Alden B. Dow’s Unbuilt Mt. Pleasant, Michigan Projects
Between 1936 and 1960, Alden B. Dow designed a number of projects located in the city of Mt. Pleasant, some 30 miles from his Home and Studio in Midland. Three residential projects were built. Six projects were never built but presentation drawings and, in some cases, floorplans exist. Here’s a rare look at those unrealized […]
Alden B. Dow’s Unbuilt Design for the Homestyle Center
Called an “outdoor museum for houses” by the journal Architectural Record, the Homestyle Center was a project conceived by Detroit realtor Jason Honigman and promoted by Arleigh Hitchcock, an architect and sales manager for the Herman Miller Furniture Company. Their plan was to build a permanent display center for up to 50 homes designed by the leading […]
The Ethocel House: An Unbuilt Design by Alden B. Dow
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 use in the design of the 1940 House, also known as the […]
Alden B. Dow’s Unbuilt Houses for K. T. Keller
T. Keller succeeded Walter Chrysler as the chief executive officer of the Chrysler Corporation in 1935. Between 1938 and 1940, Alden B. Dow presented Mr. and Mrs. Keller with several stunning designs for a home on a hill overlooking the St. Clair River in southeastern Michigan. The very first plan in 1938 was for […]
The Michigan Governor’s Mansion by Alden B. Dow
In 1946, Alden B. Dow was selected to design the first official residence for Michigan’s governor in the state capital of Lansing. In a letter to the director of the Division of Building Construction, the architect described in detail the residence he envisioned: “The general appearance of the building should not be a stiff and […]
