20 | JUNE 9 • 2022
OUR COMMUNITY
D
etroiters live among the diverse
and innovative buildings created
by Albert Kahn Inc. (now Albert
Kahn Associates) during the first half of
the 20th century. The Fisher Building, Ford
Motor Company’s Highland Park Plant, the
Belle Isle Aquarium and Temple Beth El in
Detroit are a few examples. The Albert Kahn
Legacy Foundation was created in 2021 to
honor, educate and preserve Kahn’s legacy
as America’s foremost industrial designer
during the first half of the 20th century.
Last year, the Albert Kahn Legacy
Foundation, composed of some staff mem-
bers of Albert Kahn Associates and other
interested local residents, created a small
pop-up exhibit about the architect’s life
and work that was displayed in the Fisher
Building. But the intent was always to
produce something more substantive and
permanent.
Eighteen months later, a group of vol-
unteers completed a new, comprehensive
exhibit, guided by Detroit Historical
Museum staff and sponsored by the Edward
and Linda Dresner Levy Foundation. Albert
Kahn: Innovations & Influence On 20th
Century Architecture will be on display at
the Detroit Historical Museum through
July 3.
A well-attended opening reception on
April 28 included several descendants of
Albert Kahn and featured speakers from
the Foundation board, including Heidi
Pfammes, president; Levi Smith, vice presi-
dent; and Barbara Cohn, event chair, who is
also a trustee.
The exhibit includes
extensive blueprints,
photos, illustrations
and models of build-
ings designed by
Albert Kahn Inc.,
as well as some of his own drawings and
family photographs. All of these displays,
accompanied by explanatory text, portray
the amazing life and career of a German
Jewish immigrant whose formal education
ended at the seventh grade because he
needed to work and help support his large
family.
According to Michael G. Smith, an archi-
tectural historian and author who is also
an Albert Kahn Legacy Foundation trustee,
the Kahn family left Germany because
Jews were being attacked and
their citizenship was
threatened. The Kahn
family, who immigrated
to Detroit in 1881, was
educated, and Albert
Kahn spoke four languages including
Yiddish, Smith explains. His father was a
Reform rabbi. (Albert Kahn later became
a board member of Temple Beth El and
chaired its Choir Committee.)
Detroit’s foremost
architect is featured in
new museum exhibit.
Albert Kahn’s
SHARI S. COHEN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
DETAILS
The Albert Kahn: Innovation & Influence On 20th Century Architecture exhibit
will be at the Detroit Historical Museum through July 3. For more information,
visit albertkahnlegacy.org or detroithistorical.org/detroit-historical-museum/
exhibitions/special-exhibitions. Eric Keller, a graphic designer and illustrator,
designed the exhibit and Jim Garrett, a local programmer, constructed the
LEGO models of Kahn buildings. Local film editor Stuart Shevin assembled the
drone footage taken above the Fisher Building that is featured in the exhibit.
continued on page 22
Legacy
A LEGO
model of
the Fisher
Building