Attractions
Number 44 | Caberfae Peaks | Cadillac, MI
Ok, so Cadillac is not in southeast Michigan. However, if you live in southeast Michigan, or visit in the winter months, chances are good that you are familiar with destinations “up north.” And Caberfae Peaks is one of our premier “up north” destinations. Located in Cadillac, about 2.5 hours northeast of Detroit, Caberfae Peaks is [...]
Number 40 | Downtown Plymouth Christmas | Plymouth, MI
Every Christmas, downtown Plymouth, Michigan is transformed into a little winter wonderland, complete with an explosion of lights, a park full of Christmas Trees, a nativity scene and even a little house in which children can visit Santa and get him up to speed on their gift wishes. In the video below, I take you [...]
Number 32 | Detroit Institute of Arts | Detroit, MI
Every major metropolitan area has at least one cultural center. Detroit and Southeast Michigan are no exception! One of those cultural centers is along Woodward Avenue near the Detroit Library and Wayne State University in downtown Detroit. The Detroit Institute of Arts has been a downtown destination since 1885. Covering nearly 660,000 square feet of [...]
Number 31 | Paul’s Pipe Shop | Flint, MI
This post was entirely recorded, written and submitted by 500CoolThings reader, Dave Webber of simplData. A Southeast Michigan native, Dave’s ‘claim to fame’ is that he is two people removed from knowing everyone in Southeast Michigan! Recently, I interviewed Dan Spaniola, the son of Paul Spaniola, 6 time world pipe smoking champion and owner of [...]
Number 17 | Urbane Space | Birmingham, MI
Urbane Space is a coworking space in Birmingham, MI located at 1050 N. Adams. It is widely considered one of the epicenters of the Social Media movement in Metro Detroit. It was created and is owned by Eric Brown (@Eric_Urbane). The idea of Urbane Space? To take the best elements of a coffee shop (social, energetic, creative) [...]
Number 15 | #Backchannel | Twitter
Ok, so this Cool Thing is not technically a place you can physically visit. However, if you are in southeast Michigan/metro Detroit and tune into the evening newscasts on WXYZ Channel 7, you will notice a newscaster by the name of Stephen Clark (@SClarkWXYZ). Stephen bumped into Twitter some time ago and frequently uses it [...]
Number 14 | Compuware Arena | Plymouth, MI
Located in Plymouth Township, Michigan, Compuware Arena is how to the Plymouth Whalers, a minor league hockey team with an uncommon record of success. The Whalers can trace their roots back to the 1990–91 Detroit Compuware Ambassadors as an expansion team in the OHL. Since then the franchise has been the Detroit Junior Red Wings and the Detroit [...]
Number 12 | Ford Field | Northville, MI
Ford Field is a green oasis in the middle of downtown Northville, Michigan. It is unique because of its topography – it drops significantly from street level down to field level. Home to one of the coolest Little League fields in America – and I should know, because I played Little League baseball on that field for [...]
Number 11 | Town Square | Northville, MI
Northville, Michigan is a vibrant, upscale suburb of Detroit. It’s where I grew up, went to high school and learned about life. My parents still live there, in the same home on the west side that they bought all the way back in 1970. Located in the very heart of downtown Northville is its’ new [...]
Number 10 | Zingerman’s Deli | Ann Arbor, MI
What can you say about Zingerman’s Deli that hasn’t already been said? It was named by Inc. Magazine as “The Coolest Small Company in America.” It’s hard to top that! But I will add my two cents into this by saying the following: I’ve been going to Zingerman’s Deli for over 20 years, and I [...]
