Metro
Remembering Albert Kahn
New book, four-week class focus on groundbreaking architect.
Diana Lieberman
Special to the Jewish News
A
lbert Kahn (1869-1942), the
oldest son of an immigrant
Jewish family, rose to promi-
nence as one of America's most prolific
architects. From his Detroit studios, he
designed and constructed buildings of all
sorts throughout the United States and
abroad. In Michigan, his works include the
Fisher Building in Detroit, 17 projects at
the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
and two buildings for his synagogue,
Temple Beth El (1903 and 1923).
Kahn's achievements have been thor-
oughly recounted in several academic
biographies. The Horatio Alger-style story
of his life has even appeared in comic
book format.
But, according to Kahn's friend, Henry
M. Butzel, who served as chief justice
of the Michigan Supreme Court, Albert
Kahn was distinguished by "his loyalty to
his family and friends." These traits are
evident in the letters to his children and
granddaughters published for the first
time in Albert Kahn and His Family in
Peace and War (Bentley Historical Library,
2008) by William R. Brashear.
Brashear's late wife, Lydia, was Albert
Kahn's granddaughter, and Brashear was
Benefit Honors Judge
The annual benefit of the Michigan
Psychoanalytic Foundation will pay trib-
ute to Judge Edward Sosnick on Friday,
Nov. 14, at the Rock
Financial Showplace in
Novi. The evening will
include a reception,
dinner and the musical
parody troupe of local
attorneys, A (Habeas)
Chorus Line.
Sosnick is a member
Judge Sosnick
of the Foundation's
Advisory Board and has
a long history of commitment to the men-
tal health needs of the community as a
strong voice and advocate for family men-
tal health. He served three six-year terms
on the bench in Oakland County Circuit
Court and is presiding judge-options
for the Oakland County Family-Focused
Juvenile Drug Court. He is co-founder
A26
October 16 • 2008
;IN
able to draw on numerous archival mate-
rials inherited from her mother, Ruth
Rothman, who was Albert Kahn's second
daughter. Conversations with Rothman
and her only brother, the late neurosur-
geon Dr. Edgar Kahn, add a unique per-
spective. Brashear also includes many of
Kahn's graceful architectural drawings.
The book is divided into two sections:
"The Turbulent Twenties" and "The War,
Ed and Eddie." The first part traces Albert
Kahn's family life, professional develop-
ment and artistic interests. In the second
section, Brashear presents evidence that
the architect's rapid design and con-
struction of the Chrysler tank facility in
Warren, facilitated the winning of the cru-
cial World War II battles El Alemain and
Stalingrad. Other reminiscences by Edgar
Kahn and son-in-law, Edward Rothman,
round out the section.
The book took Brashear, a Birmingham
resident and semi-retired lawyer, about
eight years to write. "The impetus was
that there was so much about Albert Kahn
and his family that hadn't come out, and it
should;' he said.
"It is, in a sense, a eulogy;' he writes in
the book's preface, "but hopefully one con-
vincingly documented by the subject's own
words and actions and those of others who
knew him weir ❑
of SMILE (Start Making It Liveable for
Everyone), a court-sponsored program for
divorcing couples.
Call (248) 851-3380 to place a business
ad or a message of appreciation for Judge
Sosnick and to obtain tickets. Visit the
Web site at mpi-mps.org to learn more
about the foundation's community out-
reach activities.
Preschool Expands
Gan Shalom preschool at Congregation
Beth Shalom in Oak Park has expanded
the program to include a new class for 2
year olds beginning in January 2009.
The preschool has grown from six
children in 2005 to 36 children. "Our chil-
dren are nurtured with care and the love
of language," said Susan Gartenberg of
Bloomfield Hills, director of Gan Shalom
Parenting Center and Preschool.
"We have a bilingual, Hebrew and
English and maintain a low teacher child
Architect Albert Kahn, center with crossed arms, poses with his parents and seven
siblings in this photo circa 1890.
Kahn Class Begins
Learn more about Albert Kahn as the Society of Active Retirees (SOAR) pres-
ents a four-week class titled "The Architecture of Albert Kahn." The class, to be
taught by Norma Goldman, a retired Wayne State University professor who has
studied Kahn's work since 1976, will take place from 10 a.m.-noon, Thursdays
Oct., 23, 30, Nov. 6,13.
The class, which will take place at the WSU Oakland Center, 33737 W.12 Mile
Road, Farmington Hills, is limited to 60 participants. Registration is required.
For additional information, please call the SOAR office at (248) 489-0005,
or e-mail soar@wayne.edu .
ratio to be able to meet the needs of each
child!'
The preschool offers music and two fit-
ness programs, zoophonics, creative move-
ment and science exploration inclusive to
the curriculum.
Classes are offered five days per week
with early and after care from 7:30 a.m.-6
p.m.
The new January class is limited to
12. Interested families can contact Susan
Gartenberg, (248) 547-7970, ext. 234.
Lecture Features Historian
On Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m., the
Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives of Temple
Beth El and the Mary Einstein Shapero
Memorial Lecture Series in Bloomfield
Township will present historian Marc
Leepson in a discussion of his book
Saving Monticello.
The book traces the story of Uriah
Phillips Levy, the United States' first
Jewish-American Naval war hero, and his
role in saving Thomas Jefferson's beloved
home — Monticello. In the book, Leepson
chronicles the Levy family's commitment
to the preservation of this national monu-
ment.
Leepson was a staff writer for the
Congressional Quarterly in Washington,
D.C., until 1986 when he began his
freelance career. Since that time, he has
authored six books and appeared on radio
and television programs.
The presentation is open to the com-
munity. Admission is $7. There is no charge
for Friends of the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin
Archives. Leepson's book will be available for
purchase.
Those who join the Friends of the Rabbi
Leo M. Franklin Archives at the Family
Level ($72) will receive a copy of Saving
Monticello and admission to the lecture at
no additional charge. For reservations, call
Jan Durecki, (248) 851-1100, ext. 3137.