Detroit’s skyline is about the change again. This time, with a new 600-room hotel where Joe Louis Arena used to be, as av JW Marriott is coming. [Urbanize Detroit]
Immediately, I thought of when I took the Chicago architecture boat tour. This rendering gives me that vibe right away, and I think that’s a good thing. Opening up the lower floors allows the riverfront to be better utilized, and helps connect it.
I remember passing by wedding parties and more; and it looked really cool. Because look, I LOVE Detroit’s riverfront. But as far as constant buzz, with restaurants, activities, residents, and ship activity, there’s notes we could take from them to make ours even better.
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I think the progress we’ve made is great, but there’s way more we could do with activations along the way.
Rendering from land-side for the JW Marriott
This hotel will be directly connected to the largest convention center in the region, Huntington Place. That’ll be a benefit for us getting better (and more) conventions and visitors in town.
There will also be 50,000 square feet of other programming, as a “instant neighborhood” rises tying this, The Residences at Water Square, nearby residential towers, and soon Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park.
Listen to the podcast on YouTube [or Apple Podcasts]
On the most recent edition of the podcast, I was joined by Devon O’Reilly and Norris Howard for a discussion on this project, predictions for the next six months in the city (we think we’re about the hit the accelerator with more money coming on the table), and a spirited discussion on the usefulness (and possibilities!) of the Detroit People Mover.
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Come say hi! We’re throwing a Happy Hour at The Royce Detroit by Grand Circus Park this Thursday, July 11! There’s been so much interest we had to open up more spots.
Stop by from 4p-7p, we’ll be on the second level. Enjoy wine (or your drink of choice) and let’s chat. Learning what you all want to talk about is one of the fun parts of doing this. [Sign up on Eventbrite]
🗳️ Your voice counts! Our annual survey is out, and closes on Sunday. We’d love to hear from you about what you want more of with Daily Detroit. The response has been great (and constructive) and the more, the merrier.
🗞️ What to know
🛢️ Friends of the Rouge are urging Northville’s mayor to investigate a June 21 oil spill at Northville Downs, where up to 85 gallons leaked into the Rouge River. [Detroit News]
Cleanup is ongoing, but FotR have concerns around the ecological impacts on fish and habitat projects. EGLE, who oversees the situation, says they saw no evidence of impacts on the river during recent heavy rains. Northville Downs is being demolished as part of a $300 million, 443 unit development.
🎨 Part of Detroit’s arts scene, created by Olayami Dabls, faces demolition after more than two decades due to structural issues. Located at Grand River and West Grand Boulevard, the building is a landmark part of Dabls African Bead Museum. Dabls has been seeking $400K for repairs and community support to save it; the city says it’s structurally unsound. [ClickOnDetroit] [Metro Times] [GoFundMe]
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🏗️ The Gilbert Family Foundation is moving forward with a modular housing project in Detroit’s North Corktown, despite resident concerns about build quality and costs. Nine parcels were purchased for the initiative, aiming to showcase manufactured housing as a viable, affordable option. [Crain’s Detroit]
Me interviewing Darnell Adams at our studio in TechTown.
We had an in-depth conversation on this with Darnell Adams from the Gilbert Family Foundation on this project back in February, getting into ways to create affordable housing as building and land costs skyrocket. [Daily Detroit podcast]
⚡️ Eminem’s new album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), comes out July 12. Two singles have been released, “Houdini” and “Tobey.” Tobey includes a collab with Big Sean and Babytron. [Billboard] [Pitchfork]
p.s. – I’m looking for someone who has good insight (and is into) the music to talk to on the podcast after the album drops to get into it on the show. Email me, jer – at – dailydetroit – dot – com. 📸 via the MOCAD Cafe Instagram
☕️ The MOCAD Cafe — inside the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit — is reopening this week. This was a great place to enjoy art, get caffeinated, and it was magical on days they opened their big garage door. You’ll find it on Woodward in Detroit’s Midtown. The hours mirror that of the museum. [Instagram] [MOCAD]
🍑 The long-teased Peach Cobbler Factory in downtown Detroit is having their grand opening tomorrow (Saturday). They’ve been doing soft service for awhile, as many restaurants do, to figure out processes and improve things – but this is the start of real operations. [Instagram]
It feels like I’ve seen the sign up at Broadway and Gratiot for forever and a day.
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🪟 A new breakfast window is coming to and old favorite. The Old Shillelagh’s window on Brush in Greektown will be open Wednesdays through Sundays from 8a-2p, serving breakfast bowls, smoothies, and booze. [Freep] [Metro Times]
I love walk-up windows, and the idea they’re going to do a bit of cleaner eating is attractive and kind of unique is a sea of coneys and burgers. It was the walk-up coffee window at Milwaukee Cafe that kept me (and my dog) sane during the pandemic. So I’ll definitely give this a spin.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed what I did here, there are three ways to support.
1) Tell a friend about Daily Detroit! Word of mouth is the number one way people learn about us.
2) Buy us a coffee! One time support is valuable and sends the message that you want more all-local coverage. We also know a lot of people prefer to do a one-time thing.
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3) Our monthly Patreon members get extra benefits like swag and access to our member-only Discord, where we often post ahead of what we post publicly – and you get direct access to ask your questions and share with our community.
I hope you have a great holiday weekend. We’ll be back next week, and I’ll have new episodes of the podcast on Monday.
Voting on finalists open from June 22 through July 20
No description found
What is the barbershop in Metro Detroit? We’ve got our finalists for this year’s Vote 4 The Best category for best barbershop.
Here are this year’s finalists:
Andino’s Barbershop in St. Clair Shores
Bennies Barbershop in Trenton
Chivalry Barber Co. in Royal Oak
The Garage Cuts and Coffee in Plymouth
Walter T’s Grooming Company in Waterford Township
We received more than 16,700 nominations across our 80 Vote 4 The Best categories this year. Each category was then narrowed down to five finalists.
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Click here to view the full list of finalists.
Now that nominations are over, voting on finalists can begin. Voting is open from June 22 through July 20, and you can vote for each category once per day during that time.
Click here to vote for finalists in all 80 categories.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
About the Authors
Derick Hutchinson headshot
Derick Hutchinson
Derick is the Digital Executive Producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.
As part of our 30th anniversary celebration last month, we asked Hour Detroit readers to vote for their favorite covers from the magazine’s history. With all votes tabulated, here are the top 10 Hour Detroit covers, as voted by our loyal readers.
10. May 2022
Our May 2022 cover story by Nolan Bianhi highlighted the rise of Detroit City Football Club. The cover itself, photographed by Sal Rodriguez and featuring DCFC’s rabid Northern Guard Supporters, also birthed the very funny #EdDuckerForever social media trend.
As explained by Editor-In-Chief Kate Walsh in her Editor’s Letter in the June 2022 issue, “When the DCFC fans noticed a fan holding a scarf that said “Ed Ducker Forever,” some were left scratching their heads…Most people figured out that Ed Ducker was born to cover a profanity front and center on our cover, but they didn’t leave it at that. #EdDuckerForever became a thing on Twitter, with DCFC fans and others creating a backstory for this fictional character, including tales of his prowess on the pitch and in the sheets, saving (or dropping) babies, his love of beer, etc.”
Truthfully, the whole incident is symbolic of the overall vibe at any DCFC match. If you’ve never attended one yet, what are you waiting for?
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Another piece of trivia: former Hour Detroit digital editor Christina Clark is among the group of fans — she’s the one with pink hair. Coincidentally, the photo was taken before she joined the magazine.
9. July 2023
Featuring a stunning aerial photograph by William Cunningham, the cover for the July 2023 issue of Hour Detroit just draws you in with its beauty. The cover story by Kate Townley chronicled the many reasons (65, to be exact) why the Great Lakes are so great. Frankly, there are plenty more reasons to add to this already extensive list.
8. April 2024
Like the DCFC cover, the cover for the April 2024 issue, created by Ryan Olbrysh, has an incredible kinetic energy. Based around Detroit hosting the NFL Draft, the “City Guide” cover story explored all of the details any visitor to metro Detroit should know and featured contributions from Bill Dow, Dana White, Juliana Lumaj, Mickey Lyons, and Jack Thomas.
7. May 2020
For the May 2020 issue, Hour Detroit chronicled the impact of COVID-19 on metro Detroit in a nine-page special report by Steve Friess, Amy Haimerl, Joanne C. Gerstner, and Ashley Winn. The cover depicts the Spirit of Detroit monument wearing a mask and hospital scrubs. The poignant image is an original oil painting by Luke Mack for Hour Detroit.
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6. January 2018
Abdul El-Sayed graced the January 2018 cover of Hour Detroit, was profiled by Lou Blouin, and photographed by Matthew LaVere. At that time, he was a 33-year-old Michigan gubernatorial candidate gaining lots of attention for his rising grassroots campaign.
The former director of the Detroit Health Department lost the Democratic nomination to Gretchen Whitmer. However, the man some thought could be the first Muslim governor in the United States now has a chance at becoming the first Muslim person elected to the United States Senate. El-Sayed, now 41, is in a very competitive 2026 Democratic primary race against Rep. Haley Stevens and State Sen. Mallory McMorrow. Primary elections for the open Michigan Senate seat vacated by a retiring Sen. Gary Peters will take place on Aug. 4, with the Democratic and Republican primary winners facing off in the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
5. February 2021
On this cover photographed by Julia Pickett, contributor Steve Friess summed up Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2020 rather perfectly: “A pandemic. An ‘SNL’ parody. A kidnapping plot. And mean tweets from the president. Did anyone have a more bizarre and intense 2020 than ’the woman in Michigan’?” Friess’ cover story on Whitmer explored her 2020 experiences and describing them as “surreal” could be the most apt use of that word ever.
4. January 2024
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell headlined our annual “Detroiters” list in 2024, which highlights the people making unique impacts on metro Detroit. His striking portrait, courtesy of the Detroit Lions, appeared on the cover, with contributor Jim McFarlin detailing the rise of Campbell becoming one of the most beloved Detroit sports figures in recent history.
3. June 2005
Detroit has been very fortunate to have some incredible local news anchors over the years. WDIV-TV’s Carmen Harlan is certainly among the most iconic. A Detroit native, Harlan joined WDIV-TV in 1978 as a general assignment reporter. Three years later, she became an anchor. Paired with Mort Crim, another legendary Detroit news anchor, Harlan continued to serve as anchor until her retirement in 2016. Photographed by Roy Ritchie, Harlan appeared on the cover of Hour Detroit in June 2005 for our “Best of Detroit” issue. In the 2005 edition of our readers’ poll, Harlan won three honors: Best local TV anchor, best TV hairdo (female), and best-looking TV personality.
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2. April 2026
Our latest “City Guide” feature took on the theme of “Hidden Detroit.” In it, we examined lesser-known aspects and treasures in metro Detroit. The cover was of Tintoretto’s “The Dreams of Men,” which is featured in the Detroit Institute of Arts, but it’s in a surprising location. If you’re looking to find out where to spot this gorgeous painting, Jack Thomas and Kate Walsh share its location in their piece appropriately titled “Things You May Have Missed at the Detroit Institute of Arts.”
1. June 2019
The 2019 “Best of Detroit” list served as a tribute to Aretha Franklin, who passed away in Aug. 2018 at age 76. Not only did the “Queen of Soul” win the honor of “Detroit Legend,” but she appeared on the cover via an original oil painting by Kim Frank Fujiwara. (Fujiwara won in the category of “Best Fine Artist.”) Simply put: This is a breathtaking cover. We admire and agree with our readers’ outstanding taste in their choice for the best Hour Detroit cover.
DETROIT – Detroit first responders and several private citizens are being credited with helping rescue a dozen people after multiple sailboats capsized in the Detroit River near Belle Isle during severe weather last week.
The incident occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. on June 10 as a line of thunderstorms moved through southeast Michigan, bringing strong winds to the area.
According to the Detroit Fire Department, crews were dispatched to Belle Isle near the beach following reports of overturned boats and people in the water.
Firefighters, EMS personnel, Engine 27, and Fireboat 2, known as the Sivad Johnson, responded to the scene.
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When crews arrived, they found multiple small sailboats overturned in the river.
Officials said 20 people aboard seven sailboats were involved in the incident.
Twelve people were rescued from the water, while eight others safely returned aboard two boats that remained upright.
Fireboat 2 rescued four people from the water.
The Detroit Police Department Harbormaster rescued two more, while a private boater assisted three people. Another three were brought to safety by a nearby boat club vessel.
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The operator of the sailing group said as many as 26 people were on the water before the storm arrived, with six making it back to shore on their own before rescue efforts began.
Despite the dangerous conditions, no serious injuries were reported. Officials said all rescued individuals declined medical treatment.
Authorities praised the coordinated response among firefighters, police officers, boat club members, and private boaters who assisted during the emergency.
“Be aware of your surroundings,” said Detroit Fire Department Fireboat Operator Daniel Familant. “To be honest, we do make a lot of the saves by the private boaters out there that are fishing or just having a good time, and people were out there screaming, ‘Help, help,’ and there they go, so everyone helps out. It’s an all-hands effort.”
Emergency crews remained on scene until everyone involved was accounted for.
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Officials noted that one member of the Fireboat 2 crew was serving on the vessel for the first time during the rescue operation.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
