Alden B. Dow
Alden B. Dow (1904-1983) was born in Midland, Michigan, on April 10, 1904, the son of Grace A. and Herbert Henry Dow, founder of The Dow Chemical Company. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan and earned a degree in architecture from Columbia University in 1931.
During the summer of 1933, young Mr. Dow studied and worked with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin in Wisconsin. In Wright, he found a kindred spirit. Their sharing of interests strengthened Mr. Dow's own work and philosophy.
Returning to Midland, he opened his own architectural offices in a studio/home of his own design. Today, the firm is known as Dow-Howell-Gilmore Associates, Inc.
During his career, Mr. Dow was commissioned to design homes, churches, schools, college campuses, business complexes, art and civic centers and the entire town of Jackson, Texas. His home designs, which were especially appealing to the aesthetically sensitive, earned him 60 commissions in Midland, Michigan, as well as numerous others across the United States.
Among his many awards and honors, Mr. Dow received the 1937 Diplome de Grand Prix for residential architecture. He was named a Fellow in the American Institute of Architects in 1957. Northwood University conferred an honorary doctorate on him in 1969. In 1983, crowning the achievements of his 50 year career, Mr. Dow was named architect laureate of his home state of Michigan.
Alden B. Dow maintained a lifelong interest in creativity. His selection in 1982 as the first recipient of the Frank Lloyd Wright Creativity Award reflects this enduring commitment.
Way of Life Cycle
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Writings on Creativity By Alden B. Dow
"An Architect's View on Creativity." Creativity and its Cultivation. Harold H. Anderson (Ed.). New York: Harper and Row, 1959. 30-43.
"Appreciating Architecture." Appreciating the Nine Fine. William G. Harkey (Ed.). Midland: Northwood Press, 1977. 17-37.
Reflections: Midland. Northwood Press, 1970.
