Historic Detroit

Every building in Detroit has a story — we're here to share it

Book-Cadillac Hotel - Photos

The Book Cadillac front entrance in March 2023

A view at the Book-Cadillac Building (left) from a parking structure on October 15, 2024

The Book Cadillac (Westin) Hotel during sunrise in early 2023

South facade detail

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.

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.

The Odawa (Ottawa) Chief Pontiac

Another influential Detroiter, Robert Navarre, royal notary at Fort Ponchartrain.

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.

A detail shot of one of the lions

Much of the city's hopes for rebirth rests on the Book-Cadillac's success.

One of the ziggarauts of the Book-Cadillac, as seen from the roof of the David Stott Building

The Book-Cadillac and the west side of downtown, as seen from the roof of the Penobscot Building

Book Cadillac Hotel from a distance

A pair of Book ends: The Book-Cadillac Hotel and the Book Tower

The Book-Cadillac at night, from the roof of the Penobscot.

The demolition of the Lafayette Building created never-before-seen views of the Book-Cadillac.

Looking up Shelby Street toward the Book-Cadillac Hotel from the roof of the old Federal Reserve Building.

The Book-Cadillac Hotel and the rest of downtown Detroit, as seen from the roof of the Book Tower

The Book-Cadillac towers over Michigan Avenue.

One of the Book-Cadillac Hotel's ziggarauts, as seen from the hotel's roof, during the renovation of the hotel in 2008.

The re-created balconies of the Book-Cadillac's Grand Ballroom. The re-creation closed the balconies off.

The Book-Cadillac Hotel's modernized interior in 2008.

The Book-Cadillac Hotel, far left, as seen from the top of the Greater Penobscot Building.