Fort Shelby Hotel

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name = Doubletree Guest Suites Fort Shelby Hotel

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caption = Fort Shelby as renovations begin
location = 525 West Lafayette Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan
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long_direction = W
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architect = Hobbs + Black Associates Inc., Schmidt, Garden & Martin, Albert Kahn
architecture = Beaux arts
built = 1916, 1927, 2008
added = 1983
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The DoubleTree Guest Suites Fort Shelby Hotel is an historic high-rise hotel in downtown Detroit, Michigan. It was originally named the "Fort Shelby Hotel" when it opened its doors in 1916. In 1951 it was renamed the "Pick Fort Shelby" when it was bought out by the Albert Pick Hotels Company. It stands at the corner of 1st Street and West Lafayette Boulevard. Its address is 525 West Lafayette Boulevard. At a news conference on June 26th, 2007, it was officially announced the renovation by Ann Arbor Architectural firm Hobbs + Black Associates Inc. would commence. It will reopen under the name "Doubletree Guest Suites Fort Shelby" in December of 2008 with 204-room hotel rooms and the upper floors consisting of 67 apartments. This will be the first full-service Hilton brand hotel to operate in the city in 33 years.

The building was constructed in two phases completed in 1916 and 1927 . It stands at 22 stories in height, with one basement floor, for a total of 23. It was designed in the Beaux-Arts architectural style. It incorporates brick and limestone as its main materials.

The original 1916 building was designed by Schmidt, Garden & Martin and the 1927 addition by Albert Kahn .

History

In 1917 a group of investors sought to build an affordable hotel near Fort Street Union Station. They hired Schmidt, Garden & Martin of Chicago to design the building and the 10-story 450 room hotel opened in 1917. The hotel was so successful that in 1926 they broke ground for what was to be the fist of two 450 room expansions, the 27 story Albert Kahn designed addition opened in 1927. However, the Great Depression halted plans for building of the second addition.

In 1951 it was sold to the Albert Pick Hotels chain and renamed the Pick-Fort Shelby. With more business opting for newer suburban hotels and motels the Pick-Fort Shelby struggled with low occupancy throughout the late 1960 and early 1970s. Pick closed the hotel in 1973 and sold the building to three twenty something investors who reopened it as The Shelby Hotel, a hotel/apartment complex geared toward youth in 1974, however, this was short-lived and it soon closed again. For many years, Shelby's, a popular watering hole for workers at the nearby Detroit News and Detroit Free Press remained the only tenant until closing in 1998.RSC & Associates, a real estate investment and development firm, started work on this hotel in the spring of 2007, and plans open it in December 2008.

Facts

* It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
* Another 450-room wing was proposed after the expansion in 1927, but the Great Depression killed this proposal.
* Preliminary preparation for renovation work began in June 2006.
* Preliminary site work consisted of structural evaluations, asbestos clean-up and environmental tests.
* When completed, the hotel will become the DoubleTree Guest Suites - Fort Shelby with 204 suites, an IACC-approved conference center, 66 apartments on the upper half of the building, a full-service restaurant and lounge, fitness center and concierge.
* Like the simultaneous Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel renovation three blocks away, the main ballroom will be restored to its original state.
* The parapet that surrounds the main roof deck rises 3'-6" above the roof.
* Financing for renovation closed in early May 2007, construction work on the hotel started later that month.

References

* [http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=88577&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=1020228&highlight=Historic Downtown Detroit Hotel Landmark To Re-Open In 2008 With $82 Million Restoration and a Doubletree Guest Suites(R) Hotel]

External links

* [http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/DTTLFDT-Doubletree-Guest-Suites-Fort-Shelby-Detroit-Downtown-Michigan/index.do?ctyhocn=DTTLFDT Doubletree Fort Shelby Website]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Detroit,+MI&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=42.329315,-83.0531&spn=0.002249,0.006394 Google Maps location of the Fort Shelby Hotel]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=146960 The Fort Shelby Hotel at Emporis.com]
* [http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=10211 SkyscraperPage.com's Profile on the Fort Shelby Hotel]