene here blossomed since. In just the last six years, more than 100 new murals have been added, thanks to the organization Murals in the Market.
I didn’t know any of this when I chanced upon Eastern Market; I was writing at a café nearby when I spied a mural across a highway and made my way over to investigate. I ended up spending a half-day exploring the Eastern Market murals and absolutely fell in love with this Detroit street art neighborhood.
Don’t leave finding street art during your Detroit trip to chance; head over to Eastern Market and see this vibrant street art scene for yourself.
Detroit street art’s Eastern Market murals
All you need to do to find the Eastern Market murals is open your eyes—it’s literally impossible not to find this Detroit street art.
Murals are painted on just about every vertical surface, from walls of wholesale meat markets to abandoned, crumbling buildings.
One of the reasons I recommend Eastern Market as one must-do activity in Detroit is the concentration of amazing murals here. You can’t walk a block without coming upon a remarkable piece of public art—or several!
What’s more, the number of Eastern Market murals grows every year. The annual Murals in the Market festival, which happens every September, combines murals with a block party-like series of events to celebrate this uniquely Detroit neighborhood.
In fact, Smithsonian Magazine named Murals in the Market one of the best street art festivals around the globe (and was the only one in the US).
My favorite Eastern Market murals
Ok, so I actually can’t pick a favorite among this Detroit street art. But I filled up my camera’s memory card with snaps of nearly every mural I saw.
I even wandered a little farther afield than the central Eastern Market spot. I found murals on abandoned buildings and some street art I had to view through chain link fences.
This Detroit street art isn’t sanitized. It has a point of view. It embraces Detroit’s gritty identity, and it doesn’t sugarcoat the very real issues residents of Motown face.
That’s one of the reasons I love Eastern Market murals, and why you’ll adore them, too.
What to do in Eastern Market
When you’ve had your fill of seeing Detroit street art, hang for a little longer in Eastern Market. Here’s what to do in this Detroit neighborhood.
Taste Detroit at the farmer’s market
If you visit Eastern Market on a Saturday, taste locally grown produce and other goodies from roughly 225 vendors. This year-round, indoor farmer’s market has been running for 125 years!
Support local artisans
On Sundays, local jewelers, artists, crafters, musicians, cooks and more gather in Eastern Market’s high-ceilinged buildings to share their wares. June through September, support Michigan makers and bring home something unique to Detroit.
Sip specialty coffee
Stop in at Germack, the nearly 100-year-old craft coffee roaster in Eastern Market. They take coffee seriously (and you can walk past their roasting operation on your way to the bathroom). While you’re there, pick up specialty spices, loose leaf tea and their custom snack mixes as gifts for the folks back home (or for yourself!).
Buy art for your own walls
Now that you’re totally inspired by all the Detroit street art, take some local art home. Find letterpress posters, handmade postcards and more at the printer’s co-op Signal-Return. I spent nearly an hour in here narrowing down which posters and prints I would buy. They’ll happily roll them up in a cardboard tube so you can safely transport them home.
If you’re looking for other things in Michigan to do as a family, don’t miss this comprehensive guide of things to do in Michigan with kids over on DQ Family Travel. A bunch of bloggers, including me, suggested our favorite Michigan family activities!
Have you ever been to Detroit? Did you see any Detroit street art? What did you think of the city?
I love street art! And these spots are gorgeous! I’ll make sure to check them all out next time I’m in Detroit!
Yay, so glad to find another lover of street art!
I love street art and these are fantastic x
Thank you Marina!
OMMMG all of these murals are phenomenal!! Gaaah such good inspiration and attention to detail. I want to hit up Detroit just to check out all of these beautiful pieces in person. Great finds!! 😀
Thanks Hawnuh! I still have so much to explore in Detroit. When you do go, make sure to hit up the Detroit Art Museum – it has this incredible Diego Rivera mural that will blow your mind.
I loooove murals like these! I love the “growth” mural, but the view from the car — wow! That’s amazing. Thanks for sharing!
The growth one has such a positive message, which I love. I’m always happy to share street art!
I love a good wall mural and these look incredible! The shark one would be so great to get a picture in front of! And the one showing the interior of the car with the rearview mirror looks like a photograph!
YES! Those are several of my favorites. I would have loved to get a photo in front of a few of the Detroit murals, but I was there by myself. It’s a good reason to go back!
These are beautiful! It is creativity to the fullest! What a beautiful way to express and brighten up old buildings with beautiful messages.
It’s so true! I love that public walls are one more place for people to express themselves.
I’m so impressed by street art these days. These ones in Detroit are amazing! Love the Growth mural in particular.
I know, me too! I actually had a chance to do a total amateur mural in Paris (a post on that to come!) and it made me respect these artists even more.
I thought we had cool art here in Portland, but those murals are seriously stunning in Detroit! I love the one with the teal background!
Actually, both Portland and Detroit have street art festivals every year, when artists add even more murals to the city. So in that way, we’re kind of twinning with DTW!
These are incredible! The great white is really impressive! I was actually reading an article the other day in bon appetite about the Detroit food scene, so now I need to add the street art to my Detroit bucket list as well! 🙂
Yes! I stayed at a wonderful little B&B in a historic building if you want a recommendation for when you go. 🙂
I visit Detroit periodically but haven’t been to that part of town yet. Definitely adding it to my to do list.
It’s near Ford Field, and a short drive from the Art Museum, so it’s a great stop!
I had no idea Detroit had so much street art. I’ve never visited before, but I’d love to see these someday. They are certainly impressive and it makes me optimistic that I would really enjoy a visit.
I didn’t know about the street art scene in Detroit either until literally stumbling across these.
This is awesome! I love street art and always try and hunt some down when visiting a new place. I particularly like the two hands with “growth” on them.
The “Growth” mural seems to be a crowd favorite! I love it too.
Wow, Detroit’s street art is incredible! – especially those pieces that are making statements about society as well as being stunning pieces aesthetically.
Yes, I so agree! Street art is an excellent way to make a strong statement and make people stop—and think.
Oh wow! These murals are on another level. If you’re heading to Vancouver, make sure you take a stroll up Main Street – its the home of our mural festival. Would be great to compare!
Ooh, thanks for the tip!!! I’m going to Vancouver in January for the first time and will definitely look for the Main St murals!
I, too, am from Western Michigan originally and hadn’t spent much time in Detroit until a family member moved there for work. I was immediately amazed by all the art. It’s everywhere. Pure Detroit gives tours of many of the famous buildings around the city. The statues downtown are also stunning and worth visiting. The African American History museum has a Detroit focus as well. The Heidelberg Project is another Detroit art experience. Thanks for posting. I’ve visited Eastern Market twice, I haven’t seen all of these. I’m working on a blog post about two days in Detroit with kids and am going to link this post!
Amazing! We sometimes fly into Detroit to visit my brother in law, so I’ll have to check out the Heidelberg Project – I haven’t been there before. Thanks for all the amazing tips! And I’m so glad this post resonated with you. Detroit really is beautiful, and it’s exciting to see how the city is evolving. Thanks for linking back to me!!