46 | DECEMBER 31 • 2020
Looking Back
A Master Architect
B
efore the year ends, there is one more
anniversary to acknowledge. In 2020,
Albert Kahn Associates Inc. has cel-
ebrated its 125th year anniversary. Its name-
sake, founder and Jewish Detroiter Albert
Kahn, was an innovator and
the world’s foremost industrial
designer and architect of the
20th century.
Kahn’s impact upon Detroit
is visible and all around us.
Drive around Detroit and you
will find hundreds — yes, hun-
dreds — of Kahn Associates
buildings. For example, start
at Belle Isle and see the Kahn-designed
aquarium (1904), the first aquarium in
America. In the New Center area you will
see “Detroit’s Largest Art Object,” the city’s
iconic art-deco Kahn masterpiece, the Fisher
Building (1928). Downtown, see the presti-
gious Detroit Athletic Club (1915).
Sidenote — when Kahn designed the
Athletic Club, Jews were not allowed to be
members. Kahn was offered but declined a
membership.
Travel west of Detroit to see other Kahn
buildings. In Dearborn, see the Ford Motor
Company’s massive River Rouge industrial
complex. When completed, it was the larg-
est in the world (1917-1928). Further west,
in Ann Arbor, you could attend a concert
at the beautiful Hill Auditorium at the
University of Michigan (1913), one of sever-
al Kahn structures on its campus.
Sidenote — despite Henry Ford I’s
antisemitism, Kahn was the chief architect
for the Ford Motor Company during his
lifetime.
Kahn represented a classic tale of immi-
grant success in the United States. Born in
Germany in 1869, Kahn was the oldest son
of a rabbi. The family migrated to America
in 1881, and soon after, to Detroit. Kahn
left school in the seventh grade to find work
and support his family. After working in
odd jobs, he was hired as an errand boy at
the architecture firm of Mason & Rice. In
1895, Kahn struck-out on his own as
an architect. By 1920, his firm had
400 employees. Before his death in
1942, Kahn transformed his com-
pany into the employee-owned
firm it is today.
Albert Kahn and Kahn
Associates are often cited in the
William Davidson Digital Archive
of Jewish Detroit History over the
past century, on 1,148 pages of
the Detroit Jewish Chronicle and
JN. Kahn is first mentioned in
the Chronicle on April 14, 1916,
on a list that shows his $1,000
contribution toward the relief
of Jews in Europe during WWI.
The front-page story in
the Nov. 2, 1917, issue
of the Chronicle cites his
presentation of plans for a
new Temple Beth El, which
opened in 1922. On Dec.
11, 1942, his death was front
page news for the Chronicle
and for a feature story and
editorial in the JN. In short,
the Davidson Archive holds
many stories about Kahn
and Kahn buildings, as well
as books and exhibits about
Kahn. He continues to be a
subject of current interest.
Only a few other elite
designers and architects have made a mark
on the landscape of America and the world
like that of Albert Kahn. If you live any-
where in Metro Detroit, you are only a few
minutes away from a Kahn building, a vis-
ible reminder of the work of a great Jewish
Detroiter.
BTW — there is a new Albert Kahn
Legacy Foundation, established to honor
Kahn’s life, work, and lasting influence. Go
to albertkahnlegacy.org for details.
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
1895, Kahn struck-out on his own as
an architect. By 1920, his firm had
400 employees. Before his death in
1942, Kahn transformed his com-
William Davidson Digital Archive
of Jewish Detroit History over the
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
of Jews in Europe during WWI.
11, 1942, his death was front