At the grand entrance of the Greektown Casino in Detroit, visitors will be walking all over a piece of art work that's rarely seen in modern construction.

Which is just fine with the owners of Architectural Southwest Stone and their artisans, who were charged with the meticulous job of setting a large tile mosaic floor at the grand entrance inside of the casino.

It's one of the largest hand-made mosaic floors ever installed in the U.S., shipped over from France in three-by-three-foot-sections or so and pieced together and set into place by a crew of six Tile, Marble and Terrazzo Local 32 workers over a four-week period.

"It was almost like a giant jigsaw puzzle," said Gary Goers, project manager for Architectural Southwest Stone. "It really adds to the aesthetics of the building." Added the contractor's owner, Sharon Goers: "It's beautiful. The guys really enjoyed doing the work."

The high-gloss cut stone was set into thin-set mortar and the mosaic pieces were finished with epoxy grout and a sealer. The face of a Greek philosopher dominates the mosaic nearest the entrance, and other Grecian designs are depicted throughout the rest of the floor.

"The work is excellent, it makes us proud of the casino," said Greektown Casino co-owner Jim Papas.

In recent weeks, the finished floor has been covered with plastic while the rest of casino has neared completion. Nearly all the rest of the trades were still in the casino earlier this month, finishing electrical work, plumbing, drywall, and painting. Also covered in plastic were rows of slot machines and craps tables, waiting for installation.

"We have had a tremendous relationship with the building trades unions," said Greektown Casino co-owner Ted Gatzaros. "There were a lot of outsiders who raised questions about whether the Detroit area had the craftsmen to meet our standards. The product you see here speaks for itself. We're thrilled with the quality of the product and the skill level of the workers."

The Greektown Casino will feature 2,400 slot machines and 96 table games in 75,000 square feet of Mediterranean-themed gaming space. Construction should wrap up in the next month or so, but the casino's opening still hinges on the results of an investigation by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

Like the MGM Grand and Motor City Casinos that have already opened in Detroit, the Greektown Casino is considered "temporary" until even bigger and better facilities are built elsewhere, possibly on the riverfront.

There's nothing temporary about the floor, however. "It will last forever," Gary Goers said. "It's just another example of highly skilled union labor," said Local 32 Business Manager Robert Wilson.

TILE MASONS installed a beautiful, one-of-a-kind mosaic floor at the Greektown Casino in Detroit. Standing on it are casino co-owners Ted Gatzaros and Jim Papas, Tile, Marble and Terrazzo Workers Local 32 Business Manager Robert Wilson, and from Architectural Southwest Stone are co-owner Sharon Goers, Project Manager Garrett Van Horn and co-owner Gary Goers.