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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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,...
In a letter written to Alden B. Dow in November 1950, C. S. Comey asked for a home that was “cozy, not too large, as there are but two of us, not so young.” He wanted ease and economy of maintenance, cheerfulness and lightness, and “a large bedroom on the lake...
In the spring of 1935, Midland physician Dr. Charles MacCallum asked Alden B. Dow to design a residence for the sloping lot he purchased from Mr. Dow just north of the Midland Country Club. The initial rendering showed a low, one-story design placed on the crest...
The Millard and Mary Pryor Residence was designed by Alden B. Dow in early 1937 for a new subdivision in Grosse Pointe Park, east of Detroit. The Pryor’s requirements for a family that included twin boys and a maid were: bedrooms for parents, boys, guest, and...
Arnold R. Gabel was a chemist for the Dow Chemical Company in the Physical Research, Cellulose, Biochemical Research, and Main Analytical Laboratories. He was awarded several patents during his years with the company and developed a method of producing ethyl...