Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
The Book Cadillac (Westin) Hotel during sunrise in early 2023
Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
South facade detail
Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
A portrait of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the founder of Detroit - one out of four portraits on the south facade. Some details of note: the six ducks in Cadillac's coat of arms and the interlocking letters "BC" for Book-Cadillac. This hotel was once owned by the Book brothers, who owned much of Washington Boulevard in the 1920s.
Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
A portrait of General Anthony Wayne, with a whimsical "coat of arms" above the figure, featuring three mittens and a moose. General Wayne is holding the treaty in which the British cede all the territory from the Ohio to the Mississippi Rivers to the United States.
Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
The Odawa (Ottawa) Chief Pontiac
Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
Another influential Detroiter, Robert Navarre, royal notary at Fort Ponchartrain.
Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
The lions represents majesty and protection and the open book symbolizes peace and wisdom. Taken together, they express the concept that a wise person knows he or she can find a safe place at the Book-Cadillac Hotel.
Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
A detail shot of one of the lions
Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
Much of the city's hopes for rebirth rests on the Book-Cadillac's success.
Mark Hall for HistoricDetroit.org
One of the ziggarauts of the Book-Cadillac, as seen from the roof of the David Stott Building
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
The Book-Cadillac and the west side of downtown, as seen from the roof of the Penobscot Building
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
Book Cadillac Hotel from a distance
Photo by Helmut Ziewers (www.ziewersphotography.com) of HistoricDetroit.org
A pair of Book ends: The Book-Cadillac Hotel and the Book Tower
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
The Book-Cadillac at night, from the roof of the Penobscot.
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
The demolition of the Lafayette Building created never-before-seen views of the Book-Cadillac.
Mark Hall for HistoricDetroit.org
Looking up Shelby Street toward the Book-Cadillac Hotel from the roof of the old Federal Reserve Building.
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
The Book-Cadillac Hotel and the rest of downtown Detroit, as seen from the roof of the Book Tower
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
The Book-Cadillac towers over Michigan Avenue.
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
One of the Book-Cadillac Hotel's ziggarauts, as seen from the hotel's roof, during the renovation of the hotel in 2008.
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
The re-created balconies of the Book-Cadillac's Grand Ballroom. The re-creation closed the balconies off.
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
The Book-Cadillac Hotel's modernized interior in 2008.
Photo by Dan Austin of HistoricDetroit.org
The Book-Cadillac Hotel, far left, as seen from the top of the Greater Penobscot Building.