My name is Tim Burke. I am a Detroit-based artist and preservationist. I have spent the last 40 years reclaiming bits and pieces of historical buildings that have been demolished in the city of Detroit, turning some of them into world-class artworks.

I have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recover as much material as I can from the Highland Towers hotel in Highland Park, Michigan, just on the outskirts of Detroit. The building is slated for demolition at the end of the month. I will have only five days to recover what I can before the fence goes up and the wrecking ball meets the brick-and-mortar.

A brief history of the Highland Towers hotel: It is located in a national historic district called the Highland Heights Stevens Subdivision. Originally, it was named the Ferrand Building. The architects were Frank W. Wiedmaier and John B. Gay. It was designed in the late 1920s in the Spanish Colonial architectural vein. Its first tenants began renting in 1932. Some of those tenants were Chrysler and Ford executives who worked in Detroit and Highland Park. There was a rooftop terrace and an underground garage, probably the first underground garage in the city of Highland Park or Detroit. I am guessing that those beautifully colored glazed tiles on the front of the building, which remind me of Moorish tiles, are either Pewabic or Flint Faience.

So, I am reaching out to friends, and friends I haven't met yet, as well as preservationist-minded individuals, to help and be a part of this historic event to keep history alive through the salvaging of these beautiful architectural gems. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that and say, "Hey, you know what, I helped with that. It's something to be proud of."

The money that is raised will cover the cost for a scissors lift, the liability insurance that I have to purchase, concrete and mortar cutting disks, as well as some heavy-duty chisel bits, and a concrete pry bar. Also, paying someone to work with me on an hourly basis.