The building trades are finally checking into the Book-Cadillac hotel.

Three months after the City of Detroit announced that the 33-story building would undergo $146.8 million in renovations, the first visible signs of progress on the project are taking place. Hardhats are performing façade wall masonry removal and stabilization to allow for the installation of two exterior elevator systems that will be used by demolition crews.

Meanwhile, inside the building, members of Asbestos Abatement Regional Local 207 on Oct. 20 began the months-long process of removing hazardous materials from the building. They're clearing the way for the rest of the building trades, who will be working hard to get the building ready for the Super Bowl, which will be coming to Detroit's Ford Field on Feb. 5, 2006.

Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1 members working for Chezcore are removing and saving exterior brick and stone fascia materials, which will be palletized, saved, and stored for re-installation after the elevators are removed. A whole strip of exterior wall on the west side of the building has been removed to make way for the elevators.

"We are glad to be a part of such an important project," said Chezcore's Vice President, John Stapleton. "Restoring old buildings such as these, can only add to an already exciting restoration atmosphere within the city."

At peak employment, some 60 workers from Local 207 and employed by A & F Environmental will work the Book Cadillac project, removing asbestos, lead, mold and PCBs.

"There's a lot of nasty stuff in there, but our people know what they're doing," said Dan Somenauer, business manager of Local 207. "This is easily the biggest project we have going right now. It's a long-awaited job during poor economic times."

The new Book will be called the Renaissance Book-Cadillac Hotel and will be an upscale brand of Marriot International. It will feature 483 guest rooms, 76 high-end apartments and a 186-car parking deck.

At the time it was constructed by the Book Brothers in 1924, the 33-story Book-Cadillac was the tallest hotel in the world - and one of the most opulent. It had 1,035 guestrooms and five floors of ballrooms, restaurants and shops. Notable people who spent the night at the Book include Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Henry Ford, and Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson and Nixon. After falling into disrepair in the mid-1980s, however, the hotel closed.

It has been shuttered since 1984.

WHEN IT OPENED in 1924, the $14 million Book-Cadillac was the most opulently decorated hotel in Detroit, with the finest marble, plaster, chandeliers and fixtures. Urban scavengers laid waste to the building after it was closed in 1984. Here a vertical section has been dismantled to make room for construction elevators.

THE BOOK-CADILLAC is structurally sound - but there are few other bright spots to point to as the renovation begins. This is the present state of the former grand ballroom, damaged mostly by urban miners looking for copper and iron piping.