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goal is to collect, preserve and display
the public materials related to his life so
that “researchers, students, historians and
the general public will know and appre-
ciate how his designs and ideas changed
industrial America and helped make
Detroit the manufacturing capital of the
United States during the first half of the
20th century.”
POP-UP EXHIBIT
The Legacy Foundation wants to provide
a space for archives preservation and
plans to create traveling exhibits and offer
educational programs. Their first effort
is a “pop-up” exhibit introducing Albert
Kahn and his achievements, designed by
Eric Keller, a volunteer. (Some images
from the pop-up exhibit are included with
this article.)
Volunteer board members are con-
sidering possible exhibition locations
— museums or libraries in Detroit and
Ann Arbor as well as Kahn-designed
buildings. However, they may wait until
the COVID pandemic restrictions are
loosened and permit greater foot traffic
in public buildings.
Long-term, the board is considering
the feasibility of creating an Albert Kahn
museum. “Ideally, we want something
permanent,” Pfannes says, “but there are
pop-ups in the meanwhile. We need to
raise money for a feasibility study for
a museum. We’re working on partner-
ing with the Fisher Building, Argonaut
Building and Urban League (which has its
headquarters in Kahn’s family home) —
all designed by Kahn.”
“He is part of the Detroit community,
the Jewish community. We have so much
history, but people aren’t aware of it,” says
Barbara Cohn, Kahn Legacy Foundation
board member and co-author of Detroit
Public Library — An American Classic. The
Foundation is hoping to attract paying
members (beginning at $25) as a finan-
cial base. Members will receive discounts
for events, such as educational programs.
A bicycle tour of Albert Kahn buildings
in Detroit is planned for later this year.
For more information about the Albert Kahn Legacy
Foundation, visit www.albertkahnlegacy.org.
Albert Kahn
and Henry Ford
One of the ironies of Kahn’s career is that
his single most prominent client was Henry
Ford, automotive pioneer, who was well-
known for public expressions of antisem-
itism in his newspaper, The Dearborn
Independent. The newspaper published
numerous articles about a conspiracy of
Jewish bankers and Jews being the insti-
gators of World War I. Eventually, a Jewish
businessman sued
Henry Ford for libel,
there were protests of
its contents by multiple
organizations and the
newspaper was closed.
“Ford had no ani-
mus toward Jewish
people individually,”
says Michael G. Smith,
a historian. Ford’s
antisemitism stemmed
from an experience
with bankers when he
sought a loan, Smith
says. They wanted
more control of the company than Ford was
willing to provide. The bankers happened
to be Jewish and from that encounter, Ford
began to support a conspiracy theory about
Jewish bankers and businessmen.
Eventually, Kahn would no longer meet
with Ford, sending someone else in his
place.
Why would Ford seek out a Jewish archi-
tect for his factories? It was basically due
to Kahn’s ability to fulfill Ford’s ideas. “They
had a great deal of respect for each other,”
Smith says.
Factories at the end of the 19th and
beginning of the 20th centuries were multi-
floored, dark, airless buildings that were
prone to fires. Ford wanted a factory that
would accommodate his new assembly
line rather than requiring cars to be built
and transported between several levels
of a building. Kahn was able to design a
single-floor factory with lots of natural light,
more floor space and better ventilation.
This resulted, in part, from his brother
Julius’ development of an improved rein-
forced concrete that was stronger and
required fewer support columns. Walls of
windows provided much better lighting than
other factories of the era.
This kind of construction provided a safer,
more pleasant environment for workers and
improved productivity. Kahn’s firm was also
known for its efficiency and willingness to
adapt to clients’ needs.
IN
THE
JEWS D
ON THE COVER
Hill Auditorium, the
University of Michigan
Ford Motor Company Highland
Park Assembly Plant. Built in
1910, it was nicknamed the
“Crystal Palace.”
MICHAEL G. SMITH
WIKIPEDIA
ALBERT KAHN ASSOCIATES