The "other" Book Tower

[mikeg19]

I was wondering if anybody had any information or pictures of the proposed 81 story Book Tower. I don't know how far along the plans were to actually build the building but I'm finding it very hard to find anything about it. Anyone have any drawings or renditions of what it was supposed to look like?

[buildingsofdetroit]

There are several postcards. Here are a couple of the ones I have:

Woulda been the tallest of the tall stateside:
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...rds/book81.jpg

Washington Blvd. with the tower on the left:
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...rds/bcwash.jpg

[Gistok]

Wasn't the unbuilt "middle" tower of the 3 planned Fisher Building towers also going to have about 80 stories? Imagine how large a "U" shaped Fisher lobby would have been... buildingsofdetroit do you have any post cards or images of the proposed Fisher complex?

[mikeg19]

Just found this picture of the proposed complex. Makes me wonder about all the unbuilt buildings proposed for downtown. I only imagine what Detroit would look like today had the Great Depression not robbed us of some of these proposed buildings. Does anyone know where to find a listing of proposed but never built buildings downtown?

[wolverine]

If the Fisher was built in entirety, it probably would have joined the shortlist of our nation's most impressive architecture. Just the grand scale of it, not to mention the interior would have been impressive. Had the Book and Fisher been built, they would have been the tallest pre-depression skyscrapers west of New York.

[LeannaM]

Not to sound negative, but had they been built, they may not be around anymore, being so large. Buildings that large are unsustainable in many cities anymore, since few cities have the Downtown office population they once had, and many still don't have large residential populations either.

[mikeg19]

Not to sound negative, but had they been built, they may not be around anymore, being so large. Buildings that large are unsustainable in many cities anymore, since few cities have the Downtown office population they once had, and many still don't have large residential populations either.

Unfortunately I agree with you. If every proposed building had been built in Detroit over the past 100 years, we would have an even bigger glut of abandoned and dilapidated buildings.

I found a link to a great article by John Gallagher from the Free Press back in 1991. It showcases all the proposed but unbuilt buildings from Detroit and gives a detailed description of them and superimposes them into the skyline to actually show what Detroit would look like today had many of them many built. It's pretty impressive. Here's the link.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3674043/Un...ctober-27-1991

[Whitehouse]

Just found this picture of the proposed complex. Makes me wonder about all the unbuilt buildings proposed for downtown. I only imagine what Detroit would look like today had the Great Depression not robbed us of some of these proposed buildings. Does anyone know where to find a listing of proposed but never built buildings downtown?

Oh my... What would the Tea Party movement say....
That looks so damn communist!


Seen this myself. The News paper building in Bucharest, Rumania.

And this is in Moscow. Looks like a spitting image!

Moscow State University, build 1949-1953.

Compare....

[Whitehouse]

A better comparison would be full frontal view. Similarities are striking.

Maybe Communist architecture is underrated. It is without a doubt impressive.