From Israeli Pioneer to American Architect (Iowa State
Press, 1985), Redstone reflects back over his life from
the small cheder room in Grodno, where he learned
his Hebrew letters, to his graduation from the presti-
gious Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills
with an advanced degree in urban planning under
the direction of the famed architect Eliel Saarinen.
In his early years, Redstone lived through the dep-
rivations in the tragic years of Word War I. In 1920,
at 17, he made the painful separation from his family
to escape the dangerous political climate of post-war
Poland. As a member of the Zionist Pioneer youth
group, he immigrated to Palestine to help build a
Jewish homeland.
He spent three backbreaking years as a chalutz
(pioneer), planting trees on Mt. Carmel, doing con-
struction work, digging ditches and foundations,
mixing cement and concrete, learning how to blast
out and carve stone, draining swamps, laying bricks
and sawing wood.
What better way to learn the building trade than
from the inside out?
Always short of finding, the pioneers were ill-
housed and under-fed, but the members felt they
were making a contribution to building a homeland
for the Jews. When finding ran out, Redstone joined
any construction crew that offered work.
He recalls spending time guarding outposts along
the frontier, even though he had no experience firing
a gun. He slept in tents, froze at night and broiled in
the hot sun of the day.
Rosa, one of his sisters, also had moved to Palestine
and became a member of Kibbutz En Shemer, near
Hadera.
Redstone has watched her kibbutz grow from a tent
city to a substantial cooperative settlement. His
friendships with some of the original Grodno cha-
lutzim have lasted a lifetime, and he has renewed
them on his frequent trips to Israel.
Drawn To Architecture
After three years as a chalutz, he became fired with
ambition to become an architect. He went to the
United States to join his older brother Sol in Detroit.
(Sol had changed the family name from Routenstein to
Redstone when he arrived in 1916; Louis also made
the change after he arrived.)
Louis Redstone's first construction work was as a
bricklayer, and he was fortunate to be hired to work on
the multi-storied Buhl Building.
But good fortune was mixed with bad because the
danger inherent in walking on single-plank exterior
scaffolding made bricklaying a hazard. One death was
recorded for each story as the building rose higher and
higher.
However, Redstone was determined to earn sufficient
funds to enroll in the University of Michigan School of
Architecture in 1926. He spent almost four years at the
university, pursuing courses in architecture and art.
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and watercolors, documenting settings from his life.
Where other tourists snapped photographs, he applied
paintbrush to sketchpad, seeing details others missed.
His friendship with the Detroit sculptor Sam
Cashwan blossomed after he was a guest and assistant
in Cashwan's studio on East Jefferson. Redstone him-
self joined a group of painters and sculptors, sharing
studio space in the East Jefferson "art quarter." His
early art works were accepted for the annual
Michigan Artists Show at the Detroit Institute of
Arts.
Getting Established
Louis Routenstein, now Louis Redstone, worked at a
reforestation project in Carmel, Palestine, in the 1920s.
During summer vacations, he returned to bricklay-
ing to earn money to return for the next school year.
In 1929, he received his coveted degree in architecture,
having earned the respect of his professors, not only in
architecture and art, but also in English composition.
Fluent in many languages — Polish, Yiddish,
Hebrew, Russian, French and with a Latin background
as well — he had written about his experiences in
vivid language that impressed his English teachers.
His Sketchbooks
Unfortunately, Redstone entered the job market with
his architecture degree in hand just in time for the
crash of 1929 that affected all of the building industry.
Hence, with jobs non-existent, he decided to return
with Sol to Grodno for a visit with his parents and to
spend Passover with the whole family. After a warm
reunion, he took advantage of his status as an artist to
sketch in many towns along the way back to the
United States.
His itinerary took him to Vienna and Rome, and
for an extended stay in Paris, where he met many
young painters.
As an artist, he never traveled without his sketchpad
Upon his return to Detroit, he worked for a while at
Albert Kahn Associates, but even there major finan-
cial crises in the building trade caused layoffs. In
1931-33, however, Henry Ford cooperated with the
Russians to build tractor factories in Russia like the
ones Kahn had designed for Ford in this country.
Because Redstone spoke Russian, he was put in
charge of translating technical books to accompany
the designs.
When the factories for the Russians were complet-
ed, however, jobs were still scarce in Detroit and, in
1933, he was persuaded to return to Tel Aviv.
Redstone first worked for other architects on projects
under construction, but he eventually opened a mod-
est architectural firm of his own in Tel Aviv, where he
erected apartments.
He also became a major contributor to the Levant
Fair pavilions for a World Fair held just north of Tel
Aviv. His experience there enabled him to play a
major role with the Jewish pavilion for the Paris
World Fair. He was able to supervise the installation
of his work while en route back to the United States.
On his return in 1937, after working for several other
architects, Redstone opened his own modest office on
Woodward Avenue about a mile from downtown
Detroit. His brother Sol was office manager and his
sister Riva was general secretary, receptionist and
accountant.
With this firm, Redstone continued another life-
long ethic in architecture: to improve the quality of
life for those who dwell in the areas where he builds.
The firm was off to a good start with commissions
for shops, renovations, gas stations, schools, and
offices. As the quality of the work became known,
Louis Redstone Associates gradually grew over the fol-
lowing 50 years from a one-man architectural set-up
to a firm employing more than 60 architects, engi-
neers and craftsmen.
Once the firm was well established and in capable
hands, Redstone was able to travel, often with Ruth,
to international meetings of the Architectural Institute
of America. He ventured to Mexico, South America,
Spain, Portugal. He even eventually traveled to Japan,
hosted by a former University of Michigan classmate.
MAKING
His
MARK on page 30