Location of Hary Houdini's death in Detroit?...

[Al Publican]

Did Houdini die in the Temple Hotel or was that where an assailant struck him that led to his death? On what street was the Temple Hotel? What was the date of his death?

[jiminnm]

According to Wikipedia, Houdini died Halloween 1926 in Grace Hospital. It is fairly well know that he died from a ruptured appendix. He was not assaulted. He was apparently unaware of his appendicitis and was struck in the stomach by someone when Houdini claimed that he could withstand any blow.

[rb336]

There's a Temple Hotel on Temple off Wooward. don't know if it's the same one. The incident that led to his death happened in Montreal, but he died in grace hospital in Detroit

[Al Publican]

Where was the Temple Hotel located? Was that hotel his last residence in Detroit or where he offered to be struck in the belly while performing.
Also, I remember a Paul Harvey commentary in which he said Houdini was an accomplished aviator. I'd like to know more about that.

[rb336]

http://houdini.org/death.html

[Gistok]

Grace Hospital was attached to the very beautiful red brick Victorian Gothic Harper Hospital, which was torn down in the late 1970s I believe, to make way for expansion in the DMC.

It was arguably Detroit's most attractive surviving non-eclesiastic 19th century Gothic structure, built in 1884....
http://www.angelfire.com/de2/detroit...alPostCard.jpg

I remember when it was coming down, as to what a pity it was such a beautiful building was being destroyed....

[MidTownMs]

go to: www.google.com type in Harry Houdini. Then Google Temple Hotel Detroit. I am sure you will find more than what you are looking for.

[rb336]

The Garrick was at Griswold & Michigan [[towards Michigan from the Stott Building). Don't know if the building there is a horrible renovation or if it was torn down and something hideous erected in its place

[DetroitPlanner]

Wiki say different: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini

http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/h...ry_houdini.htm

DetNews says he also played the Temple, but that was for a different performance.

http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=138

Google Temple Hotel and you get this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/careyprimeau/3351060216/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37603091@N02/3484955058/

Makes me wonder if the American/Fort Wayne was once the Temple?

[davewindsor]

Did Houdini die in the Temple Hotel or was that where an assailant struck him that led to his death? On what street was the Temple Hotel? What was the date of his death?

The Temple Hotel had nothing to do with Houdini's death. Eyewitness accounts say he was struck multiple times in the abdomen at the Princess Theatre in Montreal. He refused treatment. Several days later, he did his last show at the Garrick Theatre Detroit. After the show, he was taken to Grace Hospital and died.

From Wikopedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Houdini


Harry Houdini died of peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix. Eyewitnesses to an incident at the Princess Theater in Montreal gave rise to speculation that Houdini's death was caused by a McGill University student, J. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered multiple blows to Houdini's abdomen to test Houdini's claim that he was able to take any blow to the body above the waist without injury.^{[citation needed]}
The eyewitnesses, students named Jacques Price and Sam Smilovitz [[sometimes called Jack Price and Sam Smiley), proffered accounts of the incident that generally corroborated one another. The following is Price's description of events:

Houdini was reclining on his couch after his performance, having an art student sketch him. When Whitehead came in and asked if it was true that Houdini could take any blow to the stomach, Houdini replied groggily in the affirmative. In this instance, he was hit three times before Houdini could tighten up his stomach muscles to avoid serious injury. Whitehead reportedly continued hitting Houdini several more times and Houdini acted as though he were in some pain.^[50]

Houdini reportedly stated that if he had had time to prepare himself properly, he would have been in a better position to take the blows.^[51] He had apparently been suffering from appendicitis for several days prior and yet refused medical treatment. His appendix would likely have burst on its own without the trauma.^[52] Although in serious pain, Houdini continued to travel without seeking medical attention.
When Houdini arrived at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, Michigan on October 24, 1926, for what would be his last performance, he had a fever of 104 °F [[40 °C). Despite a diagnosis of acute appendicitis, Houdini took the stage. He was reported to have passed out during the show, but was revived and continued. Afterwards, he was hospitalized at Detroit's Grace Hospital.^[53]
Houdini died of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix at 1:26 p.m. in Room 401 on October 31, aged 52.

[EastsideAl]

Wasn't Houdini staying at the Statler during his final engagement in Detroit? That's what I had always been told. I know he was appearing at the nearby Garrick Theater, which was on Griswold immediately to the south of where the David Stott Building is today.

Here's a site by a woman who claims she is the widow of the first physician to work on him. He was apparently the substitute house doctor at the Statler that day:
http://www.seniorwomen.com/articles/...tzHoudini.html
She also claims that her husband spent some time with him in the hospital before his death.

Detroitfunk had a posting about Houdini's death a few years ago, including a picture of the funeral home where he was laid out before the transport of his body to NYC.
Here it is:
http://www.detroitfunk.com/?p=3370

[Al Publican]

Make that "Temple Theater" not hotel. I screwed up. I was asked by someone off this site about the location of the Temple Theater, not the Masonic Temple. Supposedly the Temple Theater was the site of Houdini's last performance.

[EastsideAl]

His last performance was at the Garrick. The poster for it shows in that Detroitfunk link I posted above.

As DetroitPlanner indicates, he did play the Temple Theater in earlier years though. The Temple was located on Monroe just past Campus Martius immediately to the east of the old Detroit Opera House.

Here is a description of the theater with some pictures, an advertisement for one of Houdini's appearances is at the bottom of the page:
http://www.waterwinterwonderland.com...id=1587&type=5

[Detroitnerd]

His body was embalmed at what is now the Arts Center Music School...

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

Maybe where he died disappeared.

[lilpup]

disappeared when demolished - there used to be a plaque on the hospital wall at the room where he died

reportedly his wife, who used to hold seances on the anniversary of his death because he promised he'd try to contact here if there way any way, held one or two seances in the room in following years

notice that he died on Halloween

[Gistok]

Peritonitis claimed another even more popular performer two months before Houdini...

On August 23, 1926, the day the legendary Michigan Theatre opened up, the world awoke to find that silent screen legend Rudolph Valentino died of Peritonitis at 31 in New York City. Actively mourned by over 40 million people worldwide [[more than any entertainer), his death sent shock waves around the world, the likes of which were likely comparable to the deaths of JFK and Princess Diana.

Theatre owner John Kunsky decided to open the MIchigan Theatre on time, but to keep showing Valentino's THE SHIEK at the nearby Adams Theatre, so that patrons would go see that movie, and then later come over to the newly opened up "over the top" Michigan Theatre.

[jackie5275]

The eyewitnesses, students ...Sam Smilovitz ...

An old relative of Bernie's? LOL

[jcdfde5]

Detroitnerd.. Next to the firehouse? Any proof? Thanks

[beachboy]

Peritonitis claimed another even more popular performer two months before Houdini...Rudolph Valentino...

Peritonitis is a relatively infrequent but potentially fatal disease, with multiple possible causes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peritonitis

Statistics of peritonitis:

http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/p/peritonitis/stats.htm

One of my hs classmates had this disease and nearly died from it. I had a moderate case of bacterial peritonitis in 2006, was able to stay out of hospital [[except for antibiotic IVs as an outpatient), and took 4-5 months to recover at home [[fortunately, able to work part-time). After that experience, it was easier to understand how people died from peritonitis before antibiotics were available.

[Gistok]

Correct Beachboy... evenything from a perforated ulcer to a ruptured appendix is labeled peritonitis... IIRC both Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II suffered from it when they were shot in the abdomen during assassination attempts. Today it is commonly called "going septic"....

[Detroitnerd]

Detroitnerd.. Next to the firehouse? Any proof? Thanks

That building used to be the location for the undertakers of the William R. Hamilton Company, one of Michigan's oldest companies, founded 1855, now based in Birmingham. The firm catered to Detroit's elite, handling the funerals for families with such names as Dow, Stroh, Kresge, Hudson and even Ford — including Henry Ford I and II. But its most enduring fame is due to that bit of "drop-in business."

[Herman Krieger]

I was born in the Grace Hospital in Oct. 1926, shortly before Houdini died there.
www.efn.org/~hkrieger/detroit.htm

[Gistok]

Welcome Herman Krieger... wow... almost your entire history has been wiped out!!

Only one of those buildings that I remember was Webber Hall... later renamed WSU's Mackenzie Hall and demolished in the last 20 years.... sadly one of Midtown's greatest losses... especially the Pewabic tiled lobby.

Also, I see the image from the Farwell Building... sadly the beautiful Tiffany Chandelier in the rotunda lobby was sold off by the former building owner [[Higgins) for circa $150K a number of years back.

[canuck]

I was born in the Grace Hospital in Oct. 1926, shortly before Houdini died there.
www.efn.org/~hkrieger/detroit.htm

Wow mr. Krieger, you've had a nice full life since that day in 1926. Looked at your photo threads and especially the "Churches in America" threads and loved the lot of them. Not only are they cleverly titled but your sense of observation is remarkable. Thanks for the contribution!