You can take a guided tour of spots where ‘8 Mile’ was filmed in Detroit

The experience is being offered by City Tour Detroit and wraps up with a stop at Eminem’s cheeky restaurant Mom’s Spaghetti

Nov 16, 2022 at 2:40 pm

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Screenshot via YouTube

Eminem in 8 Mile.

You don’t have to lose yourself to see all the Detroit spots that were filmed in Eminem’s 8 Mile. You can just go on a guided tour with City Tour Detroit.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the film, loosely based on the rapper’s life, which has inspired a new offering from the Detroit sightseeing company called “8 Mile: The Movie Sites Tour.”

The four-hour bus tour takes participants to several sites frequented by the movie’s main character B-Rabbit (played by Eminem) like the iconic cow head at Ira Wilson and Sons Dairy, the Michigan Theatre parking structure, and locations used for the 8 Mile Mobile Court, Detroit New Stamping, and the Shelter. It also features 8 Mile trivia.

“I’ve wanted to offer this tour for a long time,” said City Tour Detroit owner Karin Risko, who includes 8 Mile as one of her favorite movies. “Visitors on our other Detroit tours often ask about things related to the movie such as Eight Mile Road, various filming locations, and if I personally know Eminem (I don’t).”

Though not featured in the film, the location of the former Hip Hop Shop where Eminem got his start is also a tour stop. The once-popular clothing store and music venue hosted legendary open mic nights back in the day that served as inspiration for the movie’s rap battles. The space is now a recording studio called Bank Rose Productions and a hip-hop media talent agency called CrowdFreak, which are collaborating with City Tour Detroit for the experience.

The tour wraps with a stop at Eminem’s cheeky restaurant Mom’s Spaghetti (named as a nod to lyrics from his song “Lose Yourself”).

The experience costs $65 per person and includes a S’ghetti Sandwich from Mom’s Spaghetti — sans any vomit on your sweater.

City Tour Detroit offers several other experiences including an Underground Railroad tour and a downtown Detroit walking tour. For now, “8 Mile: The Movie Sites Tour” is scheduled for Nov. 20, Nov. 27, and Dec. 17, with additional dates expected for 2023.

More information and tickets are at citytourdetroit.com.

Slideshow

See ‘8 Mile’ people and places 20 years later [PHOTOS]

In the film: The Shelter431 E. Congress St., DetroitThis one is tricky — technically, the Shelter is a very real music venue where Slim Shady actually did get his start rapping early in his career. However, all the scenes for the movie were actually shot in a set built at the Rivertown Warehouse District.

In real life: The Shelter431 E. Congress St., DetroitThe real-life Shelter is still rocking in the basement of the popular Saint Andrew’s Hall venue in Detroit. Both venues made the news earlier this year when the floor of Saint Andrew’s Hall started bending under the weight of fans during a Baby Keem concert, causing the show to be cut short and the city to order the venues to close for months for renovations. They are now back in action.

In the film: 8 Mile Mobile Court20785 Schultes Ave., WarrenThe trailer park Rabbit’s mom lived in was probably the most important location outside of the Shelter in this movie. It’s where Rabbit got into a heated argument with his mom’s boyfriend Greg, and where he was jumped by rival rap group Free World.

In real life: A&L Mobile Home Park20785 Schultes Ave., WarrenToday, the mobile home community is still open on Eight Mile and Ryan. Fun fact: If you look it up on Google Maps, it’s also tagged as “Eminem's Trailer Park.”

In the film: Lil’ TicOne of the film’s plotlines is Rabbit’s road to redemption after choking in the opening battle scene at the Shelter. Rabbit loses to L.T., who in real life was one of Eminem’s close friends, Proof (who the character Future, played by Mekhi Phifer, was based on).

In real life: ProofBesides being one of Slim Shady’s good friends and hype man, he was also a member of the group D12. In 2006, Proof was gunned down after an altercation over a game of pool. Fun fact: In his battle, Lil’ Tic says “L.T., that’s right, cock the heat and shoot ya, I’ll punish Rabbit or obsolete Future.” If you look at the first letter of each word in the last bar, it spells “Proof.”

In the film: New Detroit Stamping950 E. Milwaukee Ave., DetroitIn the movie Rabbit gets a job at fictional New Detroit Stamping. While that company might’ve been created for the movie, it was filmed at the very real New Center Stamping.

Click to View 21 slides

Tags:

Things to Do 8 Mile Eminem Mom's Spaghetti 8 Mile Movie Sites Tour City Tour Detroit

About The Author

Randiah Camille Green

After living in Japan and traveling across Asia, Randiah Camille Green realized Detroit will always be home. And when she says Detroit, she's talking about the hood, not the suburbs. She has bylines in Planet Detroit News , Bridge Detroit , BLAC magazine, and Model D .Her favorite pastimes are meditating on...