What's Up With the Holiday Inn on Telegraph?

[gazhekwe]

There is one in San Diego.

[Onthe405]

Grundyke:

Like you, I was fascinated by hotels & hotel designs. I pursued it and worked for Holiday Inns 1977-1987. By '77, the era of the round concept had already been proven an operational nightmare [[among other restrictions were the layout of the rooms). There was a separate division of the company called HSD [[Hotel Services Division) at the headquarters in Memphis that handled all aspects of architectural design, furnishings [[every minute detail from the famous HI towels, wastebaskets, and ashtrays [remember them?], and mini-soaps to the lobby & restaurant furniture and the famous "great sign").

It was very much an era of days gone by when there was one dominate force in a particular industry, and the rest of the competitors were reduced to mom-and-pop also-rans. I guess the nearest equivalent today would be Wal-Mart, but HI was a much less ruthless company [[but so was capitalism in the 60s/70s). At 19 years old, I had a pension plan---paid 100% by the company!

Toward the end of my tenure, I was a hotel openings Operations Project Manager, interfacing with HSD daily, which is why I feel all the more frustrated in not being able to help you more with your research. I changed industries, Holiday Inn was sold to Bass Ale in the 90s and the US headquarters was moved to Atlanta. That, coupled with the 20 year passage of time, has left me devoid of any contacts that I can recall with regard to architects. HSD has long dissolved and HI & the hotel business itself have changed dramatically in the ensuing years. Most of the round hotels are now under different flags, although I don't know specifically of any that have been torn down---just rebranded.

Anecdotally, I can help you out with a few, and there are pics attached. The hotel in Covington was never built as a HI. It was a copycat built by a Quality Inns. There is one HI in Charleston, SC. There are two in California still in operation as HI: San Diego & Long Beach [[in an interesting twist of serendipity, if it weren’t for a tree, the latter would be viewable from my back patio). There is also one in the shadow of the hilltop Getty Museum. Being in Bel-Air, the HI brand was outpaced and out priced several years ago, and it is now [[you guessed it) a "boutique" hotel managed by Joie de Vivre known as the Hotel Angelino. There are others. If I find any leads, I’ll send you a PM.

[Grundyke]

Thank you Onthe405. I knew there were many and I also new most have been rebranded. I was not aware of the one in Covington beeing a copycat though. I appreciate the pictures as well. I vividly remember the towels though that were white and green. I was also aware that the beer company bought them and I believe sold the beer division and stuck with just hotels.

[vetalalumni]

There is one in San Diego.

Yep. Downtown and almost on top of the 5 freeway. Kind of retro looking. Good pics.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie...2.15,,0,-18.75

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie...05681&t=h&z=18

[Onthe405]

I have countless nostalgic memories of those 60s time capsule "beer can" properties, spanning my childhood to the present. The last hotel I opened with HI was the Torrance-Harbor Gateway [[CA) property in 1987. Our temporary pre-opening offices were 2 pie-shaped rooms at HI Long Beach. Our first order of business each day was a breakfast "meeting" at the Panorama restaurant on top. I feel so fortunate to be able to take a leisurely stroll over there to relive decades-old memories at will. Speaking of nostalgia, this was the "great sign" [[a replica from the Smithsonian). My first job was bellman/room service [["porter") at the HI in Troy. I got to raise/lower the flags every day and change the personalized messages on the Great Sign. I was so honored, you'd think I was given the keys to the kingdom.

[devman1983]

Let's start a new thread where Crawford & Danny debate on demographics on the detroit metro region.

[tvaspen]

Lived in Southfield from 1961 to about 1979, a family friend of ours was an owner of that hotel. It was considered a fancy place back in the day. My father's construction company was responsible for a lot of the early homes in Southfield, they are way nicer than the crappy McMansions they throw up today. I grew up off Beech Rd. between 9 & 10 Mile Rd. The southwest area of Southfield, between 8 to 10 Mile, west of Telegraph is real nice, and has some stunning ravine properties. It was a great place to grow up.

[vetalalumni]

...
ya go hotel motel whatcha gonna do today [[say what)
ya say im gonna get a fly girl gonna get some spankin
drive off in a def oj
everybody go, hotel motel holiday inn
say if your girl starts actin up, then you take her friend
...

- Sugarhill Gang, "Rapper's Delight"

[Patrick]

This is the greatest song ever written. Chingy - Holiday Inn [[Ft Snoop Dogg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr2MnZjHpAE

[Intro: Snoop Dogg]
Bomb ass pussy
Ma ooh you got that bomb, know you got it
Ma ooh, you got some bomb ass pussy
Ma I know you got that bomb bomb pussy

[Chorus: Snoop + [[Girl)]
[[Whachu doin?) Nothing chillin at the Holidae In
[[Who you wit?) Me and my peeps won't you bring four of your friends
[[What we gon' do?) Feel on each other and sip on some Hen
One thing leading to another let the party begin

[Chorus: Chingy + [[Girl)]
[[Whachu doin?) Nothing chillin at the Holidae In
[[Who you wit?) Me and my peeps won't you bring four of your friends
[[What we gon' do?) Feel on each other and sip on some Hen
One thing leading to another let the party begin

[Verse 1: Chingy]
Peeps call me up [phone ring] said it's a ho-tel party
Just bring the liquor there's already eight shawties
I'm on my way [[way) let me stop by the store
Get a 12 pack of Corona, plus an ounce of 'dro, ya know?
Now I'm on Highway 2-7 need a natural graze road
I'm already blowed, hit third I'm a be be blowed some mo'
Pulled up, stop parked, rims still spinning
Valet look like he in the game and must be winning
To room 490 I'm headed, on my way up
There's three girls on the elevator like "wassup"
I told em follow me they knew I had it cracking B
One said "ain't you that boy that be on BET?"
"Ya that's me, Ching-a-ling equipped wit much ding-a-ling"
Knock on the door I'm on the scene of things
Busted in, Henny bottle to the face!
Fuck it then, feel like my head a toxic waste
There's some pretty girls in herre, I heard em whispering
Talking bout "that's that dude that sing 'Right Thurr' he glistening"
I ain't come to talk [[talk) I ain't come to sit [[sit)
What I came for was to find out who I'm gon hit, aww shit

[Chorus: Snoop + Chingy]

[Verse 2: Chingy]
Ma showed up like "what's the hold up?"
Man know what get them wraps and roll up
I took a chick in the bathroom seeing what's poppin
You know what's on my mind, shirts off and panties dropping
Niggaz knocking on the door drunk, and silly
The girl said "can I be in yo video" I'm like "yeah!", "oh really?"
Now she naked strip teasing, me I'm just cheesing
She gave me a reason to be a damn heathen
Handled that, told ol' G, bring tha camera
Then I thought about, no footage while I ram her
Walked out the bathroom smiling, cats still whiling
Sharing the next room wit some girls lookin like they from an island

[Chorus: Snoop + Chingy]

[Verse 3: Ludacris]
Stop, drop, KABOOM!, baby rub on ya nipples
Some call me Ludacris, some call me Mr. Wiggles
Far from little, make ya mammary glands giggle
Got 'em under control, the bowl of tender biddles
Doc-tor giggles, I can't stop until it tickles
Just play a little "D" and I'll make ya mouth dribble
Bits and Kibbles, got 'em all after the pickle
I swing it like a bat, but these balls are not whiffle
Hit 'em in triples, wit no strikes, stripes, or whistles
I ain't felt this good, since my wood lived off a thistle
Sippin' some ripple, I got quarters, dimes, and nickels
For shizzle dizzle, I'm on a track with the Big Snoop Dizzle
Let the Henny trickle, down the beat, wit a ghetto tempo
I done blazed the instrumental, laid it plain and simple
Getting brain in the rental, I done did it again
My eyes chinky, I'm wit Chingy, at the Holidae In

[Chorus: Snoop + Chingy]

[Outro: Snoop Dogg]
Yeah, let the party begin, bitch
Ching-a-ling Ling, all the way in St. Louis
My nigga Chingy, Disturbing Tha Peace
Luda, Luda, going hard on you hoes
Yeah bitch, bring four of ya friends
Meet me at the Holidae In
Bring a gang of that Hen, some DSOP
Oh wee, and light that sticky icky
And we gone do the damn thing
Now what I'm talking bout
We gon' disturb the peace right now
Yeah we ain't doing nothing but chillin
We chillin' and nuttin'
Know what I'm talking bout, so push the button
You know what's happenin', fa shizzle, uh huh
Yeah bitch, trying to run from this pimpin'
You can't out run the pimpin' bitch, I done told you

[tahleel]

Southfield HS has an average ACT score of 16 which equals the 20% percentile. For the math-phobic, that means 20 out of 100 do worse and 80 out of 100 do better. That's not a good result no matter what.

An average ACT score of 16 is pretty low. Most major colleges require a minimum of 18 or 20 to even be considered for admissions. That means that more than half of Southfield HS students will not even be considered for any of the local colleges A low ACT score can conclude that the population is NOT college bound. And as we all know, without higher education, it will further slip from middle to lower class.

-Tahleel

[crawford]

Let's start a new thread where Crawford & Danny debate on demographics on the detroit metro region.

Or better yet, you could your head out of your a--, and argue with the Southfield School District on their allegedly "faulty" official demographic data...

Every school district submits annual demographics to federal DOE. Schooldigger is one public database that tabulates results. Don't like it because it doesn't fit your hopes for the metro area? That's your problem to deal with.

[RickBeall]

At the Holiday i-Inn!

[softailrider]

My wife taught for over 20 years at Southfield Lathrup High School. She took an early retirement about 10 years ago. When she was there graduation rate was close to 100%, dropouts were almost unheard of. The vast majority of graduates went on to some form of higher education. Attendance was very closely monitered. I mean the adminstration were Nazi's about truancy. If a student missed a class or didn't show up a call was made to the home. You might be thinking, that can't be true, the adminstration couldnt have time to make all those calls, but, they did. Seems like that really made a difference.

[ziggyselbin]

This is the greatest song ever written. Chingy - Holiday Inn [[Ft Snoop Dogg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr2MnZjHpAE

[Intro: Snoop Dogg]
Bomb ass pussy
Ma ooh you got that bomb, know you got it
Ma ooh, you got some bomb ass pussy
Ma I know you got that bomb bomb pussy

[Chorus: Snoop + [[Girl)]
[[Whachu doin?) Nothing chillin at the Holidae In
[[Who you wit?) Me and my peeps won't you bring four of your friends
[[What we gon' do?) Feel on each other and sip on some Hen
One thing leading to another let the party begin

[Chorus: Chingy + [[Girl)]
[[Whachu doin?) Nothing chillin at the Holidae In
[[Who you wit?) Me and my peeps won't you bring four of your friends
[[What we gon' do?) Feel on each other and sip on some Hen
One thing leading to another let the party begin

[Verse 1: Chingy]
Peeps call me up [phone ring] said it's a ho-tel party
Just bring the liquor there's already eight shawties
I'm on my way [[way) let me stop by the store
Get a 12 pack of Corona, plus an ounce of 'dro, ya know?
Now I'm on Highway 2-7 need a natural graze road
I'm already blowed, hit third I'm a be be blowed some mo'
Pulled up, stop parked, rims still spinning
Valet look like he in the game and must be winning
To room 490 I'm headed, on my way up
There's three girls on the elevator like "wassup"
I told em follow me they knew I had it cracking B
One said "ain't you that boy that be on BET?"
"Ya that's me, Ching-a-ling equipped wit much ding-a-ling"
Knock on the door I'm on the scene of things
Busted in, Henny bottle to the face!
Fuck it then, feel like my head a toxic waste
There's some pretty girls in herre, I heard em whispering
Talking bout "that's that dude that sing 'Right Thurr' he glistening"
I ain't come to talk [[talk) I ain't come to sit [[sit)
What I came for was to find out who I'm gon hit, aww shit

[Chorus: Snoop + Chingy]

[Verse 2: Chingy]
Ma showed up like "what's the hold up?"
Man know what get them wraps and roll up
I took a chick in the bathroom seeing what's poppin
You know what's on my mind, shirts off and panties dropping
Niggaz knocking on the door drunk, and silly
The girl said "can I be in yo video" I'm like "yeah!", "oh really?"
Now she naked strip teasing, me I'm just cheesing
She gave me a reason to be a damn heathen
Handled that, told ol' G, bring tha camera
Then I thought about, no footage while I ram her
Walked out the bathroom smiling, cats still whiling
Sharing the next room wit some girls lookin like they from an island

[Chorus: Snoop + Chingy]

[Verse 3: Ludacris]
Stop, drop, KABOOM!, baby rub on ya nipples
Some call me Ludacris, some call me Mr. Wiggles
Far from little, make ya mammary glands giggle
Got 'em under control, the bowl of tender biddles
Doc-tor giggles, I can't stop until it tickles
Just play a little "D" and I'll make ya mouth dribble
Bits and Kibbles, got 'em all after the pickle
I swing it like a bat, but these balls are not whiffle
Hit 'em in triples, wit no strikes, stripes, or whistles
I ain't felt this good, since my wood lived off a thistle
Sippin' some ripple, I got quarters, dimes, and nickels
For shizzle dizzle, I'm on a track with the Big Snoop Dizzle
Let the Henny trickle, down the beat, wit a ghetto tempo
I done blazed the instrumental, laid it plain and simple
Getting brain in the rental, I done did it again
My eyes chinky, I'm wit Chingy, at the Holidae In

[Chorus: Snoop + Chingy]

[Outro: Snoop Dogg]
Yeah, let the party begin, bitch
Ching-a-ling Ling, all the way in St. Louis
My nigga Chingy, Disturbing Tha Peace
Luda, Luda, going hard on you hoes
Yeah bitch, bring four of ya friends
Meet me at the Holidae In
Bring a gang of that Hen, some DSOP
Oh wee, and light that sticky icky
And we gone do the damn thing
Now what I'm talking bout
We gon' disturb the peace right now
Yeah we ain't doing nothing but chillin
We chillin' and nuttin'
Know what I'm talking bout, so push the button
You know what's happenin', fa shizzle, uh huh
Yeah bitch, trying to run from this pimpin'
You can't out run the pimpin' bitch, I done told you

God help us if this is the best. Perhaps the dumbing down theory has merit after all

[smogboy]

My wife taught for over 20 years at Southfield Lathrup High School. She took an early retirement about 10 years ago. When she was there graduation rate was close to 100%, dropouts were almost unheard of. The vast majority of graduates went on to some form of higher education. Attendance was very closely monitered. I mean the adminstration were Nazi's about truancy. If a student missed a class or didn't show up a call was made to the home. You might be thinking, that can't be true, the adminstration couldnt have time to make all those calls, but, they did. Seems like that really made a difference.

I had friends who went to Lathrup around that time and it's true, they were scared out of their minds to miss a day. Compared to those of us who had a Detroit Public education, Southfield schools were almost collegiate compared to us.

[xphillipjrx]

My wife taught for over 20 years at Southfield Lathrup High School. She took an early retirement about 10 years ago. When she was there graduation rate was close to 100%, dropouts were almost unheard of. The vast majority of graduates went on to some form of higher education. Attendance was very closely monitered. I mean the adminstration were Nazi's about truancy. If a student missed a class or didn't show up a call was made to the home. You might be thinking, that can't be true, the adminstration couldnt have time to make all those calls, but, they did. Seems like that really made a difference.

Southfield High had an absence rule that said a students fails with 9 absences in a semester course or 18 in a year course. There was an automated phone call that went out in the early evening that said something like, "Hello. This is Dan Hogan, Principal of Southfield High School. Your child missed one or more classes today". Kids who skipped school knew to be home to intercept that call.

Southfield Public Schools also sent progress reports at the midpoint of each semester. I knew kids who intercepted every progress report from 6-12th grade. I made some $$ making fake progress reports on our Apple IIe.

An average ACT score of 16 is pretty low. Most major colleges require a minimum of 18 or 20 to even be considered for admissions. That means that more than half of Southfield HS students will not even be considered for any of the local colleges A low ACT score can conclude that the population is NOT college bound. And as we all know, without higher education, it will further slip from middle to lower class.

-Tahleel

I just checked with a former SHS classmate who used to work on the Board of Ed. He said 94% of the 801 June graduates of SHS went on to higher education. My apologies for assuming the numbers today are way lower than in the past.

[softailrider]

Southfield High had an absence rule that said a students fails with 9 absences in a semester course or 18 in a year course. There was an automated phone call that went out in the early evening that said something like, "Hello. This is Dan Hogan, Principal of Southfield High School. Your child missed one or more classes today". Kids who skipped school knew to be home to intercept that call.

Southfield Public Schools also sent progress reports at the midpoint of each semester. I knew kids who intercepted every progress report from 6-12th grade. I made some $$ making fake progress reports on our Apple IIe.



I just checked with a former SHS classmate who used to work on the Board of Ed. He said 94% of the 801 June graduates of SHS went on to higher education. My apologies for assuming the numbers today are way lower than in the past.

I was absolutely NOT refering to automated calls home when a student missed a class. When my wife taught there they didn't have that, there was a person [[ not a secretary ) usually an assistant principal who made the call, and it was during the day, not in the evening. I'm not aware of what the situation is like these days.

[Vic_doucette]

softailrider, plese check your inbox for a private message.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Southfield High had an absence rule that said a students fails with 9 absences in a semester course or 18 in a year course. There was an automated phone call that went out in the early evening that said something like, "Hello. This is Dan Hogan, Principal of Southfield High School. Your child missed one or more classes today". Kids who skipped school knew to be home to intercept that call.

Southfield Public Schools also sent progress reports at the midpoint of each semester. I knew kids who intercepted every progress report from 6-12th grade. I made some $$ making fake progress reports on our Apple IIe.



I just checked with a former SHS classmate who used to work on the Board of Ed. He said 94% of the 801 June graduates of SHS went on to higher education. My apologies for assuming the numbers today are way lower than in the past.

I'm glad someone actually researched this instead of assuming things [[Crawford)

[Dustin89]

Zimm, the building you are talking about started life as the Shiawassee Hotel in the mid-1970s. Shortly thereafeter it became the Sheraton Southfield Hotel. Then a few years down the road after that [[maybe early to mid 1980s), Sheraton took over its competitor, the Michigan Inn on JL Hudson Drive adjacent to Northland. At that time, the hotel became affiliated with the Days Inn brand only at that time it was named the "Days Hotel and Convention Center" which is pretty much just a higher-end Days Inn. It spent the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s with that affiliation. Then sometime in the 1990s [[maybe early-mid 90s) it became the Ramada Southfield Convention Center Hotel and really started to decline. It spent probably a good 10-15 years with this brand and had a number of incidents happen. Most recently after losing its Ramada franchise rights [[maybe some time in 2006 or 2007) it was known at just the Southfield Hotel and Convention Center for a very short time and closed probably towards the end of 2007. I remember sometime around February 2008 it was being auctioned off but don't know what happened with that.

Here's a link to postcard of the hotel with its original name: http://www.playle.com/listing.php?i=RHEAV2026

Thanks for posting this, cmubryan. I am taking a class at OCC's Southfield campus right now and was wondering about the building, too.

I've always loved the Southfield Town Center "golden towers" skyscrapers between the Lodge and Evergreen.

[crawford]

I'm glad someone actually researched this instead of assuming things [[Crawford)

LOL, interesting use of the English language!

With "research" in your world actually meaning hearsay [[I heard from a friend...)

While with my actual sourced data is counted as "assuming things"...

Face it, Southfield is going down the toilet.

Sorry you bought a home, and have to live with the consequences.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

LOL, interesting use of the English language!

With "research" in your world actually meaning hearsay [[I heard from a friend...)

While with my actual sourced data is counted as "assuming things"...

Face it, Southfield is going down the toilet.

Sorry you bought a home, and have to live with the consequences.

Where the f-ck do you live? Utopia?

[R8RBOB]

Where the f-ck do you live? Utopia?

In crawford's Utopia, everyone looks like either Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin and they get their information either from a radio talk show, a tv talk show or a Facebook page. You can't win with this guy. He is going to make up facts just to prove he is a know-it-all.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

In crawford's Utopia, everyone looks like either Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin and they get their information either from a radio talk show, a tv talk show or a Facebook page. You can't win with this guy. He is going to make up facts just to prove he is a know-it-all.

I didn't think I was the only one that sensed that. Freakin guy is a joke and a bad one at that

[crawford]

In crawford's Utopia, everyone looks like either Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin and they get their information either from a radio talk show, a tv talk show or a Facebook page. You can't win with this guy. He is going to make up facts just to prove he is a know-it-all.

Ha, ha.

Gee, if I don't think Southfield is a desirable place to live, I must be a right-wing nut! Yeah, that's it! That makes a ton of sense!

So I guess the thousands of Southfield residents fleeing to Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield are all ignorant right-wing racists! Especially the African Americans!