Current Exhibitions

After World War II, designer Richard Arbib of the The Henney Motor Company - Packard’s coachbuilder - was tasked with refreshing Packard’s styling. Arbib’s design called for a 1952 Packard convertible to be cut in half horizontally in order to remove a four-inch strip of body to reduce its height in a process known as sectioning. To lengthen the car, Henney drastically extended the rear quarter panels while the windshield was cut and lowered for a sportier look.

This vehicle is the first of six Pan Americans that were built for the show circuit - four of which remain - and belonged to Edward Macauley, head of Packard design in the 1950s.

Detroit-brand diesel engines have powered everything from 18-wheelers to presidential yachts since their founding in 1938. A local institution, it has employed generations of Detroiters and continues to be a leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of diesel engines both on and off the highway. 

See this new exhibition highlighting the company’s start as GM Diesel, its evolution into Detroit Diesel, and celebrates the innovations and contributions of the largest, hardest working engine producer in Motor City history. 

The Bayview Mackinac Race is one of Michigan’s storied summer traditions, drawing thousands of sailors from around the Great Lakes for the annual friendly competition on Lake Huron with a finish at the iconic Mackinac Island.  

Challenge these Waters: A Century of Sailing from Detroit to Mackinac Island, produced in conjunction with Bayview Yacht Club, celebrates the 100th Bayview Mackinac Race Presented by National Fleet Services in July 2024.

Joseph Parent, Detroit’s first recognized brewer, arrived in 1706, just five years after the new French trading post was established. Generations of English, Irish, Belgian, Polish, German and Detroit-born brewers followed, shaping a local scene that thrives to this day. Learn more about the city’s beer barons, neighborhood breweries and beer-drinking customs in Detroit’s Brewing Heritage.

In addition to local brewing legends like Stroh’s, Altes and Goebel, the exhibit explores the smaller breweries that served as neighborhood gathering places and the brewers who played an outsized part in the city’s cultural and political scene.