To spot the Book Tower, just look up for the tall, ornate skyscraper with a distinct green copper roof towering above the cityscape-like a crown watching over Washington Boulevard.
Welcome to the magnificent Book Tower! Take a moment and really soak in the sight-soaring 38 stories into the sky, it’s like Detroit’s own slice of Italian Renaissance style, with a copper-green rooftop that absolutely refuses to be shy. Imagine the year is 1916: Model Ts are growling down the boulevard, and the city is bustling with excitement. Construction workers are busy as bees, laying stone and steel for what will soon become the tallest building in Detroit-at least, until the Penobscot Building showed up with a “me too” two years later!
Now, close your eyes for a second and picture yourself in a Detroit of a different era. The Book Brothers-yes, their name is on the building-had big dreams and owned much of this boulevard. They hired architect Louis Kamper to imagine a structure so grand, so detailed, that even the pigeons would have second thoughts about where to perch! And if you look carefully at the details, you’ll spot intricate carvings-there’s even a secretive cartouche by Corrado Parducci, Detroit’s own legendary sculptor.
For decades, the Book Tower stood as a symbol of prestige. Fancy art galleries, bustling shops, and professional offices filled every nook and cranny. Those grand entryways were once alive with the echo of high heels and laughter, wafting up to businesses on the upper floors. But, as with any great story, there were a few plot twists! By the mid-1970s, things started to get a little dim. The fortunes of Detroit-and of this beautiful tower-took a turn. Mortgages were defaulted on, developers came and went, plans for even taller towers were scuttled by the Great Depression, and at one point, even insurance companies had a go at managing the place. (Honestly, if these walls could talk, I bet they could fill an entire conference room with wild stories.)
Jump forward: the building spent years sitting empty as owners with big dreams and bigger checkbooks circled in and out. The last tenant finally closed shop in 2009, leaving Book Tower a dramatic echo chamber of its former glory. If you had wandered past in those years, you might’ve imagined the faint sounds of old jazz drifting through the boarded-up doors.
But Detroit doesn’t take defeat sitting down, and neither did Book Tower. In 2015, Bedrock-run by Dan Gilbert-swooped in and bought this sleeping giant for a cool $30 million. And then, the real magic began. Over seven years and nearly $400 million in restoration later, voilà! The once-forgotten tower is now a beacon of energy. Step through the doors today and you’ll be bathed in the shimmering light of a three-story art glass rotunda-imagine over 6,000 glass panels and 7,000 sparkling jewels above your head! Hand-painted ceilings, 2,483 polished windows, and 29 elegant caryatids now look proudly out over Detroit’s heart.
The tower now houses apartments, quirky hotel suites, and enough bars and restaurants to make even the Book Brothers do a happy dance. You could have a cocktail on the ballroom’s skylit floor or just bask in the historic splendor. Even Architectural Digest agrees-naming it one of the world’s most beautiful repurposed buildings in 2023!
So go on-give Book Tower a wink. In Detroit, every stone has a story, and this tower’s is one for the ages.
