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I am an architectural historian working on the Detroit architect Albert Kahn. In the course of writing an article about his work in Buffalo, I have been searching for a publication-quality copy of the attached image, that was sent to me by a friend who visited Buffalo two or three years ago. I haven’t succeeded in finding it yet, and I am wondering whether your membership might know where I could find the original advertisement published. I would be extremely grateful for your assistance in this matter.
Many thanks and best wishes for a Happy New year,
Claire Zimmerman
Claire Zimmerman
Associate Professor, Art History/ Architecture
Director of Doctoral Studies in Architecture, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan
I have the ad copied into my photo file, but our website will not load it in the now common present day standard.
The ad referred to is as follows:
Kahn Systems of reinforced concrete.
Picture of empty factory building.
“The Factory Behind the Great Arrow Car”
Ad is for the Trussed Concrete Steel Co.
Detroit, MI
No doubt the ad appeared in one or more trade magazines of the construction industry. I research ephemera of personal interest and have been amazed at what can be found on the internet.
Recommend a quick search of Trussed Concrete Steel Co. Kahn System in Wikipedia. There is a pic of the Packard plant but some references to get you started. Sometimes the most simple search will reveal just what you need. Good luck!
As an aside, and this may be common knowledge:
Kahn designed the Pierce Arrow factory buildings, but he did not design the administrative office building.
That architect was George Cary, a local Buffalo resident.
I have a few prints that show the design for the building, published in “The American Architect and Building News””. They are very interesting and show in detail the design features of the building.”
Print close up 1
Print close up 2
Some factory construction photos are in the Buffalo History Museum (formerly the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society). I do not remember seeing this exact photo there but they have a number of images showing off its fine technical/structural points.
I could not view the attachment – my system must include some of Dave’s forwarding issues – but was able to get a copy of the ad from Claire. Separately, I forwarded this information to her.
Brooks
Thanks Brooks!
The “forwarding issue” is not the problem, rather it is a posting issue due to the out of date platform that our website runs on. You cannot load a picture to the website in what is now the most common accepted photo format in 2018. We need to have our database and website updated so that we can enjoy the terrific content that we have available.
The board voted at the Annual Meet for action on this issue, but no real tangible results nor expenditures have been shown as yet. I certainly hope that we can be shown some action in Branson.
Back to the ad in question, you are the most knowledgeable on these things that I know. Unfortunately if you were not aware of the ad that Claire was wanting a better image of, I doubt that anyone in the P-A community will be able to help her. I appreciate you communicating with her.
We’ll be in Stuart for Jan & Feb. Are there any Florida Region activities going on?
Happy New Year!
Dave
I thought I found a way around the increasing changes in digital specifications by keeping two email addresses, but it does not always work. From what I can tell, upgrading does not also pull in less advanced specifications the way it used to (and can lead to a message look like it was printed from DOS). I will have a chance to test it on the PAS website soon when I post a photo of the Florida Region’s Fall get together in Naples. A member took one with an iPhone which should be the most advanced; I will look for a digital camera image for contrast.
But the larger question is – is there not a digital system that includes both specifications?
The Florida Region is still recovering from all the media attention from the Naples meet; I would not be surprised if Holiday activities have hidden that some members are looking into TV or movie deals! I am still working on the January newsletter and can catch up after that.
Brooks