Book Tower 

Detroit

A Storied Building for the Books

Commissioned by the Book brothers, Book Tower was designed by architect Louis Kamper to transform Washington Boulevard into an upscale and fashionable intersection of Detroit.  When it opened in 1926 it was the tallest structure in the city at 38-stories, designed with Roman-influenced intricacies and sparkling interiors that featured fine dining, shopping and offices.  

Today, Book Tower is an instantly recognizable Detroit landmark.  The restoration and renovation embrace century-old design and modern amenities, revealing a collection of spaces for visitors to live, work, dine, celebrate and stay once again. 

There are 29 caryatids, 7,000 rotunda skylight jewel embellishments and 2,483 windows  all, of which, have been replaced, maintaining historical accuracy and increasing energy efficiency.  Dating back to the 6th century BC, caryatids are stone sculptures of female figures that serve as architectural support. The 29 adorn Book tower's facade and are found across the building's midsection and along the roof's cornice.  

The Rotunda rises three stories and features a massive art glass dome.  It is the crown jewel of the building's entryway and consists of a cast-iron and brass dome framework with 6,000 glass panels.  

The lobby's original plaster ceiling has been restored with an eye for authenticity.  Molds of the intact portions were made to recreate the intricate patterns which were then hand-painted with care.

Restored Staircase

The ornamentation on elevator doors have been replicated and replaced.  The flourishes, florets and figures of birds and features of a motif found throughout the building. 

Originally constructed as offices Book Tower's 229 residential apartments are spread across 28 floors and configured in 45 different floor plans to suit every lifestyle. 

Incredible Ceiling Detail

The "Cherub Clock"

It was the original master clock in Book Tower serving as the central system that regulated all secondary clocks across the building's offices and shops.  Designed by German immigrant architect Louis Kamper, whose style reflected traditional European clock craftsmanship. The intricate carvings and cherub motifs symbolize the flight of time.  For many years the clock was hidden and obscured during previous decades of shifting ownership and building decline.  In time, it was carefully restored by Electric Time Company, Inc. during the massive historical renovation of the Book Tower to reclaim its original 1920s grandeur.

Kern's Department Store in Detroit once rivaled Hudson's Department Store in its popularity and quality of service and sat alongside it for 76 years.  Founded in 1833 by German immigrants Ernst and Marie Kern, the Ernst Kern Company began on a small scale featuring imported fabrics and laces.  Between 1919 and 1928 several expansions led to a ten-floor emporium addition encompassing 200,000 square feet.  The building featured Art Deco styling with marble floors, mahogany counters, 30-foot high ceilings and decorative cast-iron railings.  To enhance the store's appeal, an auditorium, roof garden, dining room, a 21-car elevator bank and a gymnasium for its 500 employees were added.  New street entrancess led customers directly to the basement.  Kern's pioneered mail-order services to out-of-state customers. The store also featured a Brentano's Book Shop and a lending library.  Kern's was famous for its Basement Dollar Days and Founders Sale.  Every September the Founder's Sale drew such crowds that in the late 1930s, Chevrolet offered free rides home to package-laden shoppers.  By this time, a third generation of Kerns, Otto's two sons had strategic positions in the company.  

Very popular with children, Kern's Toyland featured visits with Santa, merry go-round rides and surprise packages.  The store changed the theme of the Toyland regularly, alluding to popular children's characters like "Dumbo" and "The Long Ranger".

Otto Kern sold the company in 1857, citing the lack of customer parking, emerging suburgan shopping centers and the inability of Kern's to establish branch locations as challenges. 

Kern's Department Store opened in 1929 and closed its doors December 23, 1959. In 1966, the building was demolished as a part of Detroit's urban renewal of downtown and the Kern's Clock found its new home in secure storage.  In the late 1970s the Junior League of Detroit let a successful campaign to restore the clock and placed it back in its original location.  However, in 1998 it was once again removed to avoid the clock from being damaged during the demolition of the Hudson's Department Store.  In November of 2003 after the One Campus Martius building had been completed the Compuware Corporation reinstalled the famous clock at the corner of Woodward and Gratiot where it can be seen today.  

Christmastime at Kern's Department Store in the 1950s.

The three-faced "Kern's Clock

Circa December 1959

A popular Detroit landmark, the Kern's Clock was originally located at the corner of Woodward and Gratiot Avenues (1048 Woodward Avenue) where it adorned the entrance to the Ernst Kern Company Department Store in downtown Detroit.  Appearing in 1933, the clock was placed above the entrance to the store.  It became a beloved landmark for Detroiters who often used it as a meeting place.

"Meet you under the clock" was the common Detroit expression for almost a century by Detroit shoppers.

Even in the thick of the Depression, which slammed Detroit particularly hard, city residents weren't about to allow the grim economy to stifle the Christmas spirit, as witnessed by these hordes of holiday shoppers crammed on the main floor of Kern's Department Store. 

When Kern died in 1901, his sons Otto and Ernst Jr. ran the company.  Both brothers lived in the city's elegant Boston-Edison district .. Ernst on 121 Edison Street and Otto at 1244 W. Boston Boulevard.  Otto's sons also became involved in management.  Kern's remained a third-generation family business until 1957 when it was sold to the Buffalo, New York based Sattler's Inc. Although the Kern's building was razed in the 1960s, one part of Kern's was salvaged, its famous clock which was a downtown icon. The landmark timepiece stands at Woodward and Gratiot, a constant reminder of Detroit's retailing past.

 

Circa 2022

Now the saying is probably I'll meet you at the clock" rather than "I'll meet you under the clock". 

 

Canadiana on its inaugural trip from Buffalo to Crystal Beach

Circa May 30, 1910

This vessel was a beloved 216-foot passenger excursion steamer built in 1910 in Buffalo, New York.  Known as one of the "Crystal Beach Boats", it carried up to 3,500 passengers daily across Lake Erie from the foot of Commercial Stret to the Crystal Beach Amusement Park in Ontario.  

The ship featured Victorian-style interiors, a 1,000-light grand ballroom with the largest floating dance floor on the Great Lakes and hosted famous big band acts like Duke Ellington and Cab Callaway.  After the construction of the Peace Bridge and changing post-war entertainment habits, the ship completed its final run in 1956.  The vessel was ultimately scrapped in 2004 though preservationists successfully saved its historic steam engine.  

Designed by respected architect, Frank Kirby and built in Buffalo at the Buffalo Dry Dock Compnay on Ganson Street at a cost of $250,000, the coal-fired steamship Canadiana was owned by the Lake Erie Excusion Co.  The Canadiana and its sister ship, the Americana (1908) were known as the Crystal Beach boats.  Taking the Canadiana and the Americana to Crystal Beach quickly a summertime tradition for Buffalonians.  A 1911 advertisement promoted the 25-mile, 75 minute lake ride for 25 cents.  For passengers the ride was part of the total holiday experience.  They enjoyed the promenades, benches, bandstand and hardwood dance floor. At night, the Canadiana's 1,000 lights made the trip back to Buffalo 

.. magical ..

 

646 Main Street

Buffalo, New  York 

Installed December 1925 at the then-stupendous cost of $72,000 a four-manual twenty-eight rank pipe organ, it was one of the largest instruments the Rudoph Wurlitzer Company of North Tonawanda, New York had built up to that time.

This is  a map of our Wurlitzer organ, showing how all the bells and whistles are laid out.

Michael Shea

(1859-1934)

Michael Shea was one of the last of the real showman of the old tradition.  With his name the growth of vaudeville in America is inseparably linked; the greatest star of stage and screen during the past half century knew and respected him; much of the glamor and color and zest of the most robust period of the American variety stage clung to Michael Shea and made him a more remarkable figure, in most respects, than the most famous of the star he hired and put upon his stages.  He was a peculiar titan in the business of make-believe, a two-fisted Irishman who dealt in lights and laughter, gaiety and song. 

Michael Shea was born April 17, 1859 in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada* son ofDaniel and Mary Griffin Shea.

*It is disputed as to whether or not Michael Shea was born in the First Ward or in St. Catherines, but sometime shortly after his birth the family definitely settled in the First Ward. The young Shea attended both public and parochial schools in the Ward and as early as age 15 went to work on the docks as a laborer, much like the other young men in the Ward.

He took his earnings and borrowed $2,500 from a friend to open Shea's Music Hall in 1882.  His first theatre would succumb to a fire 11 years later, but Shea would rise up to create an empire of entertainment in Buffalo, giving his name to no less than a dozen theatres.  Performers clamored to get a run at Shea's theatres. To most of Shea's Buffalo though, Michael Shea could be found standing at the back of the theatre, wearing an old hat, a Mackinstosh (waterproof raincoat) always seeing how his show would "go over". 

Michael Shea was known for his generosity.

To the employees of the Shea's theatres, he was "The Old Man" and many had stayed with the Shea's theatres for more than 25 years (although it was a safe bet that he had fired each of those veterans at least once every year as well).  One young usher, not recognizing Mr. Shea, told him to put out his cigar in the theatre.  Michael Shea took him to the manager's office, insisting on promoting the young man.  

"Downtown Buffalo was not long without a sign that spelled out S-h-e-a and proclaimed that refreshment and amusement were on tap within. The people of vaudeville stage are nomads and they wander ceaselessly from metropolis to tank town, from stage to stage the country over.  Their contracts are brief and hurried and they find little time to bestow their affection in passing.  And yet Michael Shea, working through many years with hordes of these minstrels and troubadours, left an indeliable impression on each of them.  Indeed, in the brightest days of vaudeville there was no such town as Buffalo .. they called it Sheatown".

The Buffalo Times

This advertisement was taken out by a cast of performers to show their appreciation. 

"If you've got the show, they'll come in."

Michael Shea's 'theory of amusement'. 

"My memory of him goes back to the days of vaudeville.  The old tradition used to be that if you were in love and wanted to get married, Buffalo would be the place because Mike was always there to help you.  If you were feeling rotten and wanted a rest cure, Buffalo was the place because Mike Shea was there to help you. No matter what you did backstage, your friend Michael Shea was on hand.  That's what made Buffalo a good show town.  Michael did more for every trouper, including myself, than any other man."

Eddie Cantor

(1892-1964))

All  the Bells and Whistles"

Michael Shea loved strings and the Buffalo Wurlitzer organ contains seven ranks of them. Quite a large number for an organ of this type.  The pedal organ is one of the largest to be found anywhere with twelve ranks of its own.  Among the ranks of pipes is a gorgeous-sounding sixteen foot tibia plena (8' open wooden flute). The smallest pipe is no bigger than a pencil while the largest of the pedal pipes are thirty-two-feet long, huge enough for a good-sized man to sit in.  Virtually every instrument is a symphony orchestra represented in this organ and when full organ is played it sounds very much like a complete orchestra.  

The massive instrument is located in six large chambers, three on each of the theatre.  It contains a complete set of percussion stops, commonly known as the "toy counter".  Included in this section is a large xylophone, marimba, harp, chimes, cymbal, kettle, snare and bass drums, orchestra bells plus the usual array of sounds that were initially used to accompany silent films such as auto horn, boat whistle, Chinese gong, bird whistle etc.  Sitting in the lower box on the right hand side of the stage is a large grand piano which is played from the organ console. 

The original voicing of the organ* was done personally by Joseph Carruthers and James Nuttall, the company's two major voices.  Carruthers was the best diaphone man in the business while Nuttall was a top reed voicer.  Both men were proteges of Robert Hope-Jones. Rarely did these two men leave the factory to go out into the field and voice the various organs, themselves. Their assistants usually performed this task.  The fact that Carruthers and Nuttall did the voicing themselves is one reason why this organ sounds so great; the other reason is that the instrument and the room seem to be perfectly matched.  

*Voicing of the organ is the intricate process of adjusting the physical components of an organ's pipes to control their tone, volume, color and speaking speed.  Often performed by a highly skilled artisan, it transforms a collection of manufactured pipes into a cohesive artistic musical instrument designed to complement the acoustics of its specific space.  While tuning simply adjusts a pipe so it plays the correct pitch, voicing shapes how that note sounds.  This meticulous process involves several key aspects:  Timbre (Tone Color):  Voicers adjust the brightness, darkness and warmth of a pipe.  They do this by manipulating the size of the pipe's mouth, altering the thickness of its upper lips, or carefully making small cuts called "nicks" in the pipe's interior.  Speech:  (Attack):  This refers to the initial transient sound the pipe makes when air first enters, much like the consonants in human speech.  Voicers regulate how quickly or slowly a pipe "speaks" so it articulates clearly in a room.  Volume and Balance:  Every single pipe must be adjusted to ensure one stop (a distinct set of pipes) doesn't overpower another.  Voicers adjust the airflow at the base of the pipe (the toe hole) and the width of the air channel (the flueway) to balance the volume across the entire keyboard.  Acoustic Adaptation:  Because every space has unique reverberation and geometry, the exact same organ will require different voicing in a grand cathedral versus a small chapel.

On digital or electronic organs, "voicing" refers to a similar concept where technicans adjust the digital parameters (such as harmonic content, digital wind pressure and tremulants* to simulate traditional pipe styles or emulate the acoustics of various historic venues.

*A tremulant is a device on a pipe organ which varies the wind supply to the pipes. This causes their amplitude and pitch to fluctuate.

 

Sugar n' Spice Diner

Cincinnati, Ohio

Founded by Mort Keller 

Circa 1941

www.sugarnspice.com

Famous for its wispy-thin pancakes, fluffy omelets and handing out rubber ducks to diners, the beloved establishment operates multiple locations across the city including its original flagship at 4381 Reading Road. Its rich, 80-plus year history has made it a celebrated Midwest culinary landmark with its ceiling mural at their Over-the-Rhine location (1203 Sycamore Street).

The Sugar n' Spice is family-owned and family-friendly with a playful decor aesthetics that features a large collection of rubber ducks.  Sugar n' Spice began as a drive-in restaurant in the 1940s. Part of preserving that experience is continuing beloved traditions, including each diner picking out their own rubber duck.  There are close to 900 rubber ducks at the Reading Road location.

Sugar n' Spice does not have a dedicated Wikipedia page, but their legacy spans more than eight decades as one of Cinncinati's oldest continuously running dining spots.

The iconic Sugar n' Spice features whimsical murals of giant, cartoonish flying breakfast foods and dripping syrup.  Created by artist Sandra Dee, this colorful 50-foot ceiling mural in the Over-The-Rhine dining room is affectionately known as the "Sistine Chapel of Pancakes". The mural is a playful, heavenly landscape filled with giant flying pancakes, eggs and waffles. Along with the murals, the diner is known for its pastel booths, a mimosa bar and gifting complimentary rubber ducks to guests.  

The Birthday Duck

At the retro-style Sugar n' Spice diner the iconic duck tradition is a beloved staple.  Customers are greeted by expansive collections of whimsical ducks displayed on shelves and everyone receives a complimentary, colorful rubber duck to take home as a souvenir at the end of their meal.  If it happens to be your birthday, you just might get this cute one.

The Story Behind Them

The duck tradition happened entirely by accident!  Originally, one of the diner's former owners used to hand out gold dollars and 50-cent pieces to brighten children's days.  When those stopped being minted the diner's previous owner, Steve Frankel, found a stash of rubber ducks at a local toy shop.  The toys were initially just meant for kids, but adults loved them so much that  everyone now gets to pick a duck before leaving.  You can experience the ducks at any of the three Cincinnati-area locations:

Paddock Hills (Original): 4381 Reading Road

Blue Ash: 9941 Reading Road

Over-the-Rhine (OTR):  1203 Sycamore Street

Nick and Adam Mayerson are the the 6th owners and are excited to preserve the tradition that is Sugar n' Spice.  

..when in Cincinnati ..

 

This post was planned to be the 1,000 post over the past 3 years though I decided to post it today, July 15 to match the July 15, 2017 date which was the final Bemus Bay Pops in Bemus Point. I could have chosen many topics though the one chosen is strongly connected to this blog which received its name from Dan Dalpra after the blog that featured the Chautauqua Lake Pops and the many talented musical groups who came to Bemus Point and stepped upon the floating stage through the years. 

"Don't let it be forgot for once there was a spot for one brief shining moment that was called Camelot."

Thank you, Dan Dalpra!

To celebrate this milestone I return to the floating stage that started it all, the original floating stage in Bemus Point NY that existed along the shore of Chautauqua Lake.  

Making a Splash, One Song at a Time!

 July 15, 2017 .. July 15, 2026

It all began on Chautauqua Lake in Chautauqua County, New York.

 

Paramount Theatre

2025 Broadway

Oakland, California 

Oakland's Parmount Theatre is one of the finest remaining examples of Art Deco design in the United States.

The Paramount opened at a cost of $3 million on December 16, 1931. 

A small section of Timothy L. Pflueger's patented ceiling grid which extends above the auditorium.

The Grand Art Deco lobby.

The Paramount Theatre is a stunning Art Deco concert hall and a National Historic Landmark, known for its opulent design and hosting a wide variety of performances, including concerts, ballet, plays, stand-up comedy and classic films screenings from Hollywood's Golden Era.  It serves as the home for the Oakland Symphony and Oakland Ballet Company and is a major Bay Area performing arts venue.

The Paramount Theatre is a prime example of Art Deco design, meticulously restored in 1973 to its original 1931 splendor with 3,040 seats. When it was built in 1931, it was the largest multi-purpose theatre on the West Coast, seating 3,476.

 It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 14, 1973. It became a California Registered Historical Landmark in 1976 and a U.S. National Historical Landmark in 1977.  

Fountain of Light in the Grand Lobby over the entrance and marquee.

Fountain of Light

Women's Lounge, basement level

Mural

by

Charles Stafford Duncan

(1892-1952)

Duncan was a San Francisco painter, lithographer, muralist and graphic designer perhaps best known for this mural in the Paramount Theatre.  He won the Benjamin Altman Prize from the National Academy of Design in 1937.

Detail of mosaic on facade.

The Paramount Theatre was built as a movie palace, during the rise of the motion picture industry in the late 1920s.  In 1925, Adolph Zukor's Paramount Publix Corporation, the theatre division of Paramount Pictures, one of the great studio-theatre chains, began a construction program resulting in some of the finest theatres built.  Publix assigned the design of the Oakland Paramount to 38-year old San Francisco renowned architect, Timothy L. Pflueger (1892-1946) of Miller and Pflueger.  Pflueger was also the designer of the Castro Theatre in San Francisco.

Grand Lobby north wall showing dancing Art Deco figures.

View looking down from the balcony at the ceiling, prosceniuim, curtain, seating and hydraulic orchestra pit.

Basement lounge showing stylized couches and benches.  Note the bold wall and ceiling designs.

Women's Mezzanine-level foyer

The Paramount organ was built in 1931 by Wurlitzer for the Paramount Theatre: a four-manual, twenty-rank model Opus 2164 which cost $20,000 in 1931. 

Opus 2164 has over 1,450 pipes along with a built-in grand piano, drums and percussion that can physically vibrate the auditorium. The Mighty Wurlitzer is played live before screenings on select dates.  

The gala premiere was attended by Kay Francis, star of the opening film, The False Madonna. Tickets were first-come, first-serve: sixty cents for the balcony seat and eighty-five cents for a seat in the orchestra. Music was provided by the Paramount's own 16-piece house orchestra under the direction of Lew Kosloff.  The Sunkist Beauties featured a chorus line finale.

The "Sunkist Beauties" were glamorous, highly synchronized troupe dancers created by West Coast theatre producers Fanchon and Marco.  Popular throughout the 1920s and 1930s, they performed elaborate live stage shows called "Prologues" in premier movie palaces before feature films. The term also evokes the era's broader "bathing beauties" cultural phenomenon, heavily popularized by California citrus advertisements, pin-up art and Hollywood starlets.  

The Concept:  Producers  Manchon and Marco ("Miss Fanchon" Simon and Marco Wolff) specialized in massive live entertainment.  Their signature touch was the synchronized female chorus line.  Fanchon specifically sought out dancers who exuded "youth and naturalness" typically recruiting girls aged 15 to 20 years of age. Alongside groups like the San Francisco Beauties and the iconic Fanchonettes, the Sunkist Beauties helped set the stage for modern precision dance.

"The most famous brother and sister producing team."

The term, "Sunkist" also referred generically to the explosion of beachwear and sunwear fashion worn by Hollywood starlets of the era.  Actresses like Rita Hayworth, Betty Grable and Esther Williams frequently posed for promotional "pin-up" photos on California beaches.  This era saw the rise of structured, high-waisted two-piece swimsuits and playsuits that celebrated a healthy, athletic physique.

Fanchon and Marco were a powerhouse brother-and-sister theatrical duo who profoundly shaped American entertainment.  Born Fanchon and Marco Wolff, they transitioned rom a modest vaudeville dance act into one of the largest independent production companies in show business history.  Fanchon and Marco were crucial in evolving the modern chorus line.  They managed multiple resident dance troupes, most notably the Fanchonettes (originally the California Sunshine Girls).  Unlike the static, decorative showgirls of the Ziegfeld Follies, the Fanchonettes were disciplined dancers and gymnasts. Up to 48 women would perform highly synchronized, fast-paced routines in perfect unison, combining tap, ballet, roller-skating and acrobatics.  This heavy emphasis on geometric, athletic precision directly paved the way for groups like the  Radio City Rockettes.  

FANCHON AND MARCO

"The standard by which stage shows are judged"

Variety 1929

Today, walking into the main lobby, with its gold ornamentation along the walls, curving staircase, and glowing light fixtures, is like taking a trip back through Old Hollywood.  Public tours of the Paramount Theatre are given on the first and third Saturdays of each month, excluding holidays and holiday weekends.