Hotel tear-down in Hazel Park

[Stosh]

Google streetview must be VERY up to date! There's even yellow tape surrounding the building with West 9 mile closed off. Must be the early stages of demolition. The windows haven't been knocked out yet.


And in keeping up a tradition, no one respects those tapes...

Boy. You are so far off base that you are standing in the bleachers.

[wolverine]

. . .speaking of glass curtains. It’s interesting that this half-demolished hotel in Hazel Park oddly resembles a parcel of some of the priciest real estate in the country-----this monstrosity in Century City. There is a substantial grade from Avenue of the Stars [[fountain in the median) down to the twin towers. Yamasaki’s original design [[which stood until 2002) featured an open, multi-level pedestrian shopping plaza, flanked by the Shubert Theatre and the ABC Entertainment Center on either side.

The vista from both sides of the street was incredible---a sweeping view of the towers against the backdrop of the Hollywood Hills.

All of this was torn out, and this harsh wall of steel and glass was slapped up, obliterating the view. The insulting arrogance of this design is that the hole in the middle is supposed to represent some type of aesthetic compromise. Indeed.

The only thing I like about that building is the incredibly beautiful lobby. I was quite impressed with it....but the rest...yeah I agree

[wolverine]

Google streetview must be VERY up to date! There's even yellow tape surrounding the building with West 9 mile closed off. Must be the early stages of demolition. The windows haven't been knocked out yet.


And in keeping up a tradition, no one respects those tapes...

Read what you wrote very slowly. Then read it again a few more times. Study the picture. Then report back to us

[Stosh]

I can peg the barrel photo to the day, almost the hour.

July 16th 2009, about 12 to 1 PM EST.

[wolverine]

FYI, I meant that quote for Whitehouse. Awesome timing of the scene though stosh

[lizaanne]

I can peg the barrel photo to the day, almost the hour.

July 16th 2009, about 12 to 1 PM EST.

I figured right on the time of year/event - but how are you thinking you can be quite so accurate? I must be missing something.

The photos have nothing to do with the demo of the building.

~Liza

[factoryrat]

Time of day could be figured by looking at the shadows but how do you know it's the 16th? Could it not be the 16th or possibly up to a few days after the 16th?

[Stosh]

I figured right on the time of year/event - but how are you thinking you can be quite so accurate? I must be missing something.

The photos have nothing to do with the demo of the building.

~Liza

In the background of the photo is this:



Which of course is the demo of the 9 Mile bridge the day after the tanker truck accident. The jackhammer crane that was working the site above was done the day after with the bridge demo. The jackhammer is halfway out into the freeway, so it had just started the work, Thus the date of the photo.

Now as to the time of day, look at the original photos. Note the shortness of the shadows of the cars. The sun is high in the Southern sky, so the time must be around noon or 1 PM. Pan the Google picture to see where the sun is. Of course, I could be wrong, but it's a guess.

Also, the weather history for the next day was for rain at this time. Compare the 2 days.
16th
http://www.wunderground.com/history/...lyHistory.html
17th
http://www.wunderground.com/history/...lyHistory.html

[motorfamilymotorcity]

Wow Stosh - Excellent work - you some kinda sleuth?

[Whitehouse]

Kudos!!!

[lizaanne]

Outstanding! Applause!!!

[Stosh]

[Jimaz]

They're picking away at the top and something collapses at the bottom?! Did they intend that to happen? Thanks for the video, Stosh.

[Stosh]

They're picking away at the top and something collapses at the bottom?! Did they intend that to happen? Thanks for the video, Stosh.

They intended that to happen. They were banging away at the bottom before all that. Then pulled from the top. It was a little bit of a diversion, tipped off as to when this all was coming down, nice day for it.

[Jimaz]

Wow. Incredibly dangerous but fascinating work.

[motorfamilymotorcity]

Stosh - awesome vid!

Did you notice how the machine went backwards quickly as soon as it started to drop?

I linked the vid on my blog too - hope that's ok.

[One Shot]

Does anyone know what, if anything, was behind the designed brick on the balconies? I always wondered if that was a covered portion of the balcony or just for looks with empty space.

[lizaanne]

YAY!! It's gone!!! Awesome vid!

[fastcarsandfreedom]

Fascinating video.

Not sure when the place started to go through the downward branding shuffle, but the Days Inn sign that's still standing in that video is clearly still using the 1980s era Holiday Inn sign post/frame.

[Onthe405]

Does anyone know what, if anything, was behind the designed brick on the balconies? I always wondered if that was a covered portion of the balcony or just for looks with empty space.

OneShot, that masonry was a combination of decoration and to conceal the HVAC units. The HI in Troy was built with a similar design, with only 4 stories. I worked there in the late 70s/early 80s, and assisted the engineer fix many an air conditioner---so I recall that brickwork vividly! In the years that have passed, Troy has since removed the brickwork and updated the building, so it obviously wasn't structural [[pictured). I had a long, storied history with HI, and discussed it on a few threads, including this one on the "beer can" design HIs like the one in Southfield . . .

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...?t=2491&page=2

Not sure when the place started to go through the downward branding shuffle, but the Days Inn sign that's still standing in that video is clearly still using the 1980s era Holiday Inn sign post/frame.

Correct, FCF. The new "updated" HI logo & signage was phased in with the new decade [[1980). For us old, old folk, this was the original "Great Sign" from the 50s-70s

[fastcarsandfreedom]

I enjoyed your posts Onthe405 and remember the discussion about the "round" design. I have faint memories of the "Great Sign" from family road trips as a kid. The "new image" of the early 80s with the backlit sign and stylized star came along thanks to the big branding company Landor, which did a similar redesign for Howard Johnson[['s) around the same time. Those "Landor" signs are still everywhere--at many Holiday Inns that have not yet been "refreshed" as part of the current rebranding--and at scores more ex-Holiday Inn's where the signs have been repurposed by other brands--such as the example in Hazel Park.

[Onthe405]

FCF, thanks for the info on Landor . .interesting. As soon as Wal-Mart introduced their new logo, I immediately thought it is was reminiscent of the 80s-era "updated", stylized HI star as well.