Parker’s Alley

We strolled down Parker’s Alley with no particular agenda and were taken aback by how flat-out cute it is — a brick pedestrian lane tucked behind the Shinola Hotel that feels more European side street than downtown Detroit shortcut. The bricks themselves are reclaimed, century-old street pavers, and the history under them runs deeper still: the alley is named for Thomas Parker, who acquired this lot in 1809 and became one of Detroit’s first Black landowners, an origin story honored with a plaque installed in 2021. Today it’s lined with curated shops — many of them local and women-owned, from The Lip Bar’s flagship to Bon Bon Bon chocolates and Rebel Nell jewelry — plus a love-locks fence for the romantics.

It’s also quietly one of downtown’s best food-and-drink blocks: The Brakeman throws its garage doors open onto the alley, and a hidden door leads to a very good cocktail bar. We came for photos and left charmed. Pair it with The Belt, the art-covered alley one block over, for downtown’s best back-lane double feature.