All Titles

For over a century, the J.L. Hudson's Department Store was more than just a store - it was a Detroit icon and a world-class cultural treasure.

At 25 stories, Hudson's was the world's tallest department store, and was at one time home to the most exceptional offerings in shopping, dining, services, and entertainment. The store prided itself on stocking everything from grand pianos to spools of thread. In addition to regular department store fare, the original Hudson's store featured an auditorium, a circulating library, dining rooms, barber shops, a photo studio, holiday exhibits, a magnificent place called Toytown, and the world's largest American flag. As a legendary symbol of urban and entrepreneurial American history, the J.L. Hudson's Department Store earned a permanent place in Detroit's collective memory. Although the big store no longer graces Woodward Avenue, its legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of generations, and in the remarkable photographs that preserve its reign.

Henry Ford innovated the American automobile and the assembly line, but few know that Ford also applied his ingenuity to creating his ideal of a modern hotel. That vision, combined with a touch of grandeur, became the Dearborn Inn. Designed by noted architect Albert Kahn, with meticulous oversight by Henry Ford and his son Edsel, the inn opened in 1931 in Dearborn, Michigan. The famous landmark, with the charming appointments of a New England inn, originally accommodated pilots and passengers from the Ford Airport as well as visitors to Dearborn. Designated as both a national and Michigan state historic site, the Georgian-style Dearborn Inn includes five historic cottages replicating homes of famous Americans. As renovations have brought updates to the facility, great care has been taken to preserve the original character and integrity Ford envisioned. Follow the exciting journey from vacant land to airport hotel to world-class inn that still offers today's visitors charming and hospitable lodgings as well as outstanding, memorable meals.

During the first three decades of the 20th century, Detroit's Washington Boulevard was transformed from a minor backstreet into a major commercial and social center. Three brothers named Book dreamed that Washington Boulevard would become "the Fifth Avenue of the Midwest." It was through their efforts, as well as those of businessmen like E.M. Statler, that the dream became a reality. The two fundamental developments that anchored this dream were the massive Statler and Book-Cadillac Hotels.

Between the 1920s and 1960s, Detroit's finest hotels fiercely competed with one another for the lion's share of tourist, convention, business, and dining traffic. This book serves as a comparative study of the Book-Cadillac and Statler Hotels of Detroit, and their impact on the development of Washington Boulevard. Here you will find the story of these two legendary institutions, illustrated with over 180 photographs from the Burton Historical Collection, Manning Brothers, the Walter Reuther Library, and private collections.

The Chaldean Iraqi American Association of Michigan, more commonly known as CIAAM, was not simply an association of just a group of early immigrants who escaped prosecution or were merely looking for better life for their family and loved ones. They were indeed good-hearted individuals who strived to build a solid foundation for a well-rounded community in this new land for the immigrants, the United States of America. The CIAAM exemplifies the success of immigrants that have migrated to Detroit from Iraq, providing a place for social gatherings, community discussions, family celebrations, and education to those yearning to learn more about the Chaldeans of Mesopotamia, their successful migration to America, and the contributions they are making in Michigan. Today, CIAAM has more than 900 active families as members, strengthening the recreational, social, and business bonds among the large family of Michigan Chaldeans.