History on the Move

ith increased tourism interest in Detroit and a push to make the region a destination for conventions and other large events, tour guides have carved out a cottage industry for themselves by showing visitors the best of what the city has to offer.

Calvin Moore, 37, founded Seven Point Two Tours in January of this year after his tour-guide gig with another tour company was eliminated. “Normally when you lose your job, the question people ask is, ‘What’s next?’ But with my job ending, nobody asked me that question. Everybody asked the same question: ‘You’re going to start your own tour company, right?’”

Seven Point Two – it’s a reference to the 7.2 square miles of greater downtown – offers a variety of sightseeing expeditions, by foot or by other means. Moore has a walking tour, a bus tour and a bike tour. There are themed jaunts, including an African-American history tour and a bar tour. But regardless of your mode of transit or subject, the key is to have fun learning about Detroit.

“I’ve got a 316-year-old city as my classroom,” Moore, who has a degree in history education from Rochester College, says. “It’s one thing to give a history lesson, but it’s another thing entirely to give that history lesson while standing in Campus Martius in the heart of downtown Detroit.”

More at seventwotours.com.