A new synthetic product developed by the Dow Chemical Company in the late 1930s, ethyl cellulose or Ethocel, captured the imagination of Alden B. Dow for its potential as a building material. While initially developed for use in industry, the architect tested its...
Location: Lake Jackson, Texas Architect: Alden B. Dow Few architects have the opportunity to design a whole community, but Alden B. Dow had just such a unique opportunity in 1941 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Dow Chemical was expanding its plant in Freeport and the new...
Location: Midland, Michigan Architect: Alden B. Dow Alden B. Dow designed this modest, one-story home in 1937 for the Reverend and Mrs. A. C. Barclay, the grandparents of his wife, Vada Bennett Dow. There are no specifications and no signed contract in the job...
Location: Algonac, Michigan Architect: Alden B. Dow LeRoy Smith and his family lived in Highland Park, Michigan, but owned land along the St. Clair River near Algonac for summer trips. In the late 1930’s, they decided to build a summer house on the property to...
Location: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Architect: Alden B. Dow Lynn Townsend was two years into his long tenure as head of the Chrysler Corporation in 1963 when he approached Alden B. Dow about designing a home for his family in Bloomfield Hills. Following a visit...
Location: East Lansing, Michigan Architect: Alden B. Dow The Charles W. Bachman Residence in East Lansing was designed by Alden B. Dow in 1936. Charles Bachman was the football coach for Michigan State College from 1933 until 1946. The two-story L-shaped...
Location: Midland, Michigan Architect: Alden B. Dow Louis Butenschoen joined the Dow Chemical Company in 1935 as a member of the sales staff. During his career, he would develop the sales market for dry cleaning solvents and eventually became the manager of the...
Location: Grand Haven, Michigan Architect: Alden B. Dow Alden B. Dow began the design of the Methodist Church of the Dunes in 1957 and completed the working drawings in 1960. Construction bids amounting to $276,468 were accepted and the ground-breaking ceremony...
Location: Midland, Michigan Architect: Alden B. Dow Occupying an entire city block on a busy corner of Main Street in downtown Midland, the First Methodist Church was designed by Alden B. Dow in 1947. “The architecture of this church, he wrote, “is to inspire the...
Mid-Century Modern Midland (MCMM), a project of the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio, has been recognized by Docomomo US, as one of 10 winners of the 2019 Modernism in America Awards. The MCMM’s project to document and share Midland’s unique contribution to the...
Location: Midland, Michigan Architect: Alden B. Dow Herbert H. Dow II was the grandson of the founder of the Dow Chemical Company. He began a 39-year tenure with the company in 1953 at the age of 25, progressing through a number of positions and eventually...
Location: Midland, Michigan Architect: Alden B. Dow The first unit block house to be built was the Sheldon B. Heath house, designed by Alden B. Dow in late spring of 1934. This four-bedroom home on West St. Andrews Road was one of the first to be located in a new...