Father Marquette National Memorial
Explore Fayette Historic Townsite, a former iron-making town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Explore Fort Wilkins and the Copper Harbor Lighthouses in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to learn about people and events that shaped this region.
Explore the state’s 19th-century logging era at Hartwick Pines Logging Museum.
The museum has exhibits on everything from the CCC's role in planting trees and building roads to its impact on the environment.
The Mann House and its contents illustrate typical family life in the 1880s.
The house is under extensive renovation and is closed to the public. Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia Dent Grant, lived in this Detroit house from 1849 to 1850.
The Michigan Iron Industry Museum is a great place to learn about the history of Michigan's iron industry.
Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park protects and interprets Michigan’s largest known collection of early Native American teachings carved in stone.
The Tawas Point Lighthouse is a fascinating attraction for maritime buffs and an exciting destination for birdwatchers.
This secret network aided thousands of people on their journey to freedom.
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April 02, 2025
Enjoy free admission and special programming on Saturday, April 5, at the Michigan History Museum in Lansing to celebrate the museum’s 2025 special exhibit, Black Bottom Street View.
In partnership with the Black Bottom Archives, the Michigan History Center, an agency of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, is hosting a special exhibit open house from noon to 3 p.m.
Through free-standing, panoramic murals made up of images from 1949-50, the exhibit tells the story of Detroit’s Black Bottom neighborhood before it was razed for freeway construction. Visitors can explore the exhibit and talk to staff of the Black Bottom Archives and Michigan History Museum, as well as listen to oral histories in the gallery. The open house will also include a 1 p.m. panel discussion with Black Bottom Archives staff and former residents about the history of the neighborhood and its legacy in Detroit and contemporary culture.
Named for its dark, fertile soil, Black Bottom became a predominately Black neighborhood after families, who sought better opportunities, traveled to Detroit during the Great Migration, a time period where millions of Black Americans from the south relocated to the north, midwest and west, from about 1916-1970.
Due to segregation, the neighborhood was mostly economically and socially independent. It was home to many Black-owned businesses, such as grocery stores, shops and restaurants, as well as churches, schools and cultural institutions.
Black Bottom was razed for urban renewal and highway construction between the late 1950s and early 1970s and replaced by Lafayette Park and Interstate 375, the Chrysler Freeway.
“The effects of urban renewal can be seen across Michigan,” said Sandra Clark, director of the Michigan History Center. “Lansing and Grand Rapids have similar stories. Hosting Black Bottom Street View at our museum honors the thriving communities that were lost and provides key insight into today’s communities that may guide our future.”
A Michigan historical marker now stands on East Lafayette Street, which was once a part of Black Bottom, in commemoration of the neighborhood.
The Michigan History Museum installs a new exhibit in its temporary gallery space each year. The museum will host Black Bottom Street View through November 2025.
“There are so many untold or little-known stories in Michigan’s rich history,” Clark said. “Our special exhibits allow us to explore more of them and share additional artifacts and images with the public."
Learn more about the museum, hours and visitor information on the Michigan History Center's website.
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