Ever since Detroit was a mere French missionary outpost, the city's history has been entwined with the story of it's citizens drinking habits. Countless stories have been shared over a pint, and a majority of the city's major moments featured alcohol front and center: the early frontier day's wild revelry, through the bloody freewheeling days of the Purple Gang & National Prohibition, through current-day legends of gumshoe reporters uncovering the Kwame Kilpatrick scandal at booth three of a certain downtown pub.  We'll stop at some of Detroit's oldest, most notorious and most interesting bars, sharing stories along the way- over a few pints, of course.

Grand Trunk Pub, Detroit
 

 Kari M. Smith, M.S. is a certified Architectural Historian and the owner of Preservation Smith Detroit Tour Co., specializing in architectural and historical tours of the city. She holds a BA in History from Loyola University, New Orleans, and an MS in Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan, University. She is a photographer and writer for historicdetroit.org/ and, a writer/presenter of creative nonfiction for the Society for the Study of, Midwest Literature, www.ssml.org/

The details: This is a 3.5 hour tour.  

You may be picked up in Royal Oak @ Gusoline Alley at 3:10PM, Ferndale @ The Imperial at 3:20PM or Detroit @ Eastern Market Shed 2 at 3:50PM – you’ll be prompted at checkout for your choice of pickup location.

You’ll be dropped off where you were picked up at the start of the tour. No passes will be sold at the bus – only online tickets will be accepted.