Tours of Pewabic will whet your appetite for Detroit’s other vintage architecture. Backtrack from Pewabic along Jefferson to Woodward Avenue, which marks your entrance to the city’s official downtown business district. While this area is still quiet after business hours, it hops during the day with office workers who toil in the banks, insurance companies, and other corporations.

The first stop on any architectural tour is the Wayne County Building on the east end of Cadillac Square, an early example of the Italian Renaissance style in Michigan. Built from 1895 to 1902, it’s one of the oldest buildings in the city. Look up to see its ornamental cornices—they depict “Mad Anthony Wayne” conferring with the Indians.

A few blocks away is the art deco Guardian Building (500 Griswold St., www.guardianbuilding.com), a 40-story, Aztec-inspired local landmark. Friendly guards in the 1929 superstructure are usually pleased to share tidbits about the breathtaking building or point you in the right direction for a self-guided tour of its Pewabic-accented interior.

Several blocks north, the buildings of Woodward Avenue cast a long shadow over Harmonie Park (www.harmoniepark.com). If Woodward’s desolation threatens to overwhelm you, this elegant enclave will restore your hope in the city’s future. New energy has transformed a formerly deserted area into the city’s hottest nightspot. Much of the credit goes to local architectural firm Schervish Vogel Merz, who believed in the area long before anyone else saw a future in its warehouse-style buildings and vintage storefronts. Today, the area is surrounded by pubs, galleries, and airy artists’ lofts.