 
Nip
Member
Username: Nip
Post Number: 102
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.248.90.246
| | Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 5:34 pm: |    |
Has anyone done this tour? If so, could you give me some details, impressions?
Also, I was wondering if PW has any Spanish speaking tour guides. My in-laws are visiting from Spain and don't speak English.
Thanks in advance. |
Pam
Member
Username: Pam
Post Number: 478
Registered: 11-2005
Posted From: 4.229.90.33
| | Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 6:45 pm: | |
I went on it last summer and I really enjoyed it. We started on Jefferson and ended up by Campus Martius so you see a little of everything in between. People mover ride was included in the price of the tour. Bobj who posts here was our guide. He might be able to answer your questions. |
Nip
Member
Username: Nip
Post Number: 103
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.248.90.246
| | Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2006 - 7:40 pm: | |
Thanks for sharing your experience Pam. |
Bobj
Member
Username: Bobj
Post Number: 1124
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Friday, September 15, 2006 - 5:55 am: | |
Hi Nip,
I am one of several Downtown Tour Guides for PW. We start the tour at CM now, go down Woodward to Jefferson/Hart Plaza, Mariners Church/RenCen, up through Cadillac Sq, Greektown/Bricktown over to Harmony Park and the Theatre District. The Stadiums, Grand Circus Park, down to the Financial District and end at the Guardian Bldg.
The tour covers quite a lot in about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, it is a mix of history, architecture, and people, and what's new. This was my fifth year of doing the tour and the most enjoyable. Downtown has improved so much over 5 years it is really hard to remember what it was like 5 or 10 years ago.
Most people seem to enjoy the tour, have a lot of questions, and some take it more than once. It is offered every Saturday until 9/30. The Spanish question I am not sure about, I would call the PW Office. |
Nip
Member
Username: Nip
Post Number: 104
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Friday, September 15, 2006 - 4:45 pm: | |
Thanks for the info Bobj. See you Saturday. |
Bobj
Member
Username: Bobj
Post Number: 1130
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, September 17, 2006 - 8:54 pm: | |
So, did you take the tour?? How did you like it? |
Nip
Member
Username: Nip
Post Number: 105
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 2:27 pm: | |
Yes, I took the downtown tour with my wife and her parents. It was very nice and we all had a great time. Libby was the tour guide and she did a great job. Her husband was unable to attend; apparently they normally give the tour together. All in all, my in-laws walked away with a nice image of Detroit.
If had to make a suggestion regarding this or any other tour provided by Preservation Wayne, it would be to try and find tour guides who can speak other languages, especially the more common ones such as Spanish, French or German. |
Pam
Member
Username: Pam
Post Number: 495
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 2:46 pm: | |
Nip- I believe these folks are all volunteers so I don't know how PW would go about "finding" multi-lingual people. They have to take who comes to them. |
Nip
Member
Username: Nip
Post Number: 106
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 3:18 pm: | |
Pam, I've been on a couple of these tours and am well aware of the fact that these kind people are volunteers. Thank you though for your input, though.
As for my suggestion, perhaps putting an "Ad" somewhere may aid in "finding" bilingual (volunteers) help. Believe it or not, there are people in Metro Detroit who speak languages (other then English) and feel just as passionate about Detroit. |
Thnk2mch
Member
Username: Thnk2mch
Post Number: 368
Registered: 02-2006
| | Posted on Monday, September 18, 2006 - 3:34 pm: | |
Oui Nip, oui |
Detourdetroit
Member
Username: Detourdetroit
Post Number: 248
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - 6:32 pm: | |
Oui oui...great suggestion Nip. I'm glad you liked the tour and apologize for not being able to accommodate your family's spanish language needs. While we don't have a Spanish speaker, we do have a native French speaker who does the downtown tour. |
Bobj
Member
Username: Bobj
Post Number: 1133
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - 8:48 pm: | |
Nip,
Glad you enjoyed it, I had some folks from Brazil on my tour a month or so ago and I believe they would have preferred Portugese to English. I also had a gentleman from Hong Kong last year and I know he only got a bit of what I said. I know his primary language was some dialect of Chinese.
I also do the Cultural Center Tour, this Saturday by the way, come on by. |