All eventsConcerts, festivals and markets, tonight and this weekend
Annual festivalsJazz, techno, cars and parades: Michigan’s year, festival by festival
Holidays & seasonsPumpkin season, Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, the Fourth
Sports: games & scoresLions, Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers: live scores and trophies
ItinerariesReady-made day plans, stop by stop
Places to exploreMuseums, parks, neighborhoods and icons
Free museum daysFlip the calendar: when museums let you in for free
Metro Detroit mapWhat Metro Detroit is, and what every town is about
The Henry FordRosa Parks’ bus, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Factory
RenCen: live trackerThe Renaissance Center’s past, present and future, up to the minute
Gordie Howe BridgeThe new bridge to Canada: live waits, tolls, and yes, you can walk it
ToursBy boat, by bike or on foot, with a local guide
Escape roomsOne hour, one lock and your crew
Plan a meetingVenues, hotels and what’s on in town on your dates
Detroit A–ZFrom limos to chambers of commerce: every business and service in one place
ShoppingDetroit-made brands, markets and shopping streets
Detroit with kidsZoo, science center and rainy-day ideas
Motor City cultureFactories, museums and car events
Wellness & rechargeA riverside sauna, spas, yoga and running trails
TransitBuses, trains and ferries with live departures
Driving in MichiganLicenses, rental cars, the rules and the yellow school bus
Lanes and left exitsKeep right? Here people pass on the right and exit on the left
Road work and potholesOrange barrels, detours, 45 mph: driving Michigan’s work zones
Mile roads: mile zero and 8 MileWhere the city counts from, and which Mile you’re standing on
People MoverThe free elevated loop above downtown
QLINE streetcarThe free streetcar on Woodward Avenue
DTW airportRed or blue terminal? We’ll show you.Your license in MichiganRental carsSpeed limitsMiles, gallons, MPGThe Michigan left and the rulesSchool busesTraffic lights, a Detroit inventionPulled over by policeDrinking and drivingWinter drivingWildlife on the roadGas and parking
Metro Detroit Oakland County City
County seat, old GM town and the Silverdome's memory at the north end of Woodward
01 / Why it matters
Pontiac sits at the north end of Woodward Avenue and has been the Oakland County seat since 1820. Settlers staked their claim in 1818 where the old Saginaw Trail crossed the Clinton River. The river powered mills, the mills made way for carriage works, and the carriage works made way for cars.
For most of the 20th century this was a General Motors town: the Oakland Motor Car Company started here in 1907, and the Pontiac brand, launched in 1926, took the city's name. The plants closed one by one between 1987 and 2009, the city went through some hard decades, and from 2009 to 2013 a state-appointed emergency manager ran its finances.
Sports fans know Pontiac for the Silverdome. The Lions played there from 1975 to 2001, it hosted Super Bowl XVI in 1982, and in 1994 it staged the first World Cup matches ever played indoors. The stadium came down in 2017 and 2018. These days downtown fills up for shows at the Crofoot and the restored Flagstar Strand Theatre, while engines roar on the M1 Concourse track along Woodward.
02 / Known for
Oakland County seat since 1820
Namesake of the Pontiac car brand, launched by GM in 1926; the last Pontiac rolled off the line in January 2010
The Pontiac Silverdome, home of the Detroit Lions from 1975 to 2001 and site of Super Bowl XVI in 1982
The first World Cup soccer matches ever played indoors, in 1994
Pope John Paul II's Mass at the Silverdome on September 18, 1987, with a reported crowd of 93,682
Part of the Woodward Dream Cruise, the summer parade of classic cars that rolls up Woodward all the way to Pontiac
03 / What’s on
Oct 11, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
Oct 11, 2026, 4:00 PMM1 Concourse · EMMEET Octoberfest takes over M1 Concourse in Pontiac on Sunday, October 11, starting at 4 p.m., billed as Michigan's biggest season closer with 1,000+ cars and 700+ sportbikes. Food options are on the menu too, and you pay at the gate.
Oct 13, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
Oct 14, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
Oct 15, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
Oct 16, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
Oct 16, 2026, 6:00 PMM1 Concourse · M1 Concourse hosts Uncork for a Cure on Friday, October 16, at 6 p.m. at M1 Concourse in Pontiac. Award-winning chefs, sommeliers, and wine pros meet classic cars, art, fashion, and music; tickets required.
Oct 17, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
Oct 18, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
Oct 20, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
Oct 21, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
Oct 22, 2026Erebus Haunted Attraction · Pontiac's long-running Erebus haunted attraction is back with its Primordium storyline at 18 South Perry St., open October 1–4, 7–11, 13–18 and 20–31, plus November 1, 6 and 7. Tickets are sold by date on the official Erebus calendar, $25–$42 depending on the night.
04 / Places
Epiphany Studios770 Orchard Lake Rd, Pontiac, MI 48341
Erebus Escape34 Oakland Ave, Pontiac, MI 48342
M1 Concourse45399 Woodward Ave, Pontiac, MI 48341
Closed – archive entryLiberty Bar85 N Saginaw St, Pontiac, MI 4834205 / What to do
Opened March 3, 1921, with almost 1,200 seats. It went dark in the late 1970s and reopened after a restoration on December 1, 2016; today it books comedy, concerts and classic movie nights.
Official site ↗Pontiac's best-known music venue on South Saginaw Street: besides the big Crofoot Ballroom, the smaller Pike Room and Vernors Room host shows too.
Official site ↗An 87-acre motorsports playground on Woodward with a 1.5-mile performance track, an off-road course and a drag strip. It also hosts public events such as the American Speed Festival.
Official site ↗06 / History
The first European-American settlers arrive where the Saginaw Trail crosses the Clinton River.
Pontiac becomes the seat of Oakland County.
The village, organized in 1837, becomes a city.
GM introduces the Pontiac brand, which outsells its parent make, Oakland, within months.
The Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium, later the Silverdome, opens under its air-supported roof.
Demolition of the Silverdome starts with explosives in December; the last wall falls in March 2018. Amazon has since built a distribution center on the site.
07 / Born here
Jack Kevorkianpathologist, right-to-die activist · 1928
Mike Henryvoice actor, writer, producer · 1965
Elvin Jonesjazz drummer, bandleader · 1927
Laura Innesactress, television director · 1957
Gary Peterspolitician, former naval officer · 1958
Geri Allenjazz pianist, composer, educator · 1957
Brent W. Jett Jr.astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot · 195808 / People
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Pontiac city).
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: +0.8 percent.
