Alden B. Dow began the design of the Dow Chemical Company’s Abbott Road Center in 1963. The design phase continued over the next several years, during which time it came to be called the 2040 Plastics Building. A purely functional brick and glass exterior housed offices and laboratory space for…
S. Gordon Saunders was an executive in the Dodge division of the Chrysler Corporation. He owned a lot on a small pond near Cranbrook Academy that was quite similar to the natural setting of Alden B. Dow’s studio. The architect began the design of the Saunders residence in 1936, two…
The plans for the E. G. MacMartin residence were drawn in late 1940 and early 1941. The Alden Dow Building Company received the contract to build this $7,500 house. Work began in February 1941, with construction to be completed by July. The MacMartin residence is one of the smaller homes…
The Robbie Robinson residence is one of the 13 unit block houses designed by Alden B. Dow and built during the 1930s and early 1940s. Mr. Robinson owned the Robbie Robinson Company, a Detroit firm that supplied a number of building products used by Mr. Dow over the years. In…
Holiday Tours November 27th to December 31st of this Mid-Century Modern Masterpiece *Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day* Original Dow Family decorations! shimmering lights captivating bright colors beautiful ornaments scale trains playful toys Sugar cookies and cider! Daily Tours by Reservation: Monday - Saturday at 2pm Friday-Saturday at 10am Private…
On Display in the Second Drafting Room While many of Alden B. Dow’s structures, especially his Unit Block houses, have flat roofs, he nevertheless designed some beautiful and engaging domed buildings during the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Domes are one of the most familiar features in architecture. They are curved…
Dr. Carleton Washburne was a nationally-known educational psychologist and author who taught at Brooklyn College in New York. He wrote to Alden B. Dow in November of 1959 to inquire if the architect might design a retirement home close to his daughter, who was married to a professor at Michigan…
Russell Jameson owned the Jameson Machine Company in Saginaw, Michigan. While scouting property for a home for the Jamesons to the north of Saginaw, Alden B. Dow discovered a plot of 200 acres in East Tawas that perfectly suited his design sensibilities. It featured a hill upon which to situate…
Northwood University as a physical place in Midland began with a Master Plan from the drawing board of Alden B. Dow in 1961. His firm was commissioned to get the initial buildings ready for students in just under six months. Over the course of the following year, a site plan…
The Macauley Whiting residence was designed in 1947 for Macauley and Helen Dow Whiting. Mrs. Whiting was the niece of Alden B. Dow, the architect of the home. Mr. Whiting worked for the Dow Chemical Company, becoming Manager of the Midland Division and later, Director and President of Overseas Operations.…