The Alden B. Dow Archives
315 Post Street
Midland MI 48640
Telephone (989) 839-2744
Toll Free (866) 315-POST (7678)
Fax (989) 839-2611
potts@abdow.org
Hours: Mon-Fri (9am-5pm) by appointment,
except major holidays.
The
Alden B. and Vada B. Dow Creativity Foundation was founded in 1988 to
preserve Mr. Dow's papers and architectural drawings and to make them
available for research. The Archives' holdings document Alden Dow's work as
an architect, his civic activities and his philosophies on creativity. The
holdings consist of:
Project Drawings: (22,000)
including
design materials (sketches, presentation architectural drawings and design
development drawings), and construction documents (bid drawings, working
drawings and shop drawings).
Project or Job Files: (125 linear feet) for almost every project done over
his forty year active career.
This series contains: Correspondence with
clients, suppliers, and consultants, contracts, specifications, bids, and
miscellaneous
documents about each project. Photographs, Slides and Transparencies: (57
linear feet) are available for most design projects, and also document Mr.
Dow's civic and family life. Publications: (8 linear feet) includes
magazine articles, and books about Alden B. Dow, his philosophy, and his
architectural work. This series is extensive and will provide the beginning
researcher with substantial background material.
Lectures and Speeches: (3 linear feet) documents
presentations to civic and professional groups from 1935 to 1971 on his
architectural and creativity philosophies.
Oral Histories: Transcripts of oral history
interviews conducted between 1989-1991 with colleagues, friends, and family
of Alden B. Dow. The original audio tapes of these interviews are
restricted.
Motion Picture Films and Videos: (87 linear
feet) on subjects such as architecture, family, travel, and nature. Many of
the heavily used films (especially the "architecture" sub-series) have been
transferred to video. Some films may be restricted due to condition.
Library: (86 linear feet) in Mr. Dow's office
and the house study consist of hundreds of architectural books and magazines
on architecture and other areas of interest to Alden B. Dow.
Sketchbooks and Loose Sketches and Drawings: (4
linear feet) contain miscellaneous sketches that are not usually project
related and cover the early 1920's until the mid 1970's. This series
includes Alden Dow's sketches required for course work during his years at
the University of Michigan and Columbia University. A sketch book and loose
sketches from the six months spent as part of the Taliesin Fellowship with
Frank Lloyd Wright in Spring Green, Wisconsin is also included.
Objects: (126 linear feet) represent many of
Alden Dow's personal interests and design tastes. The model trains,
mechanical toys and photographic equipment show Mr. Dow's playful nature and
his great interest in photography.
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