The Villages

01 / The story of this place

Make time for these

The Villages are a cluster of east-side neighborhoods along Jefferson Avenue, a few minutes from Belle Isle. Indian Village is the showpiece, with early-1900s mansions on Burns, Iroquois and Seminole, some by Albert Kahn and Louis Kamper, and the former home of Cadillac and Lincoln founder Henry Leland. Next door, West Village packs Queen Anne and Tudor houses, row houses and apartment buildings into about 20 blocks, with cafés and restaurants on Kercheval and Agnes Street. Islandview, named for its view toward Belle Isle, mixes historic homes with urban farms, and the riverside Berry Subdivision is home to the Manoogian Mansion, the mayor's official residence. Along the water, the 1920s apartment towers known as the Gold Coast round out one of Detroit's most diverse, community-minded corners.

1. Get to Sister Pie on Kercheval early for a slice and a cookie for the road.
2. Walk Seminole, Iroquois and Burns in Indian Village, and plan around the Home & Garden Tour on the first Saturday in June.
3. Admire the Gold Coast's apartment towers and the Tudor Revival Frederick K. Stearns House on Jefferson, now a bed and breakfast.
4. Visit the tomb and museum of Blessed Solanus Casey at St. Bonaventure Monastery, and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen's Earthworks Urban Farm nearby.
5. Stop by the Boggs Center, longtime home of activists James and Grace Lee Boggs.
6. Glimpse the mayor's Manoogian Mansion and the UAW's Solidarity House along the riverfront.