DETROIT – Among the city’s impressive collection of high-rise downtown buildings, the 40-story Cadillac Tower owns a unique, albeit brief historical claim.

For about a year after it was erected in 1927, the building was not only the tallest in the City of Detroit, it was the tallest in the nation outside of New York and Chicago. Today, the high-rise is probably most notable for the huge murals and advertisements that are placed on its blank western side, where the building’s elevators are located. In recent years Barry Sanders and Steve Yzerman have been featured, these days a 15-story Fidelity Investments ad is prominently on display.

Up on the roof there’s more to see. Hardhats from masonry contractor Chezcore and Safeway Scaffolding have been busy the last several weeks repairing 16 terra cotta spires that adorn the edges of the building’s roof.  Completely exposed to the elements, the spires have been repaired in the past, but many of their joints are failing and now they’re getting the best repair and overhaul they’ve had in their 83-year history.

“A lot of them were in pretty bad shape,” said Darryl Green, foreman for Chezcore and a BAC Local 1 member. “The mortar was rotting, and there was some spalling. It’s time for them to be repaired.” He said the repair involves routering out the mortar joints between the terra cotta sections, and re-caulking and re-pointing the joints.  The work is expected to wrap up in June.

Work on the spires, which range in height from eight feet to about 16 feet, is relatively straightforward compared to the scaffolding that needs to be erected so the masons can gain safe access to them. The spires stand above the building’s parapet on the edge of the roof, and sidewalks are 40 stories directly below. Rows of counterweights hold down the scaffolding on the roof deck, while the structure is cantilevered past the roof deck to provide a means for the masons to walk around the spires.

“How’d we do?” Safeway Scaffolding’s Joe Iafano asked us after we came down off their scaffolding. “Very solid, very safe, nice job,” he was told. “Thank you,” the carpenter replied. “These are tricky to put up.” As an added precaution, the masons have metal loops screwed into their hand tools, and they loop a strap through them and around their wrist so they won’t be dropped.

The Farbman Group took control of the tower last fall. In recent years there has been considerable other modernization work inside the tower. Building manager Michael Dooley said future work beyond the roof “is to be decided. But for a building that’s been around since 1927, it’s in good shape.” The Cadillac Tower, Dooley said, is also doing well in terms of occupancy. The building has 346,900 square feet, and about 76 percent of that space is occupied.

Many of Detroit’s downtown high-rises that were erected in the booming 1920s were built with opulent lobbies and rich architectural features. The Cadillac Tower – perhaps because its owners opted to put resources toward the building’s height rather than ornamentation – is comparatively spartan architecturally, although it’s still a classic.

Originally named for John J. Barlum, the principal in the Cadillac Square Improvement Association, the Cadillac Tower was added in 2005 to the National Register of Historic Places. It was built with Beaux Arts and Late Gothic Revival architectural elements.

AIA Detroit: the American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecturecalled the Cadillac Tower a “forty story spike (that) rises from an unremarkable base.” The elevator core on the outside wall “leaves an awkwardly blank wall.” Atop the building, the book said, “the guilded crown – gold leaf protected by terra cotta glaze – is remarkably effective under certain sun angles.”

Chezcore’s Green, who worked on a number of historical renovation projects, said he often wonders why architects of that era devoted so much effort to the tops of buildings. “It’s interesting, why did they put the good stuff up here where you can hardly see it?” Green asked. “You can see in some spots they put gold leaf around these spires, but it has mostly come off. You can barely see these from the ground.”

TWO OF THE SCAFFOLDS can be seen atop the Cadillac Tower. The top of the high-rise hosts numerous radio and TV antennae. Counting the height of a tall television antenna anchored in the middle of the roof, the tower is the fifth tallest in Detroit.

TUCKPOINTING a terra cotta spire on the 40-story Cadillac Tower is Darryl Green of BAC Local 1, working for Chezcore. Behind him is the Penobscot Building.

TUCKPOINTING the base of a spire atop the Cadillac Tower in Detroit is Doug Barker of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1, working for Chezcore.