Westin Book Cadillac Hotel - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

The Book-Cadillac was Detroit's tallest building, and the tallest hotel in the world, when it opened in 1924. The bar and coffee shop played court to Detroit's notorious Purple Gang, whose leader Abe Bernstein maintained residence on the top floor until his death in 1968. On May 2, 1939, New York Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig collapsed on the hotel's grand staircase. Gehrig, who would later be diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, decided to sit-out that afternoon's game against the Detroit Tigers, ending his consecutive games played streak. The 1947 Frank Capra movie State of the Union featured scenes that were filmed at the hotel. Scenes in the 1973 cult movie Detroit 9000 were shot at the hotel. The HGTV show House Hunters aired an episode entitled "Settling Down in Detroit" in which a couple searches for a historic home in Detroit. They end up choosing one of the newly restored condos in the hotel. Michael Symon, who has appeared on four Food Network/Cooking Channel shows as a host and a judge, owns and operates the Roast restaurant at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit. He has hosted the shows Food Feuds and Cook like an Iron Chef.