Book Tower - Detroit, MI
1926
37 stories
143.9 meters


http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/mi/wayne/postcards/detroit/book.jpg

http://downtownmotown.8k.com/images/CBD%20251_JPG.jpg

http://downtownmotown.8k.com/images/cbdb006_JPG.jpg

I like this building type

Not bad

6/10

8/10

This building is one of my favorite in Detroit. It has an charm about it. And yes, the building is a little grimey, but the owner has been cleaning it up since she bought it.

I give it an 8.5, I would have liked to see it much taller than it is.

these buildings arent really my type, but i gotta admit, its really nice, 8.5;)

8/10

6/10

Looks like a bad imitation of Woolworth, and those exterior staircases really spoil the look.

10
10
10
10
10


Detroit, I love you!


This building is so ugly... in a totally good way!

Hmm i do think this is quite ugly,in a totally wrong way ;)
6.5/10

Nice, too bad those emergency staircases are there... IMO they ruined the whole building. 5.5/10

eh, kind of boring...6/10

5.5/10 they just ruined the building with the exterior staircases

It must be a taste issue, because I think the stairs add to the uniqueness of the building, and don't detract from it at all.

not for me...
4/10

If it's any consolation, those emergency stairs are on the back side of the building. It was the tallest building in Detroit (passing the Hudson's Department Store) until the Penobscot passed it 2 years later. With a little cleaning, and maybe interior fire escapes(:?) it could look as nice as it did in 1926.

BTW, here's a shot featuring the actual front of the building.
http://www.old-detroit.20m.com/modern%20pics/detroit/book%20tower.jpg


Anyway, with time it'll look good, and for its heritage I give it an 8/10.

8/10

the rendering looks amazing (10) but the building not so much

10 ! :) A neoclassical masterpiece !
This is one of my favorite skyscrapers in USA. Detroit has definitively a beautiful skyline (one of the best in North America IMO).

And I love the stairs too, I totally agree with that :

I think the stairs add to the uniqueness of the building, and don't detract from it at all.

I appreciate this bldg for its age and relative height. It's a classic but not my favorite.

In the last pic u can see my apartment... 16th floor of brn bldg on R- the top of the streetlight is blocking half of my living room window :)

7

It needs a major renovation.

9.5/10

Not my type !! 5/10

6/10

8/10. Interesting but reminds me of skyscrapers built 10 years earlier.

8/10

9.

6/10

8.5/10

8.5/10

10

This is a gorgeous building, one of my favourites, theres just so much detail, it looks like someone actualy took their time thinkin it up, not just covering a box with glass, that even a 3 year old could come up with, shame they dont still make them like this one.

.

See www.seedetroit.com and you'll see what I mean...

ahh not bad 6.5

This is my favourite building in Detroit. Too bad it is in such a horrible condition. The people of America should do something to prevent this kind of urban decay from happening. Most of Detroit is in total urban decay and this tower, although old, is one of the better maintained. If only they did the same to the book building attached to it...

Shame on you detroit! For letting your Skyscraper history literally rot away! Fix this one and the other monuments before it is too late...

See www.seedetroit.com and you'll see what I mean...

Uh the Book Tower is occupied and the woman who does own it is actually spending a large sum of money on cleaning it up. It's not cheap, and its not like she has an unlimited amount of money. This building is far from decaying.

http://www.downriverdetroit.net/waynecounty/detroit/downtown/august2005/016.jpg

Beauty old-school building! 9/10.

7/10

8/10 ;)

Nice oldie, but not the best in Detroit. 7,5/10

7.5/10
Conventional wisdom is that Louis Kamper did not fully get the concept of skyscraper design since he concentrated too much on ornament and not enought on the shape. I actually like the slender shape of the tower. It needs a thorough exterior cleaning however.
The first few floors look restored and there is a bar called Bookies at the 1st floor corner with a 1920s gangster theme that it kinda cool (although the fake bullet holes in the window suprised me a little given the city's recent past).

It looks like some of the earlier picture links are broken so here are a few of mine:

1. The Book Tower:
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/DecoJim/DowntownDetroit/booktower01.jpg

2. Book Tower showing that fire escape. The somewhat brutalist structure to the right is Trolley Plaza:
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/DecoJim/DowntownDetroit/booktower03.jpg

3. Interesting detail on the adjacent 13 story Book Building:
http://www.majhost.com/gallery/DecoJim/DowntownDetroit/bookbuilding01.jpg

By the way the three Book brothers planned an 81 story tower on the other side of the Book building that would have been one of the tallest buildings in the world in 1930 (950 feet?) had the Great Depression not struck Detroit a nearly fatal blow.
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/637/281detroit-booktower.jpg

I can only imagine how beautiful this building would be if it ever was cleaned

What a jewel!
It even looks beautiful when it's dirty.
I think this is awesome.

9/10

8/10

We were discussing on the DetroitYes forums whether the fire escape on the Book Tower is the tallest fire escape in the U.S. ("fire escape" meaning an external fire escape attached to a conventional building) At 38 stories, it's a mighty tall escape. Anyone happen to know?

(It's not the tallest in the world... there is at least one taller (55-story) building in Sao Paulo with an external fire escape.)

See this thread for more background: http://atdetroit.net/forum/messages/5/71064.html

7.5/10

7/10

8/10

7/10

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=booktower-detroit-mi-usa

http://www.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2005/03/347507.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/09/BookTowerCaryatids.jpg/757px-BookTowerCaryatids.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/Booktowerdetroit.JPG
wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_Tower)

8,5/10

http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/mi/wayne/postcards/detroit/book.jpg


This tower needs to be repainted in a white colour depicted in this postcard.

6/10

Such a gem hidden behind all that dirt. 8/10

7/10

4/10 Don't like these old buildings :ohno:...

9.0 / 10.0

wow,10

7/10

7/10 :D

7/10

6/10

8/10

8/10

8. Good building. Regards.

8/10

10/10

10/10

Looks weird to me......6/10

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=booktower-detroit-mi-usa

http://www.emporis.com/files/transfer/6/2005/03/347507.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/09/BookTowerCaryatids.jpg/757px-BookTowerCaryatids.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fb/Booktowerdetroit.JPG
wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_Tower)

8,5/10

8/10

7/10

8,5/10