11 Fun Facts to Celebrate Michigan's Birthday

Happy 313 Day! Here are a few ways to celebrate Detroit.

  1. You can hang out with penguins at the Polk Penguin Conservation Center, the largest penguinarium in the world, at the Detroit Zoo.
  2. Detroit is the largest city in America to be completely lit with LED streetlights.
  3. The world's only floating post office, the J.W. Westcott II, operates out of Detroit. The J.W. Westcott II delivers mail to ships on the Great Lakes.
  4. Michigan is home to the world's largest exhibit on African-American culture, The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
  5. Though many people think the Coney dog was created in New York's Coney Island, it was actually born in Detroit, though the original creator is still disputed. (Side note: The other great Detroit dispute is where to go for the best Coney. Seriously, the Coney challenge can make or break friendships.)
  6. When Detroit's Belle Isle Park opened in 1884 it was the largest island park in the nation. Belle Isle is bigger than Central Park, and designed by the same person.
  7. Michigan is the only state in the world where you can go fowling.
  8. The Detroit Institute of Arts' collection is among the top six in the United States.
  9. Detroit is the only city in the continental U.S. where you look South to Canada. So, geographically speaking, there is no such thing as being born and raised in South Detroit. (Although we belt the line in Journey's Don't Stop Believin' like it actually exists.)
  10. Eastern Market is the "largest and oldest market of its kind," serving Detroit for more than 170 years. Eastern Market is also the largest open-air flowerbed market in the U.S.
  11. Detroit is the birthplace to a hybrid of the New York and Chicago pizza styles – a square, deep-dish pizza with crispy crust and tomato sauce on top.

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