Hotel Statler, Book-Cadillac, Lou Gehrig, and Veloz and Yolanda
By Rod Arroyo, FAICP
My research into Detroit’s history has unveiled an interesting family connection. This is the story of two Detroit hotels along Washington Boulevard, New York Yankee slugger Lou Gehrig, and dancers Frank Veloz (my father’s uncle) and Yolanda Casazza (known as Veloz and Yolanda).
The Hotel Statler and Book-Cadillac were competing hotels on Washington Boulevard. Guests included top clientele, celebrities, and presidents. The Statler was demolished in 2005.
When the Statler opened its Terrace Room in 1937, the famous dance team Veloz and Yolanda headlined the opening night. The same year, they performed at the Fox Theater. Frank Veloz was my father’s uncle and the brother of my great-grandmother. His wife was Yolanda Casazza. They appeared on the cover of Life Magazine in 1939.
Lou Gehrig came to Detroit and the Book-Cadillac Hotel on May 2, 1939, for a series with the Tigers. He collapsed on the hotel’s Grand Staircase and took himself out of the game that day, ending his 2,130-game streak. He would never play another game. On July 4, 1939, he delivered his famous “Pride of the Yankees” speech at Yankee Stadium. He died from ALS on June 2, 1941.
The film about Lou Gehrig’s life, “Pride of the Yankees” was released in 1942. Veloz and Yolanda appear as themselves in the film, dancing the tango.
Below is a more detailed version of the story.
The Hotels: Hotel Statler and the Book-Cadillac
On February 6, 1915, the 15-story, 800-room Statler Hotel opened at the north end of Washington Boulevard at Grand Circus Park. It was the largest hotel in the Midwest; a luxury hotel that attracted celebrities. Harry Houdini was staying at the Statler in 1926 when he collapsed on stage at the Garrick Theatre. He later died at Grace Hospital. (https://www.mlive.com/travel/2016/10/houdini_halloween_death.html).
Down Washington Boulevard at Michigan Avenue was the Cadillac Hotel. When it opened in 1888, it was the finest hotel in Detroit. Presidents Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, and William Howard Taft all stayed there. In 1917, the Book Brothers, Herbert, Frank and J. Burgess Book Jr., bought the Cadillac Hotel. Faced with competition from the Statler, the Book brothers demolished the Cadillac Hotel and began construction on the new Book-Cadillac Hotel in its place. The grand opening of the 33-story Book Cadillac, the tallest hotel in the world at the time, happened on December 8, 1924. The Book-Cadillac guest list has included Elvis, the Beatles, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Baseball Legend Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees
On May 2, 1939, the New York Yankees were in Detroit to play the Tigers. Lou Gehrig collapsed on the Grand Staircase of the hotel, as the effects of the yet-to-be-diagnosed ALS disease were impacting his body. He took himself out of the game, ending his record-breaking streak of 2,130 games (https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/news/today-is-the-anniversary-of-lou-gehrigs-iron-man-streak-ending). He was acknowledged that day with an ovation by fans at Briggs Stadium for his streak of games. Detroit Free Press writer Doc Holst described the scene in the locker room afterward: “Gehrig cried because, at 36, the greatest thing in his life had ended. He felt like a nobody…He bawled like a baby” and Boss McCarthy, Manager of the Yankees, “didn’t blame him.”
Veloz and Yolanda, America’s Most Famous Dancing Couple
The most famous dance team of the 1930s and 1940s, Veloz and Yolanda, was comprised of Frank Veloz, my father’s uncle, and Frank’s wife Yolanda Casazza. They met as teenagers in New York and rose to fame as ballroom dancers. They wrote the book, “Tango and Rumba,” and headlined in major theaters and ballrooms nationwide. Their short film, “Cavalcade of Dance,” was nominated for an Academy Award. In October 1939, they appeared on the cover of Life Magazine.
The Unlikely Connection
Veloz and Yolanda came to perform in Detroit often. In November 1937, they were booked by the Hotel Statler to perform at the opening of the hotel’s new Terrace Room.
As noted above, Lou Gehrig ended his 2,130 game streak after collapsing at the Book-Cadillac hotel. On July 4, 1939, he gave his “Pride of the Yankees” speech at Yankee Stadium in New York. On June 2, 1941, Lou Gehrig passed away.
In 1942, the film “Pride of the Yankees,” the life story of Lou Gehrig had several premiere dates followed by a theatrical release in 1943. Veloz and Yolanda appear as themselves in the film and dance a tango, while the Lou Gehrig character, played by Gary Cooper, looks on.
