Burns Hotel

03 / The story of this place

What was here?

Wayne County Sheriff James D. Burns, a former amateur boxing champ who co-owned the Detroit Tigers when they joined the American League in 1901, rebuilt the old Grand Central Hotel into the Burns Hotel, which opened on July 28, 1908, with a remodeling by Joseph G. Kastler. It had marble-look columns, a high-class cafe with Finney's Orchestra, running water and phones in every room, and rates from $1 a day. Burns liked to joke that anyone who skipped out on a bill could try his “other hotel,” the county jail. He sold out around 1915–16 to run the Hotel Ste. Claire, while his partner kept the Burns name. Demolition started in December 1925 to make way for John J. Barlum's much bigger Barlum Hotel.

• Opened July 28, 1908
• Built by a Detroit Tigers co-owner
• Rooms from $1 a day

Former names

Grand Central Hotel (the building before its 1908 rebuild) (before 1908)

Architect

Joseph G. Kastler (1908 remodeling)

What’s there now?

The Barlum Hotel (1927), today the New Cadillac Square Apartments, stands on the site.