Detroit Architecture

**macmeljim** · July-24-13, 09:17 PM

Is there any information on a hotel John J Barlum may have built at the corner of Farmer and John R. In 1919. R Arthur Bailey was the architect.

**EastsideAl** · July-24-13, 09:51 PM

The hotel at the corner of Farmer and John R was the Dixieland Hotel, which eventually became the infamous Kevin House [[an enormous drug den) by the 60s and 70s.

Here is a link to a picture of it, courtesy of our friend southofbloor. It is misidentified here as being at John R and Woodward, but it was actually at the southeast corner of John R and Farmer.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/southof...1247/lightbox/

**DetroitPlanner** · July-25-13, 08:10 AM

Originally Posted by macmeljim

Is there any information on a hotel John J Barlum may have built at the corner of Farmer and John R. In 1919. R Arthur Bailey was the architect.

Barlum and Bailey?

**Honky Tonk** · July-25-13, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Barlum and Bailey?

Yes. They first started in the hotel architecture business by building large, cloth, tent like structures. Hotel guests were entertained evenings, by being seated around a "ring" in the center of the hotel. There they watched skilled artisans, some with animal acts, perform. As their popularity increased, the "ring" was eventually increased to three. After accumulating enough capitol, they moved on to more conventional brick and mortar structures.

**DetroitPlanner** · July-25-13, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Yes. They first started in the hotel architecture business by building large, cloth, tent like structures. Hotel guests were entertained evenings, by being seated around a "ring" in the center of the hotel. There they watched skilled artisans, some with animal acts, perform. As their popularity increased, the "ring" was eventually increased to three. After accumulating enough capitol, they moved on to more conventional brick and mortar structures.

Gee whiz... these days you have to bake bread or make coffee to be considered an 'artisan'!

**Honky Tonk** · July-25-13, 08:41 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Gee whiz... these days you have to bake bread or make coffee to be considered an 'artisan'!

I have a friend who gave up being a barmaid to become a "drink consultant".

**Eber Brock Ward** · July-25-13, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

Yes. They first started in the hotel architecture business by building large, cloth, tent like structures. Hotel guests were entertained evenings, by being seated around a "ring" in the center of the hotel. There they watched skilled artisans, some with animal acts, perform. As their popularity increased, the "ring" was eventually increased to three. After accumulating enough capitol, they moved on to more conventional brick and mortar structures.

Legitimate LOL. Well done, friend.

**p69rrh51** · July-25-13, 10:57 AM

Bad puns aside Rufus Arthur Bailey was an architect based in Pontiac.

19480 Lowell built in 1925 Palmer Woods Historic District Detroit, MI.

**p69rrh51** · July-25-13, 10:59 AM

Another R. A. Bailey design.

19391 Suffolk built in 1929 Palmer Woods Historic District Detroit, MI.

**p69rrh51** · July-25-13, 11:00 AM

The last R. A. Bailey image I have.

19331 Suffolk built in 1929 Palmer Woods Historic District Detroit, MI.

**p69rrh51** · July-25-13, 11:02 AM

I do have references to a couple large projects for Bailey but nothing indicating an hotel at Farmer & John R.

**motz** · July-25-13, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

The hotel at the corner of Farmer and John R was the Dixieland Hotel, which eventually became the infamous Kevin House [[an enormous drug den) by the 60s and 70s.

I would LOVE a link to more info or something regarding this! I've been reading a lot on local drug culture [[Detroit true crime book the girlfriend got me) and am absolutely fascinated by it and like hearing about the pre-crack days, as that stuff can be REAL interesting.

**gnome** · July-25-13, 01:52 PM

Gypsy Rose Lee liked the Dixieland Hotel enough to remember it in her Autobiography: http://books.google.com/books?id=hJi...tel%22&f=false

**gnome** · July-25-13, 01:55 PM

in 1930 it appears as being a Barlum owned property:

http://books.google.com/books?id=BWI...=0CEAQ6AEwADgK

**DetroitPlanner** · July-25-13, 01:58 PM

It says here that the Barlum Hotel became Cadillac Square apartments. Not located on John R

http://www.newcadillacsquare.com/history.html

**EastsideAl** · July-25-13, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

It says here that the Barlum Hotel became Cadillac Square apartments. Not located on John R

http://www.newcadillacsquare.com/history.html

John J. Barlum built and owned several buildings downtown, including the Dixieland Hotel, the Barlum Tower [[now Cadillac Tower), and the Barlum Hotel [[now the Cadillac Square Apartments).

He was especially involved in the attempt to develop Cadillac Square, which had previously been a wholesale food district [[dating back to its use as the city's central market in the 1800s), into a business and entertainment district. His real estate empire crumbled with the onset of the depression.

**gnome** · July-25-13, 02:20 PM

DP. agreed. I am not saying The Dixieland Hotel was named after Barlum, just that it was owned by them. click on my link, it is only a snippet view from google books, but it shows some of the other concerns owned by Barlum and his brothers.

**EastsideAl** · July-25-13, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by motz

I would LOVE a link to more info or something regarding this! I've been reading a lot on local drug culture [[Detroit true crime book the girlfriend got me) and am absolutely fascinated by it and like hearing about the pre-crack days, as that stuff can be REAL interesting.

I can't find any links, so I can only speak from what I know and remember personally. The Dixieland Hotel was already rather infamous as a place where show people, burlesque performers, musicians, gamblers, and other people of shady or ill repute stayed. Many of them having extended stays or living there.

After it became the Kevin House in the '60s it gained a reputation as a stopping point for single men coming into the city from out of town looking for work or other ways to make money, as well as for the availability of prostitution and drugs. As I remember, it had a big sign advertising rooms from $5 a night.

One infamous incident that made the papers in the '70s was when the Traveler's Aid desk at the old bus station sent some foreign tourists there who were looking for a cheap place to stay. They were harassed, robbed, and generally scared out of their wits.

Not long thereafter the police raided the place. I witnessed part of this raid, which was unbelievable, as drugs and drug paraphernalia - including lots of syringes - rained down from the windows. Some tenants barricaded themselves in their rooms and fires were started, which brought out the fire department with their big ladder trucks. The hotel was left unusable, shuttered and condemned, and stood that way for a few years until it was torn down for - what else? - a surface parking lot. The People Mover was also built cutting across the site.

**motz** · July-25-13, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by EastsideAl

I can't find any links, so I can only speak from what I know and remember personally. The Dixieland Hotel was already rather infamous as a place where show people, burlesque performers, musicians, gamblers, and other people of shady or ill repute stayed. Many of them having extended stays or living there.

After it became the Kevin House in the '60s it gained a reputation as a stopping point for single men coming into the city from out of town looking for work or other ways to make money, as well as for the availability of prostitution and drugs. As I remember, it had a big sign advertising rooms from $5 a night.

One infamous incident that made the papers in the '70s was when the Traveler's Aid desk at the old bus station sent some foreign tourists there who were looking for a cheap place to stay. They were harassed, robbed, and generally scared out of their wits.

Not long thereafter the police raided the place. I witnessed part of this raid, which was unbelievable, as drugs and drug paraphernalia - including lots of syringes - rained down from the windows. Some tenants barricaded themselves in their rooms and fires were started, which brought out the fire department with their big ladder trucks. The hotel was left unusable, shuttered and condemned, and stood that way for a few years until it was torn down for - what else? - a surface parking lot. The People Mover was also built cutting across the site.

That's pretty amazing, thanks for the story! I really wish I could see what it looked like and get some first hand stories of it, but alas this will do. It's really interesting to see how drugs/porn/prostitution just was right up in downtowns business, where as these days any of that type of behavior seems to be farther out from the city center.

**EastsideAl** · July-25-13, 03:09 PM

Yes, there was quite a bit of porn, prostitution, and other assorted sleaze in parts of downtown and nearby areas in the '70s. Which was common in pretty much every American city at that time. And there were even still Burlesque theaters, which had been downtown for decades [[downtown Detroit was certainly not innocent, not even back in the '20s). I was in high school, then working my first little jobs, then starting college at the time, and I was around the downtown area most days from 1971-79, which meant that I got to observe and experience some of it.

**macmeljim** · July-25-13, 09:03 PM

Originally Posted by macmeljim

Is there any information on a hotel John J Barlum may have built at the corner of Farmer and John R. In 1919. R Arthur Bailey was the architect.

The Detroit Free Press on 8/17/1919 states "Dixie Land Tea Room to Have New Home, Hotel for John L Barlum" There is a sketch of the building with the article. It looks nothing like the building referenced in other posts.