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Here’s the thing most “visit the Motown Museum” pages won’t tell you: you can’t. Not right now. Hitsville U.S.A. stopped running tours on January 20, 2026 so the museum could finish the last and biggest phase of its expansion, and it’s aiming to reopen in spring 2027.
That’s a gut punch if you drove in from Ohio for Studio A. It’s also less of a disaster than it sounds. Detroit’s music history was never only in one house on West Grand Boulevard. It’s in a 1934 jazz club on Livernois, an unmarked techno museum on East Grand, a record plant in the Cass Corridor and the streets where Paradise Valley used to be. This guide is the plan for seeing that version of the city now, plus what to know so you’re first in line when Hitsville reopens.
Is the Motown Museum open?
No. The museum’s own booking page says guided tours were available through January 19, 2026, paused starting January 20, and that it’s preparing to reopen in spring 2027. Admission was always by guided tour only (about an hour), so there’s no walk-in workaround. The campus store ran a summer pop-up from June 8 to September 27, 2026, and that’s wrapped too.
What’s being built is big. The museum describes it as a multi-phase, $75 million expansion that grows the campus to 50,000 square feet, with interactive exhibits, a professional recording studio, a performance theater, a café and a bigger shop, all built around the original Hitsville house. The three Motown-era homes next door already became Hitsville NEXT, the museum’s education and programs hub.
Our call: if Motown is the whole reason for your trip, wait for 2027. If you’re in Detroit anyway, drive by 2648 W. Grand Blvd. so you’ve seen the sign, then spend your time on the stops below. Expect construction fencing, and be respectful of the neighbors on a residential street.
Detroit music history stops at a glance
We checked every price, hour and address below against the venue’s own site or listing on October 12, 2026. Things change, so double-check the day before.
| Stop | What you get | Cost (as of Oct 12, 2026) | When | Time needed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motown Museum | Studio A, the control room, Berry Gordy’s upstairs flat | n/a | Closed until reopening (target: spring 2027) | About 1 hr when open | Wait for it |
| Detroit Historical Museum | Motor City Music gallery: gospel to Motown to techno, plus a mixing station | $15 adults, $8 ages 6–12, under 6 free; parking $10 | Wed–Sat 10–5, Sun 1–5 | 1.5–2 hrs | Best rainy-day pick |
| Bebop, Boulevards, and Boomtown tour | Guided walk through Paradise Valley and Black Bottom jazz history | From $57 per person on Viator | Bookable dates vary | 2 hrs 15 min | Best guided option |
| Exhibit 3000 | The world’s first techno museum, inside Submerge | $20 suggested donation ($5 minimum) | By appointment only | About 1 hr | Go if you love electronic music |
| Third Man Records Cass Corridor | Record store, pressing plant you can watch, record booth | Free to browse; booth costs extra | Open daily (check hours) | 45 min | Most fun for the money |
| Baker’s Keyboard Lounge | Live jazz and soul food since 1934 | Varies by show | Check the club calendar | An evening | The must-do |
| Cliff Bell’s | Restored art deco jazz club downtown | Varies by show | Live music nightly | An evening | Best for a date |
Where to see Detroit music history right now
Detroit Historical Museum: Motor City Music
Short answer: this is the closest thing to a Motown Museum substitute that’s open today. The Motor City Music gallery sits next to the Allesee Gallery of Culture and covers a century of Detroit sound, from gospel and Motown to rock, techno and hip-hop. There’s a stage screen playing The Supremes, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin and Bob Seger, a touchscreen trivia game and a mixing station where you can build your own track. It also nods to the venues that are gone now, like the Grande Ballroom and the Flame Show Bar.
Bonus for music fans: through March 14, 2027, the museum is also showing LENI: Looking Through the Lens, a wall of concert photography. Pair them.
The details: 5401 Woodward Ave in Midtown. Open Wednesday through Saturday 10am–5pm and Sunday 1–5pm. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, students, military, first responders and educators, $8 for kids 6–12, and free under 6. Detroit, Hamtramck and Highland Park residents can get a free “Detroiter” membership. The museum lot on Kirby Street is $10. Free-admission dates are worth knowing about: the museum is open late and free on Thursday, October 29, 2026 from 5–8pm.
Check hours and tickets at detroithistorical.org.
Bebop, Boulevards, and Boomtown walking tour
Short answer: the best bookable music tour in Detroit right now, and it covers the history most visitors never hear. Before Motown, Detroit’s Black music scene centered on Paradise Valley and Black Bottom, neighborhoods full of jazz clubs and Black-owned businesses that were cleared by freeway building and “urban renewal.” This Detroit Legacy Tours walk starts at Campus Martius and works through Grand Circus Park, the Madison Avenue theater corridor and the area around Ford Field, which once held many of those clubs.
It runs about 2 hours 15 minutes, caps at six people and covers more than two miles on uneven surfaces, so it isn’t wheelchair accessible. You meet inside the Capital One Café at 511 Woodward Ave and finish near Grand Circus Park, close to parking and the stadiums. Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Book the Bebop, Boulevards, and Boomtown tour on Viator
Want more general history on the same walk? Viator has several downtown history and architecture tours. Our Detroit architecture and history tours guide compares them.
See Detroit history walking tours on Viator
Exhibit 3000 (the techno museum)
Short answer: worth the effort if electronic music is your thing, and nothing else like it exists. Exhibit 3000 calls itself the world’s first techno museum. It’s hidden in an unsigned building at 3000 E. Grand Blvd., the home of Submerge, the Underground Resistance label and the Somewhere in Detroit record shop. The collection traces techno from its Detroit beginnings, with gear and artifacts tied to the music’s pioneers.
The catch: it’s appointment only. Reach out through Submerge’s Exhibit 3000 page well before your trip. Submerge lists a $20 suggested donation with a $5 minimum. Don’t just show up and knock. There’s no sign for a reason.
Third Man Records Cass Corridor
Short answer: the most fun you’ll have at a record store, and it’s a five-minute drive from the Historical Museum. Jack White’s Detroit shop at 441 W. Canfield St. has a working vinyl pressing plant you can watch from a viewing area inside the store, plus a recording booth where you can cut your own short record. It’s free to walk in and browse. The booth costs extra.
Local tip: Canfield is one of the better walking blocks in Midtown, so park once and pair this with lunch nearby before or after the Historical Museum.
Hitsville U.S.A. (from the curb)
Short answer: worth a drive-by photo, not a detour on its own until 2027. Berry Gordy bought the two-family flat at 2648 W. Grand Blvd. in 1959, lived upstairs and turned the ground floor into the studio and headquarters that ran until 1968. The famous sign and picture window are still there. With construction underway behind the house, keep it quick and stay on the public sidewalk.
New Bethel Baptist Church
Aretha Franklin grew up singing at New Bethel, where her father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, was pastor from 1946 to 1979. She recorded her first album there as a teenager, and she lay in repose there in 2018. The church moved into a former movie theater on Linwood in 1961, and that stretch is now C.L. Franklin Boulevard. It’s a working church, not an attraction. Look from outside, or attend a service as a guest and act like one.
Where to hear live jazz and soul tonight
Detroit history you can hear beats history behind glass. Two clubs carry the torch. For the full list, see our guide to Detroit jazz bars.
Baker’s Keyboard Lounge
Short answer: go. This is the stop you’ll still be talking about. Baker’s opened in 1934 at 20510 Livernois Ave. near Eight Mile and bills itself as one of the oldest continuously operating jazz clubs in the country. Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole all played this small room. It reopened in June 2026 after a month of renovations, kept the famous piano-key bar and added more vegetarian and lighter dishes next to the soul food. Weekday happy hour runs 4–7pm.
It’s about 100 seats, so reserve for weekend shows at bakerskeyboardloungedet.com or 313-345-6300.
Cliff Bell’s
Short answer: the best-looking room for jazz downtown, and an easy dinner-and-a-show. Cliff Bell’s at 2030 Park Ave. is a restored 1930s art deco club, named after speakeasy-era owner John Clifford Bell. It sat empty from 1985 until it reopened in 2005, and now has live music seven nights a week. Weeknight sets often have no cover. Weekend and special shows usually do.
A one-day Detroit music history plan
This works Wednesday through Saturday, when the Historical Museum is open all day.
- 10am: Detroit Historical Museum. Motor City Music plus the LENI photo show. Budget two hours.
- Noon: Drive five minutes to Third Man Records on Canfield. Watch the press, cut a record, grab lunch in Midtown.
- 2pm: Short drive to 2648 W. Grand Blvd. for the Hitsville photo.
- Afternoon: Exhibit 3000 if you booked an appointment. Otherwise, rest up.
- Evening: Dinner and live jazz at Baker’s (out on Livernois) or Cliff Bell’s (downtown).
Doing the Bebop tour too? Make it a two-day trip: tour downtown on day one, then the Midtown plan on day two. Our 48-hour Detroit weekend itinerary slots it in.
Where to stay for a music weekend
Stay in Midtown if your plan centers on the Historical Museum, Third Man and the West Grand Boulevard drive. The Inn on Ferry Street is a few blocks from the Historical Museum. Stay downtown if you’re doing the Bebop tour and Cliff Bell’s.
Check rates at The Inn on Ferry Street on Expedia
Compare Midtown Detroit hotels on Expedia
Compare downtown Detroit hotels on Expedia
Music festivals to plan around
Detroit Jazz Festival: free, over Labor Day weekend. In 2026 it ran September 4–7 and moved all three stages to Hart Plaza, with more shows at Wayne State’s Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center. It bills itself as the world’s largest free jazz festival.
Movement: Detroit’s techno festival takes over Hart Plaza on Memorial Day weekend. If Exhibit 3000 makes you a convert, this is your next trip.
Bring the sound home
The Motown Museum shop is closed until reopening, so for now the easiest way to get the catalog on your turntable is a vinyl reissue. If someone on your gift list grew up on Motown, a record is a better gift than a T-shirt.
Check Motown vinyl on Amazon
Check Detroit techno history books on Amazon
Planning a night out around the music? Our Detroit date night guide has the dinner pairings, and these offbeat Detroit experiences fill the rest of the weekend.
