Detroit-Leland Hotel

03 / The story of this place

What was here?

The Detroit-Leland opened on April 20, 1927, near Grand Circus Park, named for Cadillac founder Henry M. Leland. It had 800 air-conditioned rooms with 800 baths, a ballroom and 11 street-level shops, a rare non-theater job for movie-palace architects Rapp & Rapp. It rode out bankruptcy from 1929 to 1936, hosted the first BAA (later NBA) draft on June 2, 1947, and in 1955 was the backstage of the UAW-Ford talks on the guaranteed wage. Part of it became apartments from 1964; it flew the Ramada flag from 1988 and got the Leland name back in 2006. Over time it stopped taking overnight guests and became mostly apartments, until a 2025 power failure forced the tenants out.

• Opened 1927 with 800 rooms and baths
• Designed by Rapp & Rapp
• First BAA (NBA) draft, June 2, 1947

Former names

Detroit-Leland Hotel (1927–1988) · Ramada (Leland) (1988–2006) · The Leland / Leland House (2006–2025) · Detroit-Leland Hotel (1927–1960s) · Leland House (1960s–1988) · Ramada Inn (Detroit-Leland) (1988–2006) · The Leland (2006–2025)

Architect

Rapp & Rapp

Historic building

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since July 20, 2005

What’s there now?

The 22-story building has stood empty since the 2025 power failure; it also held the Leland City Club nightclub, in the old ballroom since 1983. In June 2026 a bankruptcy judge approved its sale to Mudhish Development Company LLC for about $3 million.