Delight in Detroit During The Battery Show: Tips for the HipDelight in Detroit During The Battery Show: Tips for the Hip
Here are some Motown sights and experiences within walking distance from the event’s Huntington Place downtown location.
October 4, 2024

This year marks a seismic shift for The Battery Show North America. The focus for this country’s most important battery technology exhibition and conference has moved from Novi’s Suburban Collection Showplace to the more spacious Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall) in downtown Detroit, Oct. 7-10.
Show veterans and newcomers alike with any sense of late-20th-Century urban history might be forgiven for an initial reaction of “Will I be safe?” Detroit Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison in his welcome to Battery Show exhibitors and attendees emphasized Detroit as “a walkable, beautiful, and safe city.” Given the combination of a crisp fall breeze, early October sunshine, and a nicely spruced up downtown, whether you’re in early to set up an exhibit, attend a workshop, or extending your stay to the weekend following the show, there are many Detroit delights to take back with you and inspire a return visit.
Walkable
In between conference sessions or the show floor, attendees are highly encouraged to get outside and experience Detroit’s River Walk, just steps away from Huntington Place. Voted the #1 River Walk in the U.S. in a 2023 poll from USA Today, the three-mile parkway defines he word “enjoyable” as it follows the Detroit River and offers views of our river border with Canada; freighter and pleasure craft traffic; plenty of benches and nature areas along the way: and accessible by strollers, runners, and bikers at the full spectrum of mobility.

Enjoy a jog or leisurely stroll on Detroit’s popular River Walk, just outside Huntington Place. Side note: the Detroit Princess riverboat in the background is still cruising through Oct. 19. Photo credit: Ray Chalmers
Or head east on Jefferson Avenue to experience a number of Detroit icons in person. With Huntington Place at your back and also on the riverfront, the Renaissance Center is a monument to the Detroit downtown renewal push of the late 1970s. Now facing serious redevelopment issues and discussions since General Motors moved the majority of its engineering staff to its Global Technical Center in Warren, the RenCen remains Michigan’s tallest building with a 70-floor Mariott hotel, a number of dining and entertainment venues, and possessing a still-impressive commanding profile of the downtown skyline.
Cross Jefferson Avenue at Woodward and grab a snapshot of the 24-ft.-long and 24-ft.-high Joe Louis Memorial, otherwise known as “The Fist.” Probably the most fun angle for a shot is on your back directly underneath the fist and feeling the gratitude of not having a haymaker dropped on you by the Brown Bomber. The sculpture was commissioned by Sports Illustrated magazine and its dedication plaque reads “A gift from Sports Illustrated to the people of the city of Detroit, the Detroit Institutes of Arts and its Founders Society on the occasion of the Museum’s centennial, 1895-1985.”

No doubt many of the Brown Bomber’s opponents felt they were getting hit by a 5,000-lb fist. Impressive in person. Photo credit: Ray Chalmers
Side note: there is a life-sized statue of Joe Louis in the lobby of Huntington Place.
Art Deco delight
Architecture buffs know well that downtown Detroit is one of the best examples of between-the-wars skyscrapers in the country. If you’ve picked yourself up from your encounter with The Fist, an outstanding example is just a block up on Griswold: the Guardian Building. Built in 1928, the exterior is a bold and eye-pleasing combination of brick, terra cotta, and tile work from Detroit’s own Pewabic Pottery. The real stunner is inside the Griswold Street lobby with Native American style wall cutouts joined by a curved ceiling of Pewabic tile.

Guardian Building interior in Detroit, Michigan on May 24, 2018. Photo credit: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Additional side note: while not walkable from Huntington Place, the National Landmark, still-operating Pewabic studio is located a few miles further up Jefferson Avenue and is open from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Saturday.
History (and beer)
Trade shows can be thirsty work, and if your desires for a memory-making destination as well as a regenerative lager extend beyond Huntington Place or your friendly hotel lounge, may we recommend Tommy’s at 624 3rd Street between Fort and Congress. Its website stays old-school, saying it’s just a short walk from Cobo Hall and extols its mind-blowing burgers, homemade corned beef, and an atmosphere steeped in Detroit history. In fact, if you have 25 minutes to spare, you can schedule a tour of Tommy’s basement. The bar dates back to 1840 and has a tunnel entrance for smuggling liquor from the Detroit River during Prohibition. It was also believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad en route to Canada.

Gateway to Freedom, a monument to the abolitionists and travelers of the Underground Railroad pointing the way to Canada, is one of the many opportunities for contemplation along the River Walk. Photo credit: Ray Chalmers
These are but a few of the highlights your visit to the Motor City offers with some brisk walking. But there’s so much more—from the Eastern Market to the Motown Museum; from the Detroit Institute of Arts to The Henry Ford/Greenfield Village; to the greatest Coney Dogs in the world: To help you find out more, here is a link to Visit Detroit’s ‘An Out-of-Towner’s Guide to the Best of Detroit.’
By all means, consider extending your stay and experience the full spectrum of cuisines, culture, entertainment, and soul-satisfying enjoyment available to you from the hustling-harder sons and daughters of Detroit. It’s definitely a more-than-once kind of thing.
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