Discuss Detroit » Archives - Beginning January 2006 » The Fire Escape from Hell « Previous Next »
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Dougw
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Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1088
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.73.52.102
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 1:56 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)




and continuing down from the Book Tower to the section along the Book Building...


Questions:
1. Has anyone had the pleasure of climbing down or up all 38 floors of the fire escape on the Book Tower/Building?
2. Is this the tallest fire escape in the world? (fire escape meaning an external escape on a conventional building) Once skyscrapers grew to this height, it seems they stopped putting fire escapes on the outside.
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Thecarl
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Username: Thecarl

Post Number: 724
Registered: 04-2005
Posted From: 69.14.30.175
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 2:24 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

until you get your answer...

We began building upward in the mid-nineteenth century. Six and seven-story office buildings and tall tenement houses came before the creation of elevator-served, steel-framed skyscrapers. Many of those old buildings had only one open wooden stairwell. When there were stairwell doors, they often opened inward.

Historian Sara Wermiel tells how, when catastrophic fires reached those buildings in the 1870s, state legislatures finally enacted laws requiring means for getting people out.

All this meant new technology, and what means were devised! Elementary: equip each upper room with a long rope. Fantastic: a hat-like parachute, anchored under the chin, and boots with highly elastic soles. Practical: canvas escape chutes, like those used on jet airplanes today. Rube Goldberg: a rope and pulley system that let a person lower herself in a canvas seat.

The familiar American 'skeleton' fire escape finally emerged. And that artifact has become as familiar as the farm windmill or the railroad depot. Yet where are they? Here in the young city of Houston, fire escapes are very hard to find. You'll do better looking for them in older towns -- New Haven or St. Paul.

In fact, they have many huge shortcomings. Fires come out windows in floors below the one you're on. They invite traffic jams. The final ladder, raised above street-level to thwart thieves, very often jams when you reach it. And, despite that lad-der, fire escapes can provide unwanted access into buildings.

The beginning of the end for the old iron fire escape was New York's terrible Triangle Shirtwaist fire where 145 garment workers died in 1911 as their ten-story factory building burned. Many died on fire escapes as flames billowed up from the windows below them. Fire escapes melted and buckled, dropping people to their deaths.

Today's solution is the closed, insulated stairwell, protected by fire doors that keep smoke from getting in. That's a still-evolving technology. But it's one that saved countless lives before the burning World Trade Center towers finally collapsed. In-deed, a new development is a closed stairwell built outside the building itself, as a kind of enclosed fire escape.

http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1 803.htm
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Urban_shocker
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Username: Urban_shocker

Post Number: 265
Registered: 12-2003
Posted From: 68.248.8.67
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 2:38 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

If that's the fire escape from hell, is this the birdhouse from hell?

birdhouse

(Message edited by Urban_Shocker on April 22, 2006)
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3580
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.172.95.197
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 2:58 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That is most likely and elevator penthouse.

BTW, there are taller skyscrapers with longer fire-escapes, namely the Mirante do Vale (Palácio Zarzur Kogan) is Sao Paulo, Brazil, which stands 558 feet (to the Book Tower's 475 feet) with an exterior firescape on one of its side's spanning the entire height of the building.
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Livedog2
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Username: Livedog2

Post Number: 142
Registered: 03-2006
Posted From: 24.223.133.177
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 1:09 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Doesn't look much like the same kind of Fire Escape to me! But, I guess it could be another version of “The Fire Escape from Hell”

I still vote for Dougw’s photo of “The Fire Escape from Hell” from the Book Tower to the Book Building!!

Credit: Emporis Buildings
hell

Livedog2
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Erikto
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Username: Erikto

Post Number: 344
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 64.228.108.143
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 1:30 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I'm not sure of the site's address, but there is a really scary fire escape running outside a silo in Toronto at Bathurst and Lakeshore in the long abandoned Canada Malting Company. It's something of a shrine among "urban explorers" and some crazy kids documented their walk down this truely perilous fire escape which actually drops off in portions and has other stairs falling out of place. There are some far out pictures of this place including the last staff schedule on a wall (1980) and one of the rooms has a disturbing doll collection inside. I'm not sure how tall it is, but these silos blend in height-wise with the surrounding high rises. Worth a look.
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Tayshaun22
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Username: Tayshaun22

Post Number: 85
Registered: 02-2005
Posted From: 69.14.101.116
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 1:52 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

http://invisiblethreads.com/po td_i/2004_05/20040528.jpg

There's a pic of the dangerous fire escape you just mentioned.
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Shark
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Username: Shark

Post Number: 216
Registered: 12-2003
Posted From: 65.43.46.177
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 3:07 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I wonder how often that Book Building escape is maintained and checked for structural integrity?
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Rocket_city
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Username: Rocket_city

Post Number: 11
Registered: 04-2006
Posted From: 141.217.174.222
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 3:32 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I love the "fire escape from Hell"! It gives the Book Tower character.

By the way, I hear the fire escape on the building Oslo is in is being dismantled in order to renovate the building.
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Ddaydave
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Username: Ddaydave

Post Number: 385
Registered: 04-2005
Posted From: 67.149.185.244
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 4:09 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

they have some real nice pics of fire escapes on the wurlitzer building on the snweb.com website
http://www.snweb.org/pic/sp_in dexn.php?file=./wurl/det7202.j pg
http://www.snweb.org/pic/sp_in dexn.php?file=./wurl/det7211.j pg
http://www.snweb.org/pic/sp_in dexn.php?file=./wurl/det7207.j pg
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Motorcitymayor2026
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Username: Motorcitymayor2026

Post Number: 719
Registered: 10-2005
Posted From: 24.231.189.137
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 6:55 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Rocket_City

work is currently being done on the Oslo building...So, looks like your right
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Dougw
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Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1089
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.248.42.122
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 11:05 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Alright, that building in Sao Paulo definitely counts as a taller fire escape. Although it looks considerably newer & safer than the Book Tower's. :-)

I still wonder if there are any taller fire escapes in the U.S. Since external fire escapes fell out of favor some time ago in this country, I'd think New York or Chicago would be the only possibilities. Even then, fire escapes on skyscrapers taller than 20 stories or so are pretty rare.
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Hysteria
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Username: Hysteria

Post Number: 88
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 152.163.100.8
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 11:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Book Tower is such an attractive building. I think the fire escape adds to its character and historical significance. It reminds me of something you'd see in one of Tim Burton's 'Batman' movies along with Zug Island and the Ford Rouge Plant.
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3583
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.172.95.197
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 11:17 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

The question was "Is this the tallest fire escape in the world?" and I showed you one guys one taller regardless of how much newer or safer it is. I wasn't aware we were talking about a specific type of fire escape. lol
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Hornwrecker
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Username: Hornwrecker

Post Number: 1070
Registered: 04-2005
Posted From: 63.41.8.232
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 11:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Dougw, nice job on the cropping for the post.

Here is another angle of the Book Tower from WSU/VMC, showing the Death Escape From Hell.



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Hysteria
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Username: Hysteria

Post Number: 92
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 152.163.100.8
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 11:41 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

These posts/photos are amazing ... and Book Tower is so cool!!!
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Dougw
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Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1090
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.248.42.122
Posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 - 11:57 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thanks Hornwrecker. It was kind of a fun way to show more detail and get around the 550x550 limitation on picture size. :-) Works nicely for tall, narrow buildings.
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Hornwrecker
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Username: Hornwrecker

Post Number: 1071
Registered: 04-2005
Posted From: 63.41.8.232
Posted on Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 12:09 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, my brother was the first, I think, to get around "THE MAN", by using the multiple crop technique. A lot of work, but useful for the right subject.

I spent a bit of time when I was a kid in the 60s, when my mother worked for Gale Research, in that building. It was a lot of fun roaming around, but I wish I could remember more.

I wonder if that previous photo was taken from the top of the Book-Cadillac? I'd like to see a newer version of it.

This is the back escape of the Kales Bldg, from around 1930, again a WSU aerial.



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Dougw
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Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1091
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.248.42.122
Posted on Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 12:21 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Nice pics there... the Kales Bldg escape is nothing to sneeze at. (Although that pic is a bit lo-res to bother with the multiple crop technique. :-) )
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Hornwrecker
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Username: Hornwrecker

Post Number: 1072
Registered: 04-2005
Posted From: 63.41.8.232
Posted on Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 12:27 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Hey, I was playing around with locking guides and stuff, to get some accuracy. :-) Still learnin' the PShop.
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The_rock
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Username: The_rock

Post Number: 1148
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 68.42.251.225
Posted on Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 8:02 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Walking out of the front door of the DAC last night on the way to the opening night of Aida at the DOH, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the back of the Milner hotel has now been painted a light beige(?) and makes for a "softer" view than before. Even the backside of the Milner beats the depressing view of the former Madison-Lenox.
And it looks to me the Milner's two sets of fire escapes seem to compliment each other.
P.S. Aida was spectacular.
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Livedog2
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Username: Livedog2

Post Number: 144
Registered: 03-2006
Posted From: 24.223.133.177
Posted on Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 3:40 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I found a half eaten Big Mac with a few soggy fries with catsup on them along Woodward Ave in one of my favorite thrashcans. I washed them down with some cold coffee I found in the same thrashcan. What a bonanza!

Then I went down to the DOH for Aida for some of what I thought might be some good panhandling.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t even get a look from the upscale patrons going inside let alone some "spare change."

P.S. The photo that the detroitblog guy took of me and gave me a copy of was spectacular. I hope you enjoy it, too! +<(:-)~

opera

Livedog2
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Hysteria
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Username: Hysteria

Post Number: 94
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 205.188.116.137
Posted on Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 3:44 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Livedog2 needs a haircut !!!
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Dougw
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Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1092
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 136.1.1.33
Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 2:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Agreed Rock, the Milner is looking pretty good lately.

Hysteria: I've also often thought the Book Tower would make a great lair for a villian in a Tim Burton or similar movie... I can picture it with storm clouds & lightning overhead, with its grimy, ominous facade. There aren't too many skyscrapers like it.

LMich: Yeah, yeah, the Sao Paulo building wins for tallest fire escape. It seems that the Book Tower may be the tallest in the U.S., though. I haven't found any references to any fire escapes nearly as tall in other U.S. cities.
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Kenp
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Username: Kenp

Post Number: 5
Registered: 03-2006
Posted From: 216.93.121.82
Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 2:20 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

That pic was great, notice all the air conditioners in the windows of the building. I wonder if any have ever fallen out?
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Eastsidedog
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Username: Eastsidedog

Post Number: 277
Registered: 03-2006
Posted From: 12.47.224.8
Posted on Monday, April 24, 2006 - 4:12 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Funny thread. LOL. Fire escapes make nice balconies though (definitely not their intended purpose). :-)

The fire escapes on the Boydell building always have plants and lawn chairs on them.
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Dougw
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Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1103
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 69.220.224.184
Posted on Saturday, April 29, 2006 - 12:44 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Maybe this is old news, but I just noticed that the obnoxious satellite dishes and cell phone transmitters have largely been removed from the top of the Book Tower sometime in the last two years... Especially the dishes kind of ruined the look of the tower. Kudos to the owner for cleaning these up, since they apparently weren't needed.

To see the difference, check out this pic from two years ago: http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=281995

Compared with this one last week:
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The_aram
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Username: The_aram

Post Number: 4833
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 68.41.124.8
Posted on Saturday, April 29, 2006 - 1:44 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I'll tell you this- the views from the top floor of the Book Tower are magnificent.
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Thecarl
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Username: Thecarl

Post Number: 727
Registered: 04-2005
Posted From: 69.14.30.175
Posted on Saturday, April 29, 2006 - 1:52 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

interesting note: in new york city, the last thing anybody wants is an apartment with a fire escape. they make way for easy entry by street urchins.
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Pdtpuck
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Username: Pdtpuck

Post Number: 16
Registered: 01-2006
Posted From: 208.251.168.194
Posted on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 4:42 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

is the Book Tower still in use (or "semi-" use?)
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Lmichigan
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Username: Lmichigan

Post Number: 3614
Registered: 10-2003
Posted From: 67.172.95.197
Posted on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 5:33 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yes. Relatively recently, the tower was filled to near full occupancy, if I remember right, after the tenants in the adjoining 13-story Book Building (the original construction) were moved to the Book Tower to make room for possible lofts in the Building in the future.
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Burnsie
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Username: Burnsie

Post Number: 403
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 35.12.24.141
Posted on Sunday, April 30, 2006 - 7:08 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Dougw-- Those antennae on the top may have looked ugly, but for a long time they were a major source of rental income to keep the building operating and maintained.
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Dougw
Member
Username: Dougw

Post Number: 1105
Registered: 11-2003
Posted From: 69.220.224.184
Posted on Monday, May 01, 2006 - 12:39 am:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Yeah, I can imagine that, Burnsie. Still nice to see them gone, though.

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