The Venetian Ballroom at the Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008. (SUSAN TUSA/DFP)
Detroit's historic Book Cadillac Hotel is looking more like its old self day by day.
Racing against an Oct. 1 deadline, construction crews this week were setting marble tile, hanging crystal chandeliers and otherwise getting the new Westin Book Cadillac Detroit ready for opening day.
On Tuesday, electrician Al Hardt was painstakingly installing Italian hand-blown glass elements on one of two chandeliers in the hotel's Venetian Ballroom. Artisans created the glass elements in Murano, Italy, the legendary glass-making center near Venice, and each of the ballroom's two chandeliers will contain 450 of the pieces. Hardt and other workers must carefully hang every element by hand.
Elsewhere, most of the guest room floors have all the furniture in, while the ground floor, the last to be finished since work proceeds from the top down, was still largely a construction zone Tuesday. The Westin's sales staff already occupies its office on the third floor, despite the piercing sound of a fire alarm being tested throughout the day.
The Westin reservation system is accepting room bookings for stays beginning Nov. 1. The hotel will open to the public on Oct. 1, but no ceremonies are planned until a black-tie event featuring Grammy winner Michael McDonald on Oct. 25.
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