Motown Museum

[mr_june]

Due to my wife's family reunion, I took my first trip to Detroit. Went to the museum and got a renewed appreciation for what took place there. It made me very proud indeed. Only thing I didn't like was that you don't get to linger and check out the pictures and information printed on the walls due to other scheduled tours.

The tour guide asked the group I was with if anyone ever heard of The Andantes and me and my wife were the only ones who raised a hand. I wished the gift shop had a greater variety of things to buy but it's so small that I understand. That Motown clock on the wall is for sale but when I asked if it was the one that played songs on the hour but they said it didn't. My sister-in law has the song playing clock. Some time ago and I saw it on eBay but balked at a high price it was going for. Shame they don't have that clock in the gift shop or was it ever there?

In the back of my mind, I kept wondering if any of the stars still living including Barry ever get back there for a visit. All in all, I was very glad to finally visit the museum. I found myself also trying to imagine Martha sitting at the reception desk and other stars walking around. Took the Ford Factory tour also. Henry Ford sure had a grip on Detroit [[lol).

[marv2]

Mr. June. In the 90s we had a larger store in New Center in Detroit and up until 2013, The Motown Store in the McNamara Terminal of Detroit Metro Airport. Once the new complex is complete, I am sure the store will much, much larger.

[TomatoTom123]

Nice, mr june. Sounds great. Thanks for sharing

[mr_june]

You are welcome TT and Marv, thanks for that info.

[McMotown]

Mr June, I'm so jealous it's one place I've wanted to visit for years whether I'll make the trip from the UK I don't know. If I ever did maybe Marv could be a tour guide.

[marv2]

Mr June, I'm so jealous it's one place I've wanted to visit for years whether I'll make the trip from the UK I don't know. If I ever did maybe Marv could be a tour guide.

I will if you promise to show me London and Wetherfield where Coronation Street is. LOL!!!!

[funkcity]

My wife and daughter did the tour this morning.
They loved it! No photos allowed indoors. The stories told and the fact that this was where it all happened, were thouroughly entertaining. Their tour guide was excellent they said. Oddly they did not mention the MM expansion and the Ford Theater? I wonder how that's coming along?

[McMotown]

I will if you promise to show me London and Wetherfield where Coronation Street is. LOL!!!!

Marv, really Coronation Street. However if you listen carefully they do play the odd Motown track in The Rovers Return.
Now funkcity's wife and daughter have been.
I'll have to set up some website to send a lost SOUL currently stuck in London to Detroit to see the Motown Museum lol.

[marv2]

Marv, really Coronation Street. However if you listen carefully they do play the odd Motown track in The Rovers Return.
Now funkcity's wife and daughter have been.
I'll have to set up some website to send a lost SOUL currently stuck in London to Detroit to see the Motown Museum lol.

I heard a lot of Motown music on the show especially in the Rovers. Try not to visit in the Winter is my advice! LOL

[RichyP]

Mr June, I'm so jealous it's one place I've wanted to visit for years whether I'll make the trip from the UK I don't know. If I ever did maybe Marv could be a tour guide.

In 1995, we decided to have our last family holiday together, my son and daughter were now in their early twenties, and we were seeing less of each other.
We decided on an epic flydrive to the US, we are from the UK.We flew into Boston, and picked up a Dodge Intrepid I think, and drove out thro' New York State to Buffalo, and crossed into Niagara, We drove on to Toronto and had dinner atop the CN tower.onto Winsor and thro' that tunnel into Detroit. We located the Motown Museum and spent a really enjoyable morning there I don't recall any formality there and we certainly were not rushed the guide was excellent,and took us [[just the four of us)thro the upstairs rooms and demonstrated the accoustics used on one of the Tops tracks when a ceiling tile was pushed up and the mike placed in the void he showed us the home made Coca Cola bottle top percussion instrument used on several hits [[he said)I marvelled, but said nothing, at the toilet where Diana and probably Marvin had taken a Sh**. In the Gift shop I bought a copy of the James Jamerson Story including two cassette tapes, remember those? in the late afternoon we found the Ford museum, which at that time also had a tribute to Motown Tableau. Next day we headed out to Chicago. We went along LSD and located the Original McDonalds, can't remember where that was exactly. I believe we also visited the Milwaukee Brewery, or was that on another trip. We about turned and proceeded south to St Louis Missouri ,that night there was the most spectacular thunderstorm I have ever seen, lightning struck a pole mounted transformer just outside our motel room, and blew it to pieces! next day we continued our journey south to Memphis, and visited Graceland. I cant remember the exact route we followed next, but it took us along the Blue Ridge Parkway and eventually up to New York City we stayed over night just across the river in New Jersey, next day we did Times Square and Empire State, lunched at the Motown Cafe [[ I still have an unopened packaged polo shirt from there, and we paid extra to keep the Motown inscribed glasses) During lunch there appeared to be an impromptu [[probably staged)performance, with a TopsTemps tribute act arriving in a Limo and rushing in and performing a variety of hits, I have to say, very well!. After lunch we did the Twin Towers tour, and onto the Statue of Liberty. finally we drove on up to Boston and returned Home
When all my credit card bills had come in, I was pleasantly surprised to find it had come to just over £5k all in
I recommend it to any UK Motown fan, you can miss out the Graceland experience if you like If you're over 50 go online and get a Days Inn seniors discount card.
Between 95 and 2001 we returned 7 times to the US and have covered nearly 46000 miles driving around USA and Canada. We even went to Motown on Wilshire, nothing to see there, just a corporate plaque on the door.
Please accept my apologies for rambling!!

[marv2]

RichyP great story. I remember spending hours at the Motown Exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum at Greenfield Village in 1995.

[DWSheffer]

In my opinion the "rush" of the tour now is something that has happened in the last few years, as the museum [[I assume!) is getting busier each year. My first visit was in 2012, my latest was last summer. The difference was very evident to me last summer as I too felt very rushed through the tour. I asked if we could "back track" on the tour to take a better look or take a self guided tour, and I was told no I could not, you had to stay with your group. In 2012 I remember lingering in the rooms for some time, long enough to take in the exhibits.
I did, however, take a chance after our tour was over and went back into Studio A, spending 5 minutes there by myself, an awesome experience that I shared with the forum last summer. No one ever came through to tell me to leave, so evidently there weren't any issues with me doing so!
Darin

[woodward]

My experience is very similar. My best recommendation if you are making a trip there to visit the museum, go in the off-season, perhaps October through March. During the summer months they get inundated with tour buses and tour groups coming enmasse and that is why they cannot allow you to linger as such. You have much more freedom and can appreciate it a lot more in the off season. Years ago I had seen some listings of tour groups that came in the summer vacation period and reunion periods and that really clogs up the museum.

[McMotown]

Great story RichyP and wow what a fly drive holiday that was. I'm saving my pennies for the trip, but I've got a feeling I might get debunked and end up going further West to Arizona and Utah
Marv I've been reading Detroit 67 and I can assure you I have no intention of visiting during the winter months lol.

[mr_june]

I did wonder about how it was in the winter time but what reasons are there for not going during that time of the year? I thought about tracking snow and resulting water into the building but there may be something else.

[marv2]

Great story RichyP and wow what a fly drive holiday that was. I'm saving my pennies for the trip, but I've got a feeling I might get debunked and end up going further West to Arizona and Utah
Marv I've been reading Detroit 67 and I can assure you I have no intention of visiting during the winter months lol.

We have Winter in New York, but not quite like we had in Detroit, Toledo, Windsor and most of Canada. Brrrrrr......... LOL!

[marv2]

I did wonder about how it was in the winter time but what reasons are there for not going during that time of the year? I thought about tracking snow and resulting water into the building but there may be something else.

It's just very cold and you can usually expect snow significant enough to affect traveling, airport delays etc. It's why I try not to visit places like Montreal after October.