Detroit's Beverly Hills Is This Revitalized Suburb Brimming With Art, Architecture, Dining, And Shopping

The rise and fall of Detroit is both well-documented and a classic tale of post-industrial collapse. By the early 1900s Detroit was one of America's largest and most important cities, the home of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, with a manufacturing workforce that soared to almost 300,000 by the middle of the century. But then came the oil shocks of the 1970s and the rise of Japanese cars, and the Big Three automobile makers were staring down the barrel of a decades-long crisis. As the companies that built Motor City plummeted, so too did the city's fortunes: by 2013, both GM and Chrysler had been bailed out of bankruptcy by a presidential taskforce and Detroit had accumulated a whopping $18 billion in debt.

In 1827 the city adopted a mantra, the type you might find inscribed on an old Roman stele: "Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus" (We hope for better days; it shall rise from the ashes). Little did the denizens of Detroit realize that two centuries later those words would be as appropriate as they were considered then. The city has recently regained its tech hub status, with startups working on robotics and electric vehicles once again attempting to spearhead innovation in the field of mobility. It's vying for the title of America's best new art city and its old neighborhoods are becoming hubs for young creatives. Aging buildings are being refurbished, the cuisine has diversified beyond deep-dish pizza, hipster-y coffee shops and clothing stores are appearing everywhere, and suburbs like Birmingham, 30 minutes north of Detroit, are proving genuinely fashionable destinations to a new generation of travelers. Pierre Boutros, the former mayor of Birmingham, told D Magazine that Birmingham was "the closest thing [in metro Detroit] to Beverly Hills," and it's easy to see why he made that distinction.

Art has been central to this newfound appeal and you don't have to go far to see it. Thanks to the Art in Public Spaces Program, there are sculptures of aluminum, glass, bronze, steel, and stone scattered throughout the city. A handful of the most impressive are "Pyramid Earth" by Armenian-born artist Kegham Tazian, a globe fixed to pillars of bronze that together carry the numinous power of ancient artifact; Marshall M. Fredericks' limestone "Siberian Ram" and his arresting bronze sculpture "Freedom of the Human Spirit"; and Terry Lee Dill's peculiar "X-Ray ManRay." If you want to go on a Pokémon-style quest and catch 'em all, download a sculpture tour map from the Birmingham city website. You'll find stellar art indoors, too, like the eclectic pieces in the public spaces and guest rooms of the Daxton Hotel.  

Visitors to Birmingham may also want to make a quick drive (yes, you'll need a car — Detroit is the Motor City after all) — out to the Cranbrook Art Museum, 10 minutes to the north in Bloomfield Hills. The museum sits on a 300-plus-acre campus called the Cranbrook Educational Community, a globally renowned institution that bridges education, science, and art. It's a marvelous space to stroll around, featuring lovely red brick buildings with art deco flourishes and showstopping pieces like the 1908, Tudor-style Cranbrook House, designed by Albert Kahn. The campus is located on Woodward Avenue, along which also sits the Detroit Institute of Arts and MOCAD, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, both several miles to the south.  

Detroit's Corktown neighborhood has been described as one of the most up-and-coming in America, but Birmingham might have a thing or two to say about that. The popular neighborhood ranking platform Niche gave Birmingham an A+ grade, scoring well in the jobs, nightlife, schooling, health and fitness, and crime and safety categories. All told, this makes Birmingham one of the most attractive places to live in Michigan.

Part of that can also be attributed to the booming dining scene. A restaurant like Terra, chic yet unfussy, is probably a good place to start. As its name implies, Terra is a celebration of ingredients, things derived from the earth, using powerful flavors and plating finesse — and pairing it all with in-house cocktails. Phoenicia is another popular eatery in town, taking diners on a culinary trip to the Middle East, with the kind of spice-laden, characterful dishes that typify Lebanese cuisine. Book a table at Hazel's for New England-style lobster rolls and shellfish pots. Or head to Social, a trendy restaurant specializing in new American cuisine, for an early dinner and make use of the 3-6 p.m. happy hour (weekdays only).

On top of the gold-standard cuisine, Birmingham also abounds in shopping boutiques. In the city's pedestrian-friendly shopping district, you'll find custom tailors and bridal outfitters alongside high-end fashion shops like DessiS and boho footwear specialists like Sundance Shoes. Among them are antiques galleries, music shops, home decor stores, furniture design centers, and florists; Birmingham really does cater to shoppers of every stripe.