Preconference Tour & Lunch

 Wild Women of Detroit and Architecture Guided Tour & Lunch (advance registration required)

Wednesday, June 21st 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Price: $95 per person

Detroit History Tours is proud to welcome you onboard a tour into the history, present, and future of the Motor City. Together with your expert guide you'll travel to Belle Isle, the Detroit River's island gem, to explore the scandalous story of a man so despised his fortune wasn't spent until a decade after his death. You'll see the 117 year old conservancy and aquarium, the oldest operational aquarium on earth, and learn about the heroine who saved the floral history of Europe from the Nazis; protecting it in Detroit. From bald eagles to beavers we'll keep our eyes peeled for Detroit's flora and fauna, as we enjoy river views on a circumnavigation of the island before arriving at The Detroit Yacht Club, one of the seven oldest yacht clubs in North America. There you'll be treated to an adventure in the storied clubhouse, normally reserved for members only, and learn about the first woman to ever lead an American yacht club as it's elected commodore. Following lunch your tour will head into downtown Detroit where you'll learn about Detroit's part in the suffrage movement, Civil Rights movement, and the women who helped create "the Motown sound". You'll hop off the bus to see the Spirit of Detroit and learn about his 1964 "date", Gaze in wonder at the first Civil War monument erected in America, and learn about women's role in the Underground Railroad.  From architecture to activism, the visual arts to the written word, the Civil War to the Arsenal of Democracy, you'll leave with a better understanding of Detroit's history, and we hope, excitement for Detroit's future!