In 1957 Leland Doan, chairman of the Dow Chemical Company, asked Alden B. Dow to design a house for his family, one that would be eminently suited as well for the entertaining expected of one in his position. The result is a residence built of randomly-laid...
The Tour Day partnership between The Alden B. Dow Home and Studio and Docomomo US is an easy one to understand. But first, Docomomo — what an odd word, right? It stands for the DOcumentation and COnservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of...
Alden B. Dow designed more than 30 religious structures during his career as an architect. After houses, he most enjoyed the challenge of elevating the way people thought about and experienced their houses of worship. In speaking to delegates attending the...
In search of an architect, the building committee of the newly-formed congregation of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in East Lansing, Michigan, sent out a request for proposals in April of 1958. Alden B. Dow responded by enclosing sketches of two other churches...
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...
In 1941 Millard Saxton founded the Engineered Products Company working from his garage in Flint, Michigan, making storm door locking mechanisms. Still in business today, EPCO is a brand name for architectural hardware products. Well-acquainted with Alden B. Dow’s...
Parker Frisselle joined the Dow Chemical Company as a salesman in 1943 and advanced to become manager of consumer product development. His wife Dorothy was the daughter of Ruth Dow Doan and Leland I. Doan, president of Dow Chemical from 1949 to 1962. The site for...
In February of 1958 a devastating fire destroyed the stone Gothic building that served as Christ Episcopal Church in Adrian, Michigan. Seven months later, Alden B. Dow was selected as architect and began the design of a new church that would look nothing like the...
In the spring of 1936, Alden B. Dow prepared drawings of a residence for George Greene, a plant engineer with the Dow Chemical Company. Construction of the 1600 square foot house began in June 1936 and was completed in March 1937 at a final cost of $16, 983. It...
Oscar Diehl was a salesman for the Dow Chemical Company. He and his wife purchased a small corner lot on East Park Drive in Midland and commissioned Alden B. Dow to design a house for them. Renderings and working drawings for a modest home were presented to the...
The selection of an architect for a new building for the First Presbyterian Church of Dearborn took more than a year of research by its Building Committee. Thirty-five architectural firms submitted answers to questionnaires. On January 21, 1960, the congregation...
Leonard Bergstein was a Midland pharmacist who founded Community Drug Store on East Main Street in 1930. Alden B. Dow began the drawings for a home for the Bergsteins in 1951. The contract was dated September 21, 1951 for the sum of $38,936.98, with construction by...