Dr. Robert Ballmer was a physician with an office on Main Street in Midland, Michigan, but when it came to building a house for his family, he chose a long narrow lot overlooking the golf course of the Midland Country Club, and asked Alden B. Dow to design it. …
Alden B. Dow’s plans for the residence known as the Dow Chemical Company House 101 are dated June of 1939. No job files exist for the structure, thus its construction date and cost are unknown. Without a named owner at the time the drawings were made, the design was likely…
F. W. Lewis was an accountant for the Dow Chemical Company. The first sketches for his modest house are dated 1933, with construction completed a year later for $2,500. At approximately 900 square feet, it marked the beginning of Alden B. Dow’s abiding interest in the design of low-cost housing.
The idea came to Alden B. Dow as he sat quietly in an auditorium, watching the conductor and musicians performing in concert. He wondered if there might be a way to enhance the enjoyment of a musical performance by adding color, light, and movement to the experience. He began experimenting…
Out of the Archives: The Rare and Unusual Designs of Alden B. Dow During the months of February, March, and the first half of April, visitors to the Alden B. Dow Home & Studio will have the opportunity to view special thematic displays of seldom-seen drawings and designs from the…
Robert Goodall was born in Oak Park, Illinois, studied journalism briefly at the University of Illinois, and after working for various Chicago architectural firms went to work with Frank Lloyd Wright. At Taliesin he was on the professional staff that helped instruct the Fellowship apprentices. In the spring of 1933,…
In the spring of 1941, Alden B. Dow prepared a rendering of a proposed home for Charles and Mary Penhaligen and their two children. In the margin of the sketch, he had penciled in the estimated costs. An earlier drawing was for a two story structure, larger and more costly…
Movie Sundays at The Alden B. Dow Home and Studio Theater Reservations Required Seating is limited 1.866.315.7678 www.abdow.org February 17, 2019 ARCHITECTURE March 10, 2019 TRAVEL March 24, 2019 LEISURE AND FAMILY TIME Showtimes 1pm to 3pm on all show dates 315 Post Street - House Entrance $15.00 per ticket…
Designed in 1961 for Alden B. Dow’s niece, Margaret Towsley Riecker, her husband John, and their two children, the Riecker residence is one of the architect’s most distinctive designs. The 6,800 square-foot house nestles horizontally into a slightly rising site some 85 feet back from the street. From the front…
Music was always an important part of Josephine Ashmun’s life. At age 11, she became a church organist, a position she would hold for over 40 years. Her mother, Helen, was the sister of Herbert H. Dow, founder of the Dow Chemical Company. When Josephine asked her cousin, Alden B.…