Avenue of Fashion

01 / The story of this place

Make time for these

Between 7 and 8 Mile, Livernois Avenue earns its nickname. From the 1950s into the early 1960s this is where Detroit came to dress up, with B. Siegel's department store, furriers, jewelers and high-end boutiques, until suburban malls lured shoppers away. The street never emptied out the way others did, thanks to the solid neighborhoods around it, and Baker's Keyboard Lounge, open since 1933, kept the music playing. A streetscape rebuild finished in summer 2020 brought wider sidewalks, bike lanes, trees and new lighting. Today it's a strip of independent boutiques, galleries, bakeries and restaurants, with Detroit's oldest continuously operating jazz club at the north end. And yes, locals say "LIV-er-noy."

1. Book a table at Baker's Keyboard Lounge, Detroit's oldest continuously operating jazz club, for live music and soul food.
2. Pick up a slice of cake or a cupcake at Good Cakes and Bakes.
3. Browse African American art at Jo's Gallery, then paint your own portrait at The Felle Gallery.
4. Throw a pot or paint one at Art in Motion Ceramic Studio & Gallery.
5. Try on made-to-measure outerwear at CGB Design Studio, then grab shawarma at Bucharest Grill or dinner and cocktails at LYV.
6. Wander the Tudor streets of Sherwood Forest, just east of Livernois.