QLINE / Stop 2 of 12
QLINE stopCampus Martius
Two platforms, one each way · on Detroit’s main square
The stop on Detroit’s main square, Campus Martius Park: the ice rink, the city’s Christmas tree, the Hudson’s Detroit tower and Capitol Park a few steps away.
Live GPS positions
- Platforms
- two curbside platforms
- District
- Downtown
- From Congress Street
- 5 min
- From Grand Boulevard
- 19 min
- Sponsor in 2017
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
01 / Story
The stop’s story
Campus Martius takes its name from the Latin “Field of Mars”, and after the great fire of 1805 Judge Augustus Woodward made it the center of the rebuilt city. A medallion in the pavement marks the zero point of Detroit’s grid: Seven Mile Road runs seven miles north of here, 8 Mile eight. Today’s park reopened on November 19, 2004, with stages, sculptures and an ice rink modeled on Rockefeller Center’s, only bigger.
In the early 1900s streetcars crowded Campus Martius nose to tail, as the old postcards show. Construction of today’s QLINE officially began right here on July 28, 2014, on the stretch of Woodward between Grand Circus Park and Campus Martius, with Mayor Mike Duggan declaring: “This is history.”
In May 2017, eleven days before opening, one of the new cars made a test run here, with the M-1 Rail badge already on the railings. After the first year the signals at Campus Martius were retimed so the streetcar spends less time at red lights. The stop’s sponsor in 2017 was Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
- The zero point of Detroit’s Mile Roads
- An ice rink and the city’s Christmas tree
- The Hudson’s Detroit tower and Rocket Mortgage’s headquarters
- Capitol Park and Greektown a few minutes away
02 / From the window
What you see from here
Look around: One Campus Martius, finished in 2003, is now Rocket Mortgage’s headquarters, and on the site of the old Hudson’s department store rises the Hudson’s Detroit tower, the second-tallest building in Detroit. The Civil War–era Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument stands on the square, and to the west you can see the trees of Capitol Park, where Michigan’s first state capitol once stood.
03 / Timeline
The stop’s timeline
Woodward’s plan
After the great fire, Judge Augustus Woodward makes Campus Martius the center of the new city.
Compuware’s headquarters opens
One Campus Martius is now Rocket Mortgage’s headquarters.
A park again
Today’s Campus Martius Park opens with its ice rink.
Construction begins
A ceremony on the stretch between Grand Circus Park and Campus Martius.
Test run
Eleven days before opening, a new car makes a test run here.
The stop opens
The QLINE’s first day; the stop is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Retimed signals
After the first year the signals at Campus Martius are optimized.
The streetcar stops here every fifteen minutes, free of charge.
04 / Did you know?
Did you know?
The ice rink was inspired by Rockefeller Center’s in New York, but Detroit’s is bigger.
Every year the city’s official Christmas tree is lit here on the Monday before Thanksgiving.
The name was borrowed from the main square of Marietta, Ohio, the first capital of the Northwest Territory.
A closer look
Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-26
Every fact is sourced. Where sources disagree (the number of stops, the weight of the cars or the construction cost, for example) we follow the primary, official source and say so in the text. The timetable comes from the QLINE’s official GTFS data and live positions from the RTA’s feed.
- QLINE – On the Line ↗
- City of Detroit Open Data – QLine Stops ↗
- QLINE – Plan your ride (archived 2017) ↗
- CBS Detroit, 2014-07-28 – History made as construction starts ↗
- QLINE On The Move – one-year report (archived) ↗
- QLINE station map 2021 (PDF) ↗
- Wikipedia – Campus Martius Park ↗
- Wikipedia – One Campus Martius ↗
- Wikipedia – Hudson’s Detroit ↗
- Wikipedia – Capitol Park Historic District ↗
- Wikipedia – Greektown ↗
05 / Nearby
Places within walking distance
Quarter Detroit places around the stop, with straight-line distances.
2 min walk · 108 mDetroit People MoverEverything about the Detroit People Mover: 13 stations, a live timetable loop on an aerial photo, a virtual ride, a timeline from 1863 to 2027, 19 works of art, technology, ridership, contacts and social media.- 2 min walk · 119 mColumbia TheatreC. Howard Crane's first Detroit theatre and the Kunsky team's first real movie-and-vaudeville house, opened on Monroe Street in 1911: an alley-jumper, and the city's first theatre with a pipe organ.
- 2 min walk · 127 mFamily TheatreA downtown movie house carved out of the 1880 Kirkwood Hotel, open from 1909 to 1973: decades as a busy first-run house, then adult films under a wholesome name, and finally a fire during Deep Throat.
- 2 min walk · 129 mBijou Theatre (Monroe Street)One of Detroit's first nickelodeons opened as the Cent Odeon on Monroe Street in 1906 and hung on until the mid-1970s, one of the longest runs of any downtown theatre.
- 2 min walk · 141 mCasino Theatre (Monroe Street)This tiny Monroe Street nickelodeon is where Detroit first saw motion pictures on a regular basis. Historic Detroit credits John Kunsky with opening it as Michigan's first movie house, and the city's biggest theatre empire grew out of it.
- 3 min walk · 162 mMiles TheatreGriswold Street's 2,000-seat vaudeville house from 1910 to 1927, a rival of the Temple and the Garrick. The Griswold Building that replaced it still stands as The Albert.
3 min walk · 179 mPeople Mover – Cadillac Center stationThe station for Campus Martius and Hudson’s Detroit, home to Pewabic’s greatest historic tile hoard; its ridership grew nearly fivefold in 2024.- 3 min walk · 205 mTheatre RoyaleIt started in 1907 as the Star, a nickelodeon at Monroe and Farmer in Detroit's first theatre district, and was one of John Kunsky's early houses. It had closed by 1922.
- 3 min walk · 213 mPalace Theatre (Monroe Avenue)The last and largest vaudeville house built on Monroe Avenue, opened in 1914: C. Howard Crane called it the acme of his work so far, and with 23 exits it was billed as the safest theater in the world.
Around the stop, from the official QLINE list and the map
- One Campus Martius 1 min
Compuware’s 2003 headquarters, now home to Rocket Mortgage.
- Hudson’s Detroit 3 min
The tower complex on the site of the legendary Hudson’s store; the taller tower is Detroit’s second-tallest building.
- Capitol Park 3 min
A small park where Michigan’s first state capitol once stood, now one of downtown’s liveliest corners.
- Greektown 8 min
The entertainment district on Monroe Street with Greek roots, restaurants and a casino.
- The Belt
A mural-lined downtown alley, one of the QLINE’s official destinations.
06 / Events
Events near the stop
Upcoming events at venues around the stop.
No nearby events in the calendar right now.
All events ↗