Place
Westin Book Cadillac Hotel
Address
1114 Washington Blvd.
Architecture
Neo-Renaissance style by Louis Kamper
History
- Opened in 1924
- Closed in 1984, valuable items sold in a liquidation sale
- Re-opened in 2008 after a $190 million renovation
What’s happening?
The owners of the Westin Book Cadillac downtown just completed a $23 million renovation of the historic hotel. All 453 rooms were gutted and revamped, and the first-floor restaurant space, ballroom and event spaces were remodeled.
This is the first renovation since the hotel opened in 2008, and the hotel’s director of sales and marketing Scott Stinebaugh told Crain’s Detroit Business the work was long overdue.
The Book Cadillac Hotel is named after the three Book brothers who built it and the Cadillac Hotel it replaced almost 100 years ago. The Books were remaking Washington Boulevard and building the Book Building down the street when they decided to build a world-class hotel.
They commissioned Detroit architect Louis Kamper to design the hotel, one of the most recognizable in the city. The style is neo-Renaissance with its Corinthian pilasters and sculptures of famous figures from Detroit’s history.
The hotel opened in 1924, and its struggles began soon after. The Book brothers lost the hotel to foreclosure during the Great Depression. That would be the first in a string of ownership changes over the years, several caused by loan defaults. It closed in 1984, and most of its valuables were sold off in a liquidation.
In 2008, the hotel reopened after the Cleveland-based Ferchill Group completed a $190 million renovation. Ferchill couldn’t keep up with debt obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic and sold it to Oxford Capital Group LLC. The Chicago-based hotel developer just completed the latest renovation. Marriot’s Westin brand operates the hotel.
Read more about the Westin Book Cadillac’s history at HistoricDetroit.org.
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