Albert Kahn (architect)

{{Infobox person

|name = Albert Kahn

|image = Albert Kahn (architect).jpg

|caption = Kahn in the 1930s

|birth_name =

|birth_date = {{Birth date|1869|3|21|}}

|birth_place = Rhaunen, Kingdom of Prussia

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1942|12|8|1869|3|21}}

|death_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

|resting_place =

|nationality = American

|years_active = 1883–1942

|other_names =

|employer =

|occupation = Architect

|spouse = {{marriage|Ernestine Krolik|1896}}

|relatives = {{ubl|Julius Kahn (brother)|Albert E. Kahn (nephew)}}

|children = 4

|signature =

}}

Albert Kahn (March 21, 1869 – December 8, 1942) was an American architect noted for his collaborations with his brother Julius Kahn in designing industrial plant complexes such as the Ford River Rouge automobile complex.{{cite web | url=https://www.miplace.org/historic-preservation/programs-and-services/historic-landmarks/ford-river-rouge-complex/ | title=Ford River Rouge Complex | MiPlace }} Based in Detroit, he also designed skyscrapers, office buildings, and mansions in the city and suburbs, as well as many buildings at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Kahn has been called the "architect of Detroit" as the designer of nearly 900 buildings in the city.{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/travel/architecture-detroit-albert-kahn.html |title= In Energized Detroit, Savoring an Architectural Legacy|author= John L. Dorman |date=March 26, 2018 |website=New York Times online |access-date=August 7, 2021 |quote=}}

Kahn led an organization of hundreds of architect associates, and in 1937 designed 19% of all architect-designed industrial factories in the United States. Under a unique contract in 1929, he established a design and training office in Moscow, sending twenty-five staff there to train Soviet architects and engineers, and to design hundreds of industrial buildings under their first five-year plan. They trained more than 4,000 architects and engineers using Kahn's concepts. In 1943, the Franklin Institute posthumously awarded Kahn the Frank P. Brown Medal.

Early life and education

Kahn was born on March 21, 1869, to a Jewish family in Rhaunen, in the Kingdom of Prussia, today in Germany.{{sfn|Bryan|2003|page=139}} He received his early education in the school of Luxembourg.{{sfn|Blenz|1981|page=133}} At age twelve in 1881, Kahn immigrated with his family to Detroit, Michigan.{{sfn|Johnson|1997|pages=161-164}} His father Joseph was trained as a rabbi; his mother Rosalie had a talent for the visual arts and music.{{sfn|Johnson|1997|pages=161-164}} Kahn had four brothers, including Moritz, who became an engineer, and Julius Kahn, an engineer and inventor, who later collaborated with him in his architectural firm. They also had two sisters,{{sfn|Johnson|1997|pages=161-164}} one of whom, Mollie Kahn Fuchs, who later worked closely with Julius to create a type of reinforced concrete that would later be patented.{{sfn|Brashear|2008}}

When the family immigrated to America, Kahn quickly learned English and went to Detroit public schools. In 1883, he got a job at the architectural business of Mason and Rice where he got his initial architectural training,{{sfn|Johnson|1997|pages=161-164}} working primarily on residences and bank buildings.

In 1891, at age 22, Kahn won a Rotch Traveling Fellowship to study in Europe, where he toured Germany, France, Italy, and Belgium with fellow student Henry Bacon, who later designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.{{sfn|Johnson|1997|pages=161-164}}Borth, Christy. Masters of Mass Production, Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1945, pp. 97-100.

Kahn married Ernestine Krolik in 1896 and they had four children.{{sfn|Blenz|1981|page=134}} Ernestine would later briefly serve as a vice president in her husband's business, and often helped him with color and fabric selection in designs.{{sfn|Albert Kahn Family Papers|1869-1989|}}

Career

{{multiple image

| width1 = 123

| image1 = Packard1.JPG

| alt1 =

| width2 = 250

| image2 = Packard plant no 10 construction.jpg

| alt2 =

| footer = From left to right: Packard Motor Corporation Building (1910–11) in Callowhill, Philadelphia; Packard Automotive Plant (1903) in Gratiot Town, Detroit

}}

Kahn left Mason and Rice in 1895, entering into a partnership with Alexander B. Trowbridge and George W. Nettleton known as Nettleton, Kahn & Trowbridge.{{cite web |url=http://albertkahnlegacy.org/albert-kahn/ |title="About Albert Kahn" |author= |date=2021 |website= |publisher=Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation |access-date= October 24, 2021 |quote=}} In 1902, Kahn formed a partnership with his brother Julius, a civil engineer. Later that year, Julius developed a novel and scientific method of reinforcing concrete with steel, making reinforced concrete construction practical and economical. After receiving a patent on the "Kahn System" of construction in 1903, Julius left Kahn's firm and established the Trussed Concrete Steel Company, or Truscon, to market the product. Reinforced concrete allowed for much larger open spaces within factory interiors not obtainable with conventional wood construction and at a lower cost than steel frame construction. Concrete had other beneficial characteristics, such as far better protection from fire and greater load-bearing capacity. By 1905, hundreds of buildings within the United States were being constructed using the Kahn System, including the first reinforced concrete automobile plant, completed for the Cadillac Motor Car Company at 450 Amsterdam Street in TechTown, Detroit.Smith, Michael G., "The First Concrete Auto Factory: An Error in the Historical Record," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (2019) 78 (4): 442–453. Julius Kahn collaborated with his brother on the design of many industrial projects throughout the US constructed with reinforced concrete, particularly automobile factories, with the result that Kahn became widely known for his expertise in the construction of concrete industrial structures.{{sfn|Ferry|1970|p=11}}

Kahn was also responsible for designing many of the buildings and houses built under the direction of the Hiram Walker family in Walkerville, Ontario, including Willistead Manor. Kahn's interest in historically styled buildings is also seen in his houses in Detroit's Indian Village, the Cranbrook House, the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, and The Dearborn Inn, the world's first airport hotel.{{sfn|Ganem|2011|page=108}} Kahn's firm designed the Art Deco Fisher Building in Detroit's New Center area, a 28-story designated landmark. In 1929, the building was awarded a silver medal by the Architectural League of New York in the category of the year's most beautiful commercial building.{{sfn|Galster|2014|page=36}} From 1917 to 1929, Kahn's firm also designed the corporate headquarters for all three of the major Detroit daily newspapers and the General Motors building, at the time of its completion in 1922, the second largest office building in the world.{{sfn|Galster|2014|page=36}} His work was part of the architecture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/921543 |title=Albert Kahn |work=Olympedia |access-date=25 July 2020}}

= Michigan =

{{multiple image

| align = left

| direction = vertical

| width = 220

| image1 = General Motors building 089833pv.jpg

| image2 = Cadillac Place, Detroit (Grand Boulevard entrance looking upward) - 20201215.jpg

| caption2 = General Motors building (1919) in New Center, Detroit, a U.S. National Historic Landmark, listed in 1985.

}}

Henry Ford became interested in Kahn's unique designs that showed many benefits. Ford had Kahn design Ford Motor Company's Highland Park Ford Plant in 1909, for developing production techniques in the assembly line of manufacturing the Ford Model T on a large scale. In 1917, Kahn designed the half-mile-long Ford River Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan. That factory complex was developed into the largest manufacturing cluster of plants in the United States and later the largest industrial manufacturer in the world with a workforce of 120,000 employees.Borth, Christy. Masters of Mass Production, pp. 107-8, Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1945.Herman, Arthur. Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, p. 22, Random House, New York, NY, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.

Kahn also designed many of what are considered the classic buildings of the University of Michigan in the city of Ann Arbor. These include Angell Hall, Burton Memorial Tower, Hill Auditorium, Hatcher Graduate Library, and William L. Clements Library. Kahn said later in life that, of all the buildings he designed, he wanted most to be remembered for his work on the William L. Clements Library. Kahn frequently collaborated with architectural sculptor Corrado Parducci. In all, Parducci worked on about 50 Kahn commissions, including banks, office buildings, newspaper buildings, mausoleums, hospitals, and private residences.Borth, Christy. Masters of Mass Production, pp. 109-10, 120-28, Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, IN, 1945.

Kahn's firm was able to adapt to the changing needs of World War I and designed numerous army airfields and naval bases for the United States government during the war. During World War II, Kahn and his firm were in charge of several of the U.S. government's important construction projects that included aeronautical and tank arsenal plants. His 600-person office was involved in making Detroit industry part of America's Arsenal of Democracy. Among others, the office designed the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant, and the Willow Run Bomber Plant, Kahn's last building, located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The Ford Motor Company mass-produced Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers here.{{sfn|Herman|2012|pages=51-2, 96-8, 148, 200, 227-9, 242}}

{{multiple image

| direction = vertical

| width = 250

| image1 = Front of Angell Hall.jpg

| caption1 = University of Michigan Angell Hall (1924) in Ann Arbor, Michigan

| image2 = Ford Engineering Laboratory, Main Entrance.jpg

| caption2 = Ford Engineering Laboratory (1930) in Dearborn, Michigan

}}

In 1937, Albert Kahn Associates was responsible for 19% of all architect-designed industrial factories in the United States.{{sfn|Johnson|1997|page=164}} In 1941, Kahn received the eighth-highest salary and compensation package in the U.S., $486,936, of which he paid 72% in tax.{{Cite news | title=Compensation and the I.R.S.: It's not the 'Good' Old Days | work= The New York Times | pages=(Business Day section) | no-pp=y | access-date=2014-01-21 | date=2010-12-01 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/12/01/business/01retrographic.html?ref=economy}} Kahn worked on more than 1,000 commissions from Henry Ford and hundreds from other automakers. Kahn designed showrooms for Ford Motor Company in several cities, including New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston.{{sfn|Johnson|1997|pages=161-164}}

As of 2020, approximately 60 Kahn buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Five of these (the Fisher Building, Ford River Rouge complex, Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, General Motors Building, and Highland Park Ford Plant) were designated National Historic Landmarks.{{cite web |url= https://www.archpaper.com/2020/10/albert-kahn-associates-celebrates-125th-anniversary-with-launch-of-interactive-map-of-projects-in-detroit-and-beyond/ |title= Albert Kahn Associates celebrates 125th anniversary with launch of interactive map of projects in Detroit and beyond |last= Hickman |first=Matt |website= The Architect's Newspaper |date= 27 October 2020 |access-date= August 7, 2021 }} Not all of Kahn's works have been preserved. Cass Technical High School in Detroit, designed by Malcomson and Higginbotham and built by Kahn's firm in 1922, was demolished in 2011, after vandals had stripped it of most of its fixtures.[http://historicdetroit.org/building/cass-tech-high-school-old/ Cass Tech High School (old)]. Historic Detroit. Retrieved on November 20, 2014. The Donovan Building, later occupied by Motown Records, was abandoned for decades and deteriorated. The city demolished it as part of its beautification plan before the 2006 Super Bowl XL.{{cite web |url= https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/donovan-building |title= Donovan Building|date=2021 |website= Historic Detroit Organization |access-date= August 7, 2021 }} In Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Kahn designed Checker Cab Manufacturing plant was shuttered following the bankruptcy of Checker Motors Corporation, in 2009. It was leveled in 2015.{{cite web |url= http://www.icta.club/checkers-albert-kahns-designed-plant/|title= Checker's Albert Kahn Designed Plant |last= |first1= |website= Checker Car Club of America |date= 30 May 2021 |access-date= August 7, 2021 }}

Fifteen Kahn buildings are recognized by official Michigan historical markers:{{Cite web |url=https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/HistoricalMarkers/ |title=Michigan Historical Markers |access-date=2020-06-17}}

= In the Soviet Union =

On May 8, 1929, through an agreement signed with Kahn by Saul G. Bron, President of Amtorg, the Soviet government contracted Albert Kahn Associates to help design the Stalingrad Tractor Plant, the first tractor plant in the USSR. On January 9, 1930, a second contract with Kahn was signed for his firm to become consulting architects for all industrial construction in the Soviet Union. Under these contracts, during 1929 to 1932 and the Great Depression, Kahn's firm established a design and training bureau in Moscow to train and supervise Soviet architects and engineers. This bureau, under the government's Gosproektstroi, was headed by Moritz Kahn and 25 others of Kahn Associates staff, who worked in Moscow during this project. They trained more than 4,000 Soviet architects and engineers;{{Cite news|title=Industry's Architect |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,795936,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114104055/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,795936,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 14, 2009|magazine=Time|date= June 29, 1942 |access-date=2008-04-04}} and designed 521 plants and factories{{sfn|Johnson|1997|pages=161-164}} under the nation's first five-year plan.

{{Cite journal |last=Melnikova-Raich|first=Sonia |title=The Soviet Problem with Two 'Unknowns': How an American Architect and a Soviet Negotiator Jump-Started the Industrialization of Russia, Part I: Albert Kahn |journal=IA, The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology|year=2010|volume=36|issue=2|pages=59–73 |issn=0160-1040|jstor=41933723}}

{{cite web |url= http://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-0420?rgn=main;view=text|title= Albert Kahn Associates records |last= |first1= |website= Bentley Historical Library |access-date= August 7, 2021 }}

Kahn-designed buildings

Below is a selected list of buildings designed by Kahn. All are located in Detroit unless otherwise indicated.

Dexter M. Ferry summer residence, 1890 (remodeling of an early 19th-century stone farmhouse), Unadilla, New York (known as Milfer Farm, held by Ferry heirs today; Kahn also designed the "Honeymoon Cottage" on the estate, one of the earliest prefabricated houses built)
Hiram Walker offices, 1892, designer for Mason & Rice, Windsor, Ontario
William Livingstone House, 1894 designer for Mason & Rice (demolished, 2007)
Children's Free Hospital, 1896, Nettleton, Kahn & Trowbridge
Bethany Memorial Church, 1897, Nettleton, Kahn & Trowbridge
Bernard Ginsburg House, 1898, Nettleton & Kahn
Joseph R. McLaughlin, 1899, Nettleton & Kahn
George Headley, 1900, Nettleton & Kahn
Edward DeMille Campbell House, 1899, Nettleton & Kahn Ann Arbor, Michigan
Detroit Racquet Club, 1902 (Kahn designed the building, and the Vinton Company, whose offices were just down Woodbridge Street from the club, was awarded the general contract for erecting the facilities)
Frederick L. Colby, building permit issued 5/22/1901, finished 1902
Packard Automotive Plant, 1903 (Kahn's tenth factory built for Packard, but first concrete one)
Palms Apartments, 1903
Temple Beth-El, 1903 (Kahn's home synagogue, now the Bonstelle Theatre of Wayne State University)
Belle Isle Aquarium and Conservatory, 1904
Francis C. McMath, building permit issued 8/14/1902 finished 1904
Brandeis-Millard House, 1904, Gold Coast Historic District, Midtown Omaha, Nebraska
Arthur Kiefer, building permit issued 5/17/1905, finished 1905
Charles M. Swift, 1905
Albert Kahn House, 1906 (his personal residence)
Burham S. Colburn, building permit issued 8/7/1905, finished 1906
Gustavus D. Pope, 1906
Julian C. Madison Building, 1906
Allen F. Edwards, building permit issued 5/23/1906, finished 1906
George N. Pierce Plant, 1906, Buffalo, New York
Willistead Manor, 1906, Windsor, Ontario
Battle Creek Post Office, 1907, Battle Creek, Michigan (building featuring the concrete construction method used in Kahn's Packard plant)
Cranbrook House, 1907, Cranbrook Educational Community, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Service Building for the Packard Motor Car Company, 1907, New York City
Frederick H. Holt House, 1907
Highland Park Ford Plant, 1908, Highland Park, Michigan
Edwin S. George Building, 1908
Kaufman Footwear Building, 1908, Kitchener, Ontario (renovated into lofts in the early 2000s)
Mahoning National Bank, 1909, Youngstown, Ohio
Frederick Stearns Building addition, c. 1910
Packard Motor Corporation Building, 1910–11, Philadelphia
Chalmers automobile plant, building permit issued 11/6/1909, finished 1911
Merganthaler Linotype Company Buildings, 1910s-1920s, Brooklyn, New York City
National Theatre, 1911
Shaw Walker Company, Five-story expansion, 1912,{{cite web|title=Plans at old Shaw Walker site|publisher=MLive| access-date=July 31, 2017|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/01/watermark_center_plans_at_old.html }} Muskegon, Michigan
Bates Mill Building Number 5, 1914, Lewiston, Maine
Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, 1914, Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland Institute of Art since 1981)
Kales Building, 1914
Liggett School-Eastern Campus, 1914 (Detroit Waldorf School since 1964)
Benjamin Siegel, 1913-1914
Detroit Athletic Club, 1915
Garden Court Apartments, 1915
[https://trimaincenter.com/history/ Buffalo Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant], 1915, Buffalo, New York
Vinton Building, 1916
Russell Industrial Center, 1916
Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, 1916, North Omaha, Nebraska
Ford Motor Company - Assembly Plant, 1916, remodeled in 1924, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Belt Line Center - Manufacturing Plant, 1916, Detroit, Michigan[https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2021/12/04/james-and-jennifer-crumbley-found-kahn-designed-building/8868688002/ James and Jennifer Crumbley found in century-old building with rich history] Detroit Free Press
The Detroit News Building, 1917
Ford Motor Company New York Headquarters, 1917, New York City
Ford River Rouge Complex, 1917–28, Dearborn, Michigan
Multiple buildings and Aircraft Maintenance Hangars (Bldg 777&781), 1917–19, Langley Field, Hampton, Virginia
Motor Wheel Factory, 1918, Lansing, Michigan (It has been renovated into residential lofts)
General Motors Building, 1919 (former GM world headquarters and second largest office building in the world at that time)
Dominion Tire Plant, 1919, Kitchener, Ontario
Fisher Body Plant 23, 1919
First Congregational Church addition, 1921
Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, 1921, Toronto, Ontario (redeveloped into Shoppers World Danforth, 1962)
Phoenix Mill, 1921, Plymouth, Michigan
First National Building, 1922
Park Avenue Building, 1922
Former Detroit Police Headquarters, 1923
Temple Beth El, 1923 (a new building to replace the 1903 temple, currently occupied by the Bethel Community Transformation Center)
Walker Power Plant, 1923, Windsor, Ontario
The Flint Journal Building, 1924, Flint, Michigan
Olde Building, 1924
Ford Motor Company assembly plant, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1924
Ford Motor Company Lamp Factory, 1921–25, Flat Rock, Michigan
Detroit Free Press Building, 1925
Kalamazoo Gazette Building, 1925 (now Bronson Hospital Laboratory)
1001 Covington Apartments, 1925
Blake Building, 1926, Jackson, Michigan
Ford Hangar, 1926, Lansing Municipal Airport, Lansing, Illinois
Packard Motor Car Showroom and Storage Facility, c. 1926, Buffalo, New York
Packard Proving Grounds, 1926, Shelby Charter Township, Michigan
Packard Showroom, 1926, New York City
Consumers Power Company headquarters, 1927, Jackson, Michigan (demolished, 2013){{cite web|title=Brad Flory column: Good-bye to a landmark once 'the essence of Jackson'|publisher=MLive| url=https://www.mlive.com/opinion/jackson/index.ssf/2013/09/brad_flory_column_obituary_for.html}}
S. S. Kresge World Headquarters, 1927
Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, 1927, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan
Fisher Building, 1927
[https://www.preservationready.org/Buildings/2505MainStreet Buffalo Ford Motor Company Car Showroom], 1927, Buffalo, New York
Muskegon Chronicle Building, 1928, Muskegon, Michigan{{cite web|title=Chronicle Building now owned by Muskegon Community College|publisher=MLive| access-date=July 31, 2017|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2014/12/muskegon_chronicle_building_so.html}}
Argonaut Building 1928 (General Motors laboratory, now owned by the College for Creative Studies)
Brooklyn Printing Plant (New York Times), 1929, Brooklyn, New York City
Detroit Times Building, 1929 (demolished, 1978){{cite web|title=Detroit Times Building|publisher=Buildings of Detroit|access-date=October 29, 2010| url=http://www.buildingsofdetroit.com/places/times| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026134611/http://buildingsofdetroit.com/places/times| archive-date=26 October 2010|url-status=dead}}
Griswold Building, 1929
Packard Service Building, 1929, New York City
Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant, 1930, Richmond, California
Ford Engineering Laboratory and Powerhouse, 1930, Dearborn Michigan
New Center Building, 1930 (adjacent to the Fisher Building)
The Dearborn Inn, 1931, Dearborn, Michigan (world's first airport hotel)
Former Congregation Shaarey Zedek Building, 1932
Power Plant, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1933{{cite journal |title=New Heating Plant Under Construction |journal=Notre Dame Scholastic Magazine |date=23 October 1931 |page=14 |url=http://www.archives.nd.edu/Scholastic/VOL_0065/VOL_0065_ISSUE_0005.pdf}}
General Motors Building, 1933, Chicago Century of Progress International Exposition
Ford Rotunda, 1934, Dearborn, Michigan (designed for the Chicago World's Fair; burned, 1963)
Ann Arbor Daily News Building, 1936, Ann Arbor, Michigan (now University of Michigan Credit Union)
Chevrolet/Fisher Body plant, Baltimore, Maryland, 1935 (demolished 2006)
Burroughs Adding Machine Plant, 1938, Plymouth, Michigan
Dodge Truck Plant, 1938, Warren, Michigan
Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant, 1941, Warren, Michigan
Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1941 (used by Ford for bombers during the war, then by Kaiser for cars, then by GM for transmissions)
Hangars 101 and 102, 1941 (constructed for patrol squadrons operating the Consolidated PBY Catalina aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii), Kaneohe, Hawaii
Hangars A and B (later renumbered 110 and 111), 1943, NAS Barbers Point, Kapolei, Hawaii
Upjohn Tower, Kalamazoo, Michigan (designed for the Upjohn Company; demolished after Pfizer buyout, 2005)
Studebaker Factory, Building 84, 1923, South Bend, Indiana
Cold Spring Granite Company Main Plant, 1929, Cold Spring, Minnesota (demolished 2008)
King Edward Public School, 1905, Walkerville Neighbourhood, Windsor, Ontario. (demolished 1993, original front stone facade saved)
General Motors Stamping Plant, 1930, Indianapolis, Indiana (demolished 2014)
Bedrock Woodward Building 1449 Woodward
Garden Court Apartments 2900 E. Jefferson

= Buildings at the University of Michigan =

Below are University of Michigan campus structures built during Kahn's career.{{sfn|Blenz|1981|page=134}}{{Cite web|url= https://aadl.org/aaobserver/36844|title=Ann Arbor Observer| date= 2002|volume=January|pages=27–33 |publisher=Ann Arbor Observer Company|access-date=July 28, 2021}}

Engineering Building (now West Hall), 1904
Psychopathic Hospital (demolished), 1906
Hill Auditorium, 1913
Helen Newberry Residence Hall, 1915
Natural Science Building (now School of Kinesiology Building), 1915
Betsy Barbour Residence Hall, 1920
General Library (now Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library), 1920
William L. Clements Library, 1923
Angell Hall, 1924
Physical Science Building (now Randall Laboratory), 1924
University Hospital (demolished), 1925
Couzens Hall, 1925
East Medical Building (previously C. C. Little Building, now North University Building{{Cite web |url=https://record.umich.edu/articles/u-m-remove-little-winchell-names-campus-facilities/ |title=U-M to remove Little, Winchell names from campus facilities | website=University of Michigan |access-date=2021-12-02 }}), 1925
Thomas H. Simpson Memorial Institute, 1927
Alexander G. Ruthven Museums Building, 1928{{Cite web |url=http://umaec.umich.edu/projects/major-projects/alexander-g-ruthven-museums-building-renovation-and-addition/ |title=Major Projects: Alexander G. Ruthven Museums Building Renovation and Addition | website=University of Michigan |access-date=2019-01-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416123329/http://umaec.umich.edu/projects/major-projects/alexander-g-ruthven-museums-building-renovation-and-addition/ |archive-date=2018-04-16 |url-status=dead }}
Burton Memorial Tower, 1936
Neuropsychiatric Institute (demolished), 1938

Greek Organization Buildings:

Sigma Phi House (1900), 426 North Ingalls Street (demolished)
Delta Upsilon House (1903), 1331 Hill Street
Triangle House (1905–06), 1501 Washtenaw Avenue
Alpha Epsilon Phi House (1912), 1205 Hill Street{{Cite web|url=https://fsl.umich.edu/resource/86|title=Alpha Epsilon Phi - ΑΕΦ {{!}} Greek Life|website=fsl.umich.edu|language=en|access-date=2018-05-25}}
Psi Upsilon House (1924), 1000 Hill Street

File:EdselFordHouseGarage.jpg|Edsel and Eleanor Ford House (1927) in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan

File:Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory (3478836789).jpg|Belle Isle Conservatory (1904) in Belle Isle, Detroit

File:BethEl1905.jpg|Temple Beth-El (1903) in Brush Park, Detroit

File:First Congregational Church 1903.jpg|First Congregational Church addition (1921) in Midtown Detroit

File:Willisteada.jpg|Willistead Manor (1906) in Windsor, Ontario

File:Battle Creek Post Office.jpg|Battle Creek Post Office (1907) in Battle Creek, Michigan

File:DetroitAthleticClubnew.JPG|Detroit Athletic Club (1915) in Downtown Detroit

File:Fisherb straighten.jpg|Fisher Building (1927) in New Center, Detroit

File:Vinton Building Detroit MI.jpg|Vinton Building (1916) in Downtown Detroit

File:Detroitkalesbldg.jpg|Kales Building (1914) in Downtown Detroit

File:First National Building, Detroit.jpg|First National Building (1922) in Downtown Detroit

File:AlbertKahnBuildingDetroit.jpg|New Center Building (1930) in New Center, Detroit

File:Detroit Free Press Building 2011 05 08.jpg|Detroit Free Press Building (1925) in Downtown Detroit

File:ArgonautBuildingDetroit.jpg|Argonaut Building (1928) in New Center, Detroit

File:GriswoldBuildingDetroit.jpg|Griswold Building (1929) in Downtown Detroit

File:Highland park plant 1.jpg|Highland Park Ford Plant (1908) in Highland Park, Michigan

File:River Rouge aerial 4a25915r.jpg|Ford River Rouge Complex (1917–28) in Dearborn, Michigan

Death and legacy

Kahn died in Detroit on December 8, 1942.{{sfn|Blenz|1981|page=134}} Many of his personal working papers and construction photographs are housed at University of Michigan's Bentley History Library.{{Cite web|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhlead/umich-bhl-0420|title=Bentley Historical Library Albert Kahn Associates Records 1825-2014}} His personal working library, the Albert Kahn Library Collection, is housed at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ltu.edu/library/kahn.asp|title=Albert Kahn Research Symposium|access-date=2019-06-10|archive-date=2020-07-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724135522/https://www.ltu.edu/library/kahn.asp|url-status=dead}} The Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian house most of the family's correspondence and other materials.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/albert-kahn-papers-7638|title=Archives of American Art, Albert Kahn Papers}}

The life and works of Kahn were celebrated in an exhibition of photographs, drawings, and models at the Detroit Institute of Arts from September 15 to November 1, 1970. It commemorated the 75th anniversary of the architectural firm which was founded by Kahn.{{sfn|Ferry|1970|pages=1-11}} Many of Detroit's leading industrialists who work in the buildings designed by Kahn were present at the celebration.{{cite news |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87718591/ |title= Tribute Paid to Alfred Kahn |newspaper= Detroit Free Press|location= Detroit, Michigan|page=27 |date= September 15, 1970 |via= Newspapers.com {{open access}}|access-date= October 25, 2021}}

A staff writer for the Times Herald newspaper in 1970 wrote that Kahn was often called the father of industrial architecture. He was referred to as Architect of the Colossal by Reader's Digest magazine. The science museum Franklin Institute in Philadelphia recognized him as an architectural pioneer and awarded him their gold medal. The American Institute of Architects awarded him two of their gold medals in his lifetime. The staff writer estimated that Kahn was the architect of two billion dollars worth of structures before his death in 1942. The committee on science and arts of the Detroit Institute of Arts noted that none of Kahn's discoveries were ever patented, but instead were placed in the hands of architects and engineers engaged in construction during World Wars I and II. The 184 page catalogue put in book form called The Legacy of Albert Kahn consists of two essays on the works of Kahn, one by W. Hawkins Ferry the architectural writer and Honorary Curator of Architecture at the Detroit Institute of Arts and another written by Walter B. Sanders as a Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan.{{cite news |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87718944/ |title= Institute Salutes Detroit Architect |newspaper= The Times Herald|location= Port Huron, Michigan|page=18 |date= September 18, 1970 |via= Newspapers.com {{open access}}|access-date= October 25, 2021}}

Detroit Free Press writer and historian John Gallagher notes that Kahn produced 1900 buildings, among them being the Fisher Building, the General Motors headquarters, the Ford River Rouge Complex, and many buildings on the campus of the University of Michigan. He points out that what was modern in 1920, like his automobile factories that he built between 1900 and 1920 were obsolete by 1990s standards and were being torn down. Some of his other buildings at that time no longer served the purpose for which they were constructed and were being remodeled for other uses.{{cite news |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87720751/ |title= More gaps in the Kahn legacy |newspaper= Detroit Free Press|location= Detroit, Michigan|page=27 |date= February 21, 1994 |via= Newspapers.com {{open access}}|access-date= October 25, 2021}}

References

Sources

{{cite book| last=Blenz| first= Beth | title=The Encyclopedia of Michigan| url= | year=1981 | publisher= Somerset Publishers| isbn= 9780403099733}}
{{cite book| last=Bryan| first= Ford R.| title=Henry's Lieutenants| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pjBnYiyu4xkC&dq=%22Albert+Kahn%22+(architect)+March+21+1869&pg=PA139 | year=2003 | publisher= Wayne State University Press| isbn= 9780814337714 }}
{{cite book| last=Ferry| first=W. Hawkins| title=The Legacy of Albert Kahn| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VocSPYK0Cm4C| year=1970| location=Detroit| publisher=Wayne State University Press| isbn=0-8143-1889-4}}
{{cite book| last=Galster| first=George| title=Driving Detroit| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ghwmAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Albert+Kahn%22++the+second+largest+office+building+in+the+world&pg=PA36 | year=2014| publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press| isbn=9780812222951}}
{{cite book|last=Herman|first=Arthur|title=Freedom's Forge| url=| year=2012| publisher=Random House| isbn=}}
{{cite book| last=Ganem| first=Jennifer C.| title=Dearborn Inn| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sHCBsOBqqisC&dq=%22Albert+Kahn%22++world%27s+first+airport+hotel&pg=PA108| year=2011| publisher= Arcadia Publishing| isbn=9780738582702}}
{{Cite book | last=Johnson |first= Donald L. | title=Makers of 20th Century Modern Architecture: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook | year=1997 | publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers | isbn=1136640568}}
{{cite book|last=Kahn Fuchs|first=Mollie|title=Memoirs| url=https://collections.si.edu/search/detail/ead_component:sova-aaa-kahnalbp-ref173?q=record_ID%3DAAA.kahnalbp_ref173&record=1&hlterm=record_ID%3DAAA.kahnalbp_ref173| year=1937}}
{{cite book|last=Brashear|first=William R.|title= Albert Kahn and His Family in Peace and War| publisher=Bentley Historical Library |year=2008}}
{{cite|title= Albert Kahn Family Papers, 1869-1989| publisher=Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan |ref={{sfnref|Albert Kahn Family Papers|1869-1989}} }}

External links

[https://libguides.ltu.edu/albertkahnportal Albert Kahn Research Coalition]
[http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/albert-kahn-papers-7638 Albert Kahn papers] from the Smithsonian Archives of American Art
[http://www.historicdetroit.org/architect/albert-kahn/ Historic Detroit — Albert Kahn]
[http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=bhlead&idno=umich-bhl-0420 Albert Kahn papers 1896–2008] Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
[https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/search?query=kahn%20soviet&filters=%7B%22forms_collection_library_bookstore%22%3A%5B%22photographs%22%5D%7D Photos and drawings of Soviet Diesel Tractor Plant], Canadian Centre for Architecture
[https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/travel/architecture-detroit-albert-kahn.html Energized Detroit, Savor an Architectural Legacy] — The New York Times, March 26, 2018
[http://www.walkervilletimes.com/architects.htm Walkerville]
[http://www.albertkahn.com Albert Kahn Associates]
[http://www.fordhouse.org/ Edsel & Eleanor Ford House]
{{Find a Grave|560}}
{{LocalWiki|ann-arbor|Albert_Kahn|Albert Kahn}}