Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

The AIA Gold Medal Submission subseries (0.2 linear feet, 2002-2003) includes printed and digital copies of the presentation that was made to the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects. It was prepared by Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. in its unsuccessful attempt to have Kahn receive this award posthumously in 2003. With photographs and text, the nomination materials effectively summarize the significance of Kahn's industrial, commercial, institutional and residential architecture in American history.

The Cost Ledgers subseries (2 linear feet, 1907-1948) consists of cost books, cost cards, and other various materials regarding the monetary costs of many of the projects produced by Albert Kahn and his architectural firm, Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. One of the most valuable items in the collection is Albert Kahn's Personal Cost Ledger.

The Employee Biographies subseries (0.3 linear feet, 1957-1991) consists of biographical information for various employees of Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. from the 1950s to the 1990s. The materials in this subseries are arranged alphabetically.

The Mechanical Engineering Department Maps subseries (156 maps in 4 folders and 1 drawer, 1905-1966) consists of topigraphical maps that were used by the Mechanical Engineering Department at Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. during the 20th century. The maps cover various regions within seven states: Michigan, Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, New York, and Virginia.

The Newspaper and Journal Articles subseries (10.75 linear feet, 1903-2014) consists of articles that offer an in-depth perspective on issues surrounding the design, construction technologies, budgets, politics and dedications of many of Kahn's buildings. Materials in this subseries are arranged chronologically and alphabetically by subject. Articles often include Kahn's own comments about the buildings, as well as construction and opening-day photographs which document the artistic detailing and technological advancements of his structures. Researchers interested in the work which Kahn's firm did in Russia between 1929 and 1932, during which time he designed 521 factories for Stalin's First Five-Year Industrial Plan, will find two leather binders of newspaper articles documenting this period in Box 13. A number of journal articles written by Kahn himself summarize his views on defense architecture and the business of industrial architecture. The researcher will note the proliferation of articles from 1939 to 1942, when such national journals asAero Digest, Engineering News-Record, Heating and Ventilating, American Builder and Architectural Forum covered in detail his design and construction of aircraft factories, tank arsenals and U. S. Navy air stations. Articles written after his death include analytical pieces by historians Grant Hildebrand (1970 and 1998), David Lewis (1975), Anatole Senkevich, Jr. (1996) and Janet Kreger (1998). Post-1942 materials, documenting the demolition, restoration and adaptive re-use of a number of Kahn's buildings up to the present time, have been included in the collection.