Restoring the glory: Downtown hotels are reborn
For generations of Metro Detroiters, the luxurious Book-Cadillac and Pick-Fort Shelby hotels epitomized the elegance and prosperity of downtown Detroit. As the city's fortunes waned, the hotels became sad and empty eyesores.
Now, the promise of rebirth awaits both buildings. In a continuing series, The Detroit News gets an inside look at how these historic structures are being brought back to life.
Book Cadillac Hotel
Originally opened: 1924
Reopened: October 2008 as the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit Hotel and Residences, with 453 rooms, 63 upscale condominiums, three nationally known restaurants (to this year and next), a spa, a sports bar and retail shops.
Cost: $200 million
Videos:
- Former Book Cadillac executive Tony Fuleras shares his memories
- The Westin Book Cadillac opens to the public
- Final touches being put on renovated Westin Book Cadillac
- Book Cadillac building prepares for October opening
- Top floors, condos, lobby lounge under construction at Book Cadillac
- Renovations begin on the 1924 Book Cadillac Hotel
- A tour of private and public spaces of the Book Cadillac
- Detroit Cornice & Slate Co. is restoring hotel's metal work
Photos:
- Book Cadillac unveils reopening plans
- Book Cadillac puts up walls
- Book Cadillac construction May 26
- Book Cadillac construction
- Helicopters lift equipment to Book Cadillac
- Spring cleaning at the Book Cadillac
- Restoration businesses find their niche
Drawings:
Your memories
CyberSurvey: Back in the day
After a two-year, $200 million renovation, the Westin Book Cadillac Detroit is reopening its doors. What do you remember about downtown Detroit's premier hotel in its heyday? Share your memories here.
Party celebrates new Fort Shelby
DETROIT -- In winter 2006, developer Leo Phillips walked amid the crumbling, vandalized ruins of the Fort Shelby hotel and wondered if the historic downtown building could be restored. - 02/27/2009
Detroit hotels' modern twist on history
Judging by the renovations of the historic Doubletree Guest Suites Fort Shelby downtown -- which opened its doors Monday after a $90 million makeover -- and the recently refurbished Westin Book Cadillac Detroit nearby, the definition of historic preservation can be very broad in Detroit. - 12/16/2008
Elegant once again: Ballroom at Doubletree hotel gets classy face-lift
Eleven months ago the Crystal Ballroom inside the former Pick Fort Shelby hotel in downtown Detroit had the same decades-long look of neglect as the rest of the iconic building. - 12/03/2008
Interactive: Tour the Book Cadillac
Take a look at the public floors of the Westin Book Cadillac hotel and explore various rooms using panoramic images. - 10/23/2008
