Detroit: Eastern Market (July 2017)



Eastern Market - Worth a Trip If You Visit Downtown Detroit 

My spouse and I visited the Eastern Market on a Saturday morning in early July 2017. Spanning over 48 acres, Eastern Market is called the “largest historic urban food market” and the “largest open-air flowerbed market” in the United States. We enjoyed strolling the aisles and buildings (called “sheds”) to view the fresh produce (fruits and vegetables), plants, and seasonal flowers. Around the market area, warehouses offer over 100 specialty businesses focused on meat, fish, wine, coffee, and nuts, as well as an infamous hardware store and a few restaurants/bars. The best day to attend the market is Saturday, when it operates from 6:00 am until 4:00 pm, but it also offers a smaller number of vendors on other select days of the week such as Sundays and Tuesdays (check their website for hours and details). The Tuesday markets offer a health and wellness focus, whereas Sundays feature home goods (art and antiques).

The market is located near Adelaide, Market, Mack, St. Aubin, and Gratiot Streets near the downtown area. We leisurely walked to the market from our downtown hotel, the Doubletree. After exploring the market, we walked to Comerica Field to attend a Tigers game. The market offers several parking lots, parking garage, and street parking, but when we arrived on foot in the late morning, parking was a scarce commodity and it was difficult for cars to maneuver around.
The market district was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Originally called the “Farmer’s Market”, it first opened in 1841 in Cadillac Square downtown and primarily sold hay and wood. Fifty years later, the market moved to its present location, at which time the first sheds were built. Additional sheds were built in 1922 and 1929 as more wholesale distributors and food processors moved into the area. In 1970, stalls were decorated with paintings of produce and livestock, which became the Eastern Market logos. Two sheds (numbers 3 and 5) contain permanent restroom facilities, and a stand-alone facility is located near the market office (in the parking lot beyond Sheds 5).

We enjoyed our time at Eastern Market – the most impressive sight was what seemed like acres of seasonal plants and colorful flowers!







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