Detroit’s Barlum Hotel at Cadillac Square – 1949

Downtown Detroit, circa 1949. The Barlum Hotel looms over Cadillac Square as buses circle the park and workers head toward the courthouse blocks. The bold wall sign faces Barlum Tower—now Cadillac Tower—built in 1927 during the city’s vertical building boom. This view likely sits a block east of Woodward Avenue, long considered Detroit’s spine. The scene is brisk, noisy, and confident, an everyday moment before the hotel’s later conversion to Cadillac Square Apartments.

Cadillac Square, c.1949: the Barlum Hotel’s sign looms over busy streets and buses. The hotel later became Cadillac Square Apartments, beside today’s Cadillac Tower.

Downtown Detroit, circa 1949. The Barlum Hotel anchors Cadillac Square as traffic curls around the park. The bold rooftop sign faces nearby Barlum Tower—today’s Cadillac Tower—built in 1927, a point of pride in the city’s vertical era. This scene likely captures buses shifting workers between Campus Martius and the courthouse district. The hotel would later be converted to Cadillac Square Apartments. Detroit’s Cadillac Square sits one block east of Woodward Avenue, the city’s historic spine.

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Detroit’s Barlum Hotel at Cadillac Square – 1949

Michael Hardy

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