Westin Book Cadillac: Grand Opening.

Detroit has another reason to celebrate it's claimed renaissance. The historic Book Cadillac reopened today after $180 million dollar renovation as the Westin Book Cadillac. Scheduled to reopen last Monday, the date was set back until today. The hotel was welcoming the curious to tour the hotel today but I had the opportunity to have a sneak peek last week. The Lieutenant asked if we could go over and do a "police presence" run to make sure there weren't any unwanted nuisances or what-not. I was really excited to check the hotel out after reading about it on the DetroitYes website which showcased a section of photos of the original Book Cadillac as it sat in ruins ready for demolition in early 2001. This is a blip of the hotel's history taken directly from the hotel's website. PLEASE click the following link. It's fascinating to see the photos! When we took our "tour" last week we met with one of the employees who explained that these original photos were borrowed from Henry Ford's family and used by the developers to recreate the details to restore the hotel as close to it's original state as possible!
Road to Renewal

Located at the corner of State Street and Detroit’s Washington Boulevard, once dubbed the Fifth Avenue of the Midwest, the hotel first opened in 1924 as the tallest hotel in the world with 33 floors and 1,136 guestrooms. Presidents, entertainers, major sports celebrities like Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, and many other notables were guests of Book Cadillac.

Designed in the Italian Renaissance style by architect Louis Kamper, the ‘Book” was the top hotel in Detroit for several years hosting conventions, weddings, and many high society social events. The hotel played a role in the 1948 film State of the Union starring Spencer Tracey, Kathryn Hepburn and Angela Lansbury – it was room “2419” where Presidential hopeful, Grant Matthews (Tracy), readied for his speech to Detroit’s business leaders. A nighttime image of the hotel’s marquee is seen in the movie.

The hotel went in a downward tailspin when America was in its economic dilemma in the late 1920s and 1930s. New ownership pumped up the property and the Book Cadillac continued to flourish through the 1940s and early 1960s. However the grand lady of Washington Boulevard fell on hard times again and struggled through ownership changes and was re-flagged a Sheraton and later a Radisson, until the doors closed in 1984 and the hotel was liquidated in 1986.

In 2006, following more than two years of planning, The Ferchill Group of Cleveland, Ohio, worked with Detroit’s economic leadership to devise a financial package to launch the redevelopment plan. A management contract was signed with Starwood Hotels & Resorts to operate the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, and construction began in 2007.

Historic photos reprinted with permission from Images of America: Detroit’s Statler and Book-Cadillac Hotels, by David Kohrman.Now included in the National Register of Historic Places, the Italian Renaissance–style hotel, built by Detroit’s famous Book brothers, was the tallest building in Detroit and the tallest hotel in the world at its completion in 1924.

The thing that most intrigued me was the Venetian Ballroom! I'm going to post my photo followed by one snagged from the DetroitYes website. I'm probably breaking some copyright laws but they can steal mine in exchange if they choose to do so. :)


Here is another picture of the awesome chandelier. It has about 3,000 individual pieces of glass that was handmade in Italy and shipped to the hotel and had to be hung piece by piece. I wish I had what it cost to bring this baby to life! I could probably pay my rent for a couple of years! Heh.

Here is a photo from the DetroitYes website which claims to be a an addition added near the end of the hotel's original heyday which they built a mezzanine level above the original lobby...not sure but I would venture to guess this is the "old" addition and the current newly renovated lobby. You be the judge:


I'll finish off with a few more before and after comparison pictures for your viewing pleasure. I guess I'm sort of a "historical preservation" geek because I find this kind of thing FASCINATING!!






That's enough for now. I have a million things to post about but I just have to find the time to get to it! In my next post: a follow up on a previous post I made about Kid Rock!!