Inspiration Beyond Walls: Exploring The Alden B Dow Home and Studio

What makes the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio a landmark of both history and futuristic design? - Craig McDonald shares the unique architectural legacy of Alden B. Dow, highlighting the historic and innovative essence of his nearly 100-year-old home and studio. - Craig discusses his personal journey from a high school part-time employee at the Dow residence to becoming the Executive Director, emphasizing the deep community impact and educational programs associated with the Dow family's philanthropic work. -

The episode delves into

• The influence Alden B. Dow had on Midland and beyond.
• Introducing modernism to Michigan.
• Inspiring future generations through creative and educational endeavors facilitated by the home and studio.

Links:

Alden B Dow Home and Studio Website: http://abdow.org/

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Find us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/totalmichigan

Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@totalmichigan

Show Notes:

00:00 Introduction to Total Michigan

00:33 The Dow Family's Impact on Midland

01:48 Exploring the Alden B. Dow Home and Studio

02:48 Craig McDonald's Journey with the Dow Family

04:41 Alden B. Dow's Architectural Philosophy

06:48 Educational Programs and Community Impact

15:16 Future Vision and Legacy of Alden B. Dow

29:41 Conclusion and How to Visit

Episode Transcript

Craig McDonald (00:00):
We'll have some young kids who will say it the

(00:02):
best, It's like walking back intothe future because it is a history.
I know that's, isn't it great.
I mean, kids see things the clearest.
it's a historic structure thatwill soon be a hundred years old.
And yet it's, it looks asif it's from the future.
It defies a decade.
It's really hard to define it inwords until you experience it.

(00:24):
Even then, it's hard to define.

Cliff Duvernois (00:27):
Hello everyone.
And welcome back to Total Michigan,where we interview ordinary Michiganders
doing some pretty extraordinary things.
I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.
It's hard to think of Midland withoutthinking about the Dow family.
it's not an exaggeration to thinkabout how much impact the Dow family
has had, not only for the businessesthat they've created and the products

(00:50):
that they've created, but also.
Two through their philanthropic workthroughout, not only Midland, but
as well as the state of Michigan.
Now, if you've ever been to the Dowgardens and you've walked around and
you've totally enjoyed that experiencethere at some point in time, I will
bet you dollars to donuts that you havelooked across this small body of water

(01:10):
and saw this absolutely beautiful housethat was in the water and to walk us
through this little treasure in Midland,Michigan, and this is actually the.
Alden B.
Dow, a Home and Studio.
One of the Dow, family actually isa massive architect and to walk us
through the story of the house, thehistory of the house, and not only
that, but a little bit about Alden B.

(01:32):
Dow is Craig McDonald.
He is the executivedirector of the Alden B.
Dow Home and Studio, as well as theAlden and Vita Dow family foundations.
Craig, how are you?
I am great and happy to be here.
How are you today?
I am doing awesome.
Thank you for asking So, why don'tyou tell us what is the Alden B.

(01:54):
Dow Home and Studio.

Craig McDonald (01:56):
The Alden B.
Dow Home and Studio isAn incredible experience.
We'll have some young kids whowill say it the best, fourth
graders who come to the building.
It's like walking back into thefuture because it is a history.
I know that's, isn't it great.
I mean, kids see things the clearest.
They, they see the building.
They appreciate it the most of anyone.
I think it's a historic structurethat will soon be a hundred years old.

(02:20):
And yet it's, it looks asif it's from the future.
It defies a decade.
It defies.
It's really hard to define it inwords until you experience it.
Even then, it's hard to define.
Most of it was built in the 1930'sand yet because of who Mr Dow was
and creating it for the human,which always grows and changes.

(02:42):
it Defies the definition.

Cliff Duvernois (02:45):
It certainly does.
And I know we're going to talk a lotmore about the history of the house.
Before I do that, Craig, whydon't you tell us a little
bit about where you're from?
Where did you grow up?

Craig McDonald (02:53):
I actually grew up in Midland and growing up in Midland.
I had an opportunity, afriend, who worked for Mr.
And Mrs.
Dow, Alden invaded Dow, here.
He was going way to college and theyneeded someone to do like odd jobs after
school and eventually working in Mr.
Dow's architectural firm.
I knew of the Dow's I had met Mr.
Dow once.
at the Midland Center forthe Arts was, was a massive

(03:14):
project of his that he and Mrs.
Dow brought to Midland.
but I was asked if I wanted this afterschool job and came over and met Mrs.
Dow who took me through the buildingand in, in their lovely way were
so kind and gracious and said,well, if you would consider it, we
would love for you to work with us.
And that was kind of my introductioninto the world of mid century modern

(03:36):
architecture in, uh, you know,my step into the great incredible
things that the Dow family did andcontinues to do for so many people
throughout the state of Michigan.

Cliff Duvernois (03:46):
So when we're talking about, because you said Mr.
Dow and Mrs.
Dow, you're talking about AldenDow, who actually is the owner or
was the owner of this property.

Craig McDonald (03:55):
Correct.
Alden and Vada Dow.
Alden was the Uh, one of thesons of Herbert and Grace Dow.
Herbert being the founderof Dow Chemical Company.
And Alden was their youngest son and hada passion for design and architecture
and veered away from being an engineer,which he tried in school and wasn't
his passion, wasn't his focus.
And.
Luckily, he had parentsthat said, be who you are.

(04:16):
you know, bring out the gifts, theinnate gifts and talents you have.

Cliff Duvernois (04:19):
And that's beautiful.

Craig McDonald (04:20):
That's amazing.
Especially for the turnof the last century.
When, you know, I think of Edsel Ford,like probably had to go into the car
company because of his father, Henry Ford.
But Herbert and GraceDow valued education.
They valued culture and theyvalued the unique, talents
and gifts that people brought.
And we need to look at thingsfrom different perspectives.

(04:41):
So, off Alden Dow went, to ColumbiaUniversity after his brief stint
at Michigan, studying engineeringand received a bachelor of
architecture degree from Columbia.

Cliff Duvernois (04:50):
So, and then we're going to talk a little bit more about
that, but I want to go back realquick to your story there because you
were talking about how you basicallypicked this up as a part time job.

Craig McDonald (04:58):
It truly was a part time job after I was in 10th grade.
when I started here, Istarted right before Mr.
Dow passed away.
Uh, he died soon after I got here.
So it was every day after school.
And it was, you know, taking careof the cars, running errands,
doing those kinds of things.
And just this real interestingrelationship became this great

(05:20):
appreciation for who they were andtheir kindness and then working in
the architectural firm in my, uh, Ithink it was my senior year of high
school in the construction department.
And so it was also as Mrs.
Dow was aging, Mr.
Dow had passed away in 1983 and Mrs.
Dow said, I want to share this.
I want to preserve this andshare this and, made me a part

(05:42):
of that plan for the future.

Cliff Duvernois (05:44):
Nice.
Cause you had not only built thatrelationship with it, but also too, I
can't think of a better term for this.
But you actually put a lot ofsweat equity into the property.
Because you really got to know it ata very intimate level working here.

Craig McDonald (05:56):
Without question.
I always say, I never ask anyone todo anything here that I haven't done
myself, washing windows, all kinds ofthings were in my purview and still
are to this day, we're a small staff.
And so, it's a really collective staff.
but yeah, so it's, it was when I startedan architectural firm in a home and
then the idea was like, What if we shareit in a different way going forward?
And this is Mrs.

(06:16):
Dow Vada and her family, her children andgrandchildren, our great grandchildren
saying, we were blessed with thisname and blessed with, you know, the
financial resources that came withit, but it's because of the hard work
of everyone else in this whole regionand in other places that we have this.
So this needs to go back to thecommunity, the things we have

(06:36):
gathered, this legacy that Mr.
Dow created.
People can learn aboutthemselves through it.
And if we teach people about themselvesand they build their own talents and
gifts, they're going to be happy humansand give great things back to the world.

Cliff Duvernois (06:49):
So let's go ahead and start diving into the story
behind this particular house.
You've already shared with us a littlebit about the history of, of Alden.
He was growing up.
His parents said, Hey, you don'thave to follow in the family business
if you want to do something else.
So talk to us a littlebit about his journey.

Craig McDonald (07:05):
You know, he, again, he went, he grew up here in Midland
in what we know as the Dow Gardens.
That was the backyard for the Dow family.
That's where Alden and hisbrothers and sisters played.
That's where Alden learned aboutthe beauty of nature, the designs
of nature, the strength of nature,where he was immersed in it.
And that certainly impactedhis architecture later on
being an organic architect.
again, with his parents and who theywere and what they valued, I think

(07:27):
that's the greatest gift he receivedwas from his parents and their,
their appreciation for other things.
things and different viewpoints travel.
He got to travel to Japan, when he was17 or 18 years old, looking at that
environment, looking at the beautythat's created from that culture,
which we see all around Midland.
That's where he learned about therelationship between buildings

(07:48):
in nature and the impact.
Each have on the other, and so, thenwith formal schooling, that gained
and helped grow his talents and gifts.
And then he, got married to thisincredible woman who was studying
education, Vada Bennett Dow, and had abachelor's degree from Kalamazoo college
and a master's degree from Columbiateacher school, was also looking at

(08:08):
the human and the growth and potentialof human through education as Alden
was looking at it through buildings.
They both had anopportunity to study with.
Frank Lloyd Wright, this verycontroversial architect, certainly
at the time in the 1930s.
but Wright is introducing an Americanaesthetic, to our country, whereas
prior to Wright and a few other people,we were an amalgamation of our, mostly

(08:33):
our European ancestry when we lookedat architecture, Wright was saying,
let's create an American aesthetic.
Who are we?
What are our materials?
What is our land like?
And how do we blend them?

Cliff Duvernois (08:41):
Um, this is a controversy.
That you were talking aboutthere when he decided to start
coming up with an American.

Craig McDonald (08:46):
I think, I think Wright was just introducing new ideas
and using products in different ways.
He was tenacious.
He was a bold human.
He was outspoken and he, uh, hewas introducing ideas we hadn't
heard of or hadn't seen before.
And that was very appealing to Alden Dowthat someone was thinking for themselves.
Nice.
And that's what the Dow family hadalways done it in a much more, way

(09:10):
of humility and kind of being underthe radar where, and I think like
their buildings explain who they are.
Frank Lloyd Wright, he buildsa house called Falling Water,
puts it on top of the waterfall.
Alden Dow, his home in studios atthe end of a cul de sac folded in to
the surrounding natural environment.
so right, love the splash.
He loved the notoriety.

(09:30):
Alden Dow wanted to be one voice amongmany because he thought Thought the best
thing could be a concentration of varietybecause we're all different people and
we all respond to things differently.

Cliff Duvernois (09:41):
And when you talk about his, you know, cause like you
said, he, he studied under, right asfar as architecture goes and, and I
think everybody out there actuallyis very familiar with that name.
So let's talk a little bit.
Cause I, I know we only got somuch time here to kind of like
compact his career a little bit.
Talk to me about like, cause I knowhe's designed a number of homes, he's

(10:02):
designed a number of buildings, but talkto us about the scale of his work and
the influences that he's had, not only inthe Midland area, but around the state.

Craig McDonald (10:11):
Yeah.
And I think that you just mentioneda really important part, not just his
work, but then the influence of it.
Mr.
Dow throughout his careerdesigned about 600 buildings.

Cliff Duvernois (10:20):
That's amazing.

Craig McDonald (10:20):
Amazing.
many of the, you know, we have, uh,roughly a hundred structures in Midland
that he designed, that were built.
There are many unbuilt structuresas well, for one reason or
another, which are in our archives.
Phenomenal things of differing sizes.
But it was also that he also was tenaciouswith new products, new ideas, creating
a block system, like the block thatsurrounds us in this house called the

(10:42):
unit block system, but always challengingideas, always willing to look at
options, always willing to incorporate.
Test products, always willing tochallenge the world around us.
He said, if we were going to grow,in the field of architecture,
it was, was something new.
And you have to thinkabout that constantly.
The, we appreciate the past we learnedfor that, we get that foundation, but

(11:02):
then we're always as humans, we grow.
That's what our goal is,is to grow as humans.
And so that meant challengingbuilding products and new systems.
And so other architects said, wow,look, look what's happening in Midland.
Look who this guy is.
And so they came here, but he's alsothe architect in Michigan who introduced
modernism, Tan Arbor and to East Lansingand to Petoskey and to Saginaw and to

(11:26):
all these other communities that thenopen people up for new definition.
So he is.
Influence is as large, if not largerthan, than his true body of work.

Cliff Duvernois (11:36):
That's amazing.
And so let me, let me ask you thisquick, this question here, because
we're talking about influence.
Anybody who has got any kind of inklingabout architecture, or if you've
renovated a home, I think you'd comehere and really appreciate the place.
But what is it about this house thatyou think just resonates with people?

Craig McDonald (11:52):
I think that you can come multiple times and it
impacts you in different ways.
Because it's Because it's so connected tonature what's happening outside impacts
us in a way the sunlight behind me rightnow you know streaming in this room is
very different on a dull day or a rainyday all beautiful in their own way.
I think also that it challenges youAnd reminds you there are different

(12:13):
definitions that a house can besomething other than a rectangular
building, uh, with a pitched roof thatMedina for how do materials impact you?
I think when you come here again, Ithink you learn about yourself cause
you're constantly challenging yourselflike, wow, this is so different.

Cliff Duvernois (12:31):
Correct.

Craig McDonald (12:31):
Yeah.
You know, I had a fourth graderyears ago, this brilliant young woman
who I wanted to hire on the spot.
And she said, um, Being in this houseis like being in a Picasso and I said,
can you explain to us what you meanby this is a fourth grader, mind you.
Yeah.
And she said, well, you know, youlook at a painting by Picasso and they
say, Oh, it's a portrait of a person.
It doesn't look like a person.
I know I'm in a building, butit doesn't look like any other

(12:54):
building I've ever been in.
It is.
That, that's pretty magical, andI think that you can come here
repeatedly, and you take from itwhat, how it impacts you, how you see.
When you ask Mr.
Dow a question about the building, hewould answer you with a question like,
Oh, did you intend for it to be like this?
How do you see it?
Would be a response like he wanted usto be really great observers in life.

(13:16):
He wanted us to, to create our ownstories and to, to, to question, and
to learn through our own eyes and our,our own ways of thinking and doing.

Cliff Duvernois (13:26):
So you were talking before about how you started
working here and a few years later,Mr Dow passed away very soon.
Yeah, right.
The year I started, he passed away.
Correct.
And then at some point in time.
His wife made the decision, right,rather than sell the house, walk away,
let's retire to Florida and thaw outlike so many people from Michigan do.
But she said, you know what, we're,you know, we're going to keep this, but

(13:47):
we're going to open it up to the public.
Talk to us about that decision.

Craig McDonald (13:51):
I think that, it was certainly after Mr.
Dow passed away that Mrs.
Dow together with her three kids,that they said this needs to
be given back to the community.
part, just, you know, a tiny part oftheir philanthropy to be quite honest,
because they still do so many great thingsfor grants through their foundations.
But it was about, this wassomething unique and different.

(14:12):
This is an identifier of Midland.
If you grew up in Midland, youwent to a church, you went to a
school, you interacted with inpublic buildings, he designed.
He actually createddefinition of buildings.
If you grew up in this town and continuesto the public library, the Center for
the Arts, you know, many, many buildings.
And so it was like, Like, let's sharethis because it encourages people

(14:35):
to think about their own creativityand the things that they can create
that can impact humans going forward.
I mean, it was, it's been lovelyfrom the beginning, and with their
focus on education, that educationcould be done in a different way.
There are many ways to learnfrom the beginning, but one
of this hands on, right?
We use the artwork in the house.
We use the correspondence, betweenWright and Dow and other people that

(14:59):
we use these, uh, this lifespan.
And of Mr.
And Mrs.
Dow and their family to teachpeople about possibilities.
And that was a veryconscious decision by Mrs.
Dow and her family.
And then just said, let'spreserve the building.
Let's preserve the things in thebuilding and then let's move.
Let's go.

Cliff Duvernois (15:16):
For audience, we're going to take a quick
break and thank our sponsors.
When we come back, Craig McDonald,executive director of the Aldenby
Dow Home and Studio, is going totalk to us a lot more about what
you can expect when you come here,we will see you after the break.
Are you enjoying this episode?
Well, I can tell youthere's a lot more to come.
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(15:39):
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Hello everyone.
And welcome back to total Michigan,where we interview ordinary
Michiganders doing extraordinary things.
I'm your host, Cliff DuVernois.

(15:59):
Today, we are talking with CraigMcDonald, the executive director
of the Alderby Dow Home and Studiolocated in Midland, Michigan and Craig.
Before the break, we were talking abouthow the, the Dow family had decided to, to
take this house, open it up to the public.
It's now open up for tours andpeople can come here and absolutely

(16:20):
see this absolutely beautiful day.
And it's, it's got, it's an amazing way.
Actually, to kill, they actually dosome things in Midland, which is great.
What I would like to do is I wouldlike to talk about how, this home
in particular has impacted thelocal community around Midland.
You've talked before briefly aboutsome of the, some of the small
programs, but I would really liketo kind of, kind of flesh that out.

(16:41):
So if you would walk us through that.

Craig McDonald (16:43):
Great.
Well, I think again, cominghere, you learn about you.
learn about yourself.
You also learn about your heritagebecause if you grow up in Midland,
Dow Architecture is a big part of itbecause he designed so many structures
in Midland, like all different types ofstructures, gas stations and flower shops
and schools, houses, all kinds of things.
And so, a goal was to have youngpeople, especially in the building,

(17:05):
uh, you know, an elementary, middle andhigh school, meeting different needs.
All of our educational programmingis curriculum focused, like we
study curriculum and developprograms around curriculum because
teachers have so much to do.
Teachers have a monumental job.
And so we thought, okay, if we base it allon curriculum, plus it's a fun hands on
activity, that's win win for everybody.

(17:27):
And so from fourth grade up, we, wehave developed different educational
programs, whether it's a social studiesprogram, an English program, a phenomenal
experience with high schools in Midlandcalled the Theory of Knowledge, which is
part of the International BaccalaureateProgram, where students come here.
One day a week for a whole year.
Oh, wow.
And spend a class period,once a week in this building.

(17:51):
And so it's utilizing all thethings that are here, and always
open to new ideas as well.
Um, and so we want to makeit accessible for education.
We do have daily tours, as you said,every day, Tuesday through Saturday at 2
PM and on Fridays and Saturdays, 11 AM.
And you can schedule a private tour.
We have bus groups that come to buslines that come and bring bus groups of

(18:12):
people every week, May through October.
Uh, we do special events programming.
We offer movie Sundays.
We try to utilize the resource, theincredible resources that are here in
different ways for all age levels to learnabout this heritage and about themselves.

Cliff Duvernois (18:28):
What I would like to do is, because some of the programs
here, like you were talking about,like the students come here for
one hour a week for an entire year.
That's like, that is amazing.
The one program you were telling meabout, I'd like to talk a little bit more.
This is something near and dearto my heart, creative writing.

Craig McDonald (18:43):
You know, we started a program called at the Dow House,
which is a seventh grade writingprogram that meets core objectives in
seventh grade English, to get kids tolook at sensory details, be able to
then incorporate them into a story.
And so, as you've already seen a littlebit of this is a hyper visual building.
Oh, yes.
Cell, the things in it, it's environmentthat were, you know, set in a pond in the,

(19:07):
you know, on the, the side of Dow Gardens.
And so during that program, and within thefirst year, I was with a group of students
here in the living room and dining room,and this young woman was writing, you
could just tell she just loved writing.
I mean, just was like oozing from her.
And so I just said, oh, I, you know,I can just tell you love writing.
Tell me about your writing club.
And she's like, we don'thave a writing club.
I'm like.
We don't have a writing club inour community for young people.

(19:31):
And so that same year we contacted this,both of the middle schools in the city and
said, we would love to sponsor a writingclub for middle school and we will pay
for the bus to come and pick the kids up.

Cliff Duvernois (19:42):
Oh, beautiful.

Craig McDonald (19:43):
And because busing is an essential part of anything today, schools
don't have budgets to do those things.
and so we have what, what the kids defineand entitled, The young writers studio.
They came up with the name.
We wanted their input.
Um, we thought what would be successfor this if we're going to offer this
and, you know, use some resources,that we have to bring these kids

(20:05):
here and spend time with them.
What's success with us at 15 or 20 kidson average, we get between 40 and 65.
middle school kids who come hereonce a month for writing club.
They come in.
It is pandemonium.
Of course, when that many young peoplecome in your building, which we love, we
love seeing the shoes lined up and themusical instruments in the computer bags.

(20:27):
They have a snack.
They, you know, can besocial for a little bit.
Then we give them three prompts, whichthey can use or don't have to use.
And we break them up intousually three or four groups
and are throughout the building.
It is perfect silence.
I know people will not believe me whenI say you can have 65 middle school
kids in a building and it's silent.
These are kids who want to, youngstudents who want to focus on

(20:49):
writing, have a passion for it.
They write for a certain amount of timeand then we say, okay, if anyone would
like to share and we have sharing time.
You're just overwhelmed by thethings they're thinking about, right?
The issues in their lives or the beautythey're creating and so like in a time
in our day when the public the publictours would be over The building is

(21:10):
relatively empty except for thoseof us working for the foundation who
are still in the building But what aperfect use to utilize the space to
inspire something like creative writing

Cliff Duvernois (21:19):
When you're talking about influence on people because I
know that throughout the year peopleare coming here You're talking about
like, you know bus groups come in hereand you got the tours everything else
like that What is like what is yourwhat is your hope that people take
away when they have an experience here,

Craig McDonald (21:35):
you know, there are a lot of takeaways I think I think
that we learn a little bit about Mr.
and Mrs.
Dow and the impact thathumans have on other people.
We forget that the world is createdof ideas that come usually from
one person and then that ideais shared and then we expand it.
That it's individualswho change our world.
They can allow us to see differently.

(21:56):
They create new definitions for us.
We all have the power to do that.
And I think that that's a reallyimportant part of coming here is
remembering that being reminded ofthat in our very complex, hypers,
uh, you know, media, social world.
it's still about an ideayou have as an individual,
And I think this reminds you ofit and the impact of environment.

(22:19):
that we're in structures all day long.
the size of the room, the shape of theroom, the colors, the textures, the
materials, it's integration that allimpacts us in positive and negative ways.
I think that's another big impact.
And that will people talk like,oh, I'm going to see my house very
differently when I go back to it.
That is true.
And so I think that influence that Mr.

(22:39):
and Mrs.
Dow, had and continue to have, again,through the gifts they've left and
are still impacting people, they, theywant a rich community, they want an
educated community, and an appreciationfor other people and other ideas.

Cliff Duvernois (22:54):
When we talk about, because you referenced this at the
beginning of the show about thepower of story and, you know, about
challenging people when they walkthrough the door, why don't you share
with us maybe a surprising or maybeeven a little known story here that
visitors are always amazed to hear.

Craig McDonald (23:12):
I think that the building was built in pieces.
It's four different pieces put together.
It looks like this cohesive wholelooks like, man, he just built
this this large, you know, justunder 20, 000 square foot building.
But it wasn't.
He was always thinking about thegrowth and potential of people and
that related to To buildings that youdesign a structure, but you have to
think about the growth of the humansthat will utilize that building, whether

(23:36):
it's a home or an office or a church,whatever, you know, house of faith.
And so the building grew over time,you know, it was a tiny little
workshop and then called the firstdrafting room and then added on was
the wonderful floating conference room.
We were in a little bit earlier.
Which is a room truly submerged in a pond.
So when you sit there, you're atlevel with the water around you.

(23:56):
and then, you know, as the bill, asthe business grew, as his architectural
firm grew, then the physical space grew.
And yet it was all an idea from thebeginning on the original drawings.
You'll see office space.
future office space, future house.
Oh, wow.
That was all planned from the beginning.
Not necessarily exactly how itwas then realized, but the idea

(24:19):
that as we need this, if we growas a business, as if we grow as a
family, we will need these things.
And it was a part of the idea that we haveto think about the growth and potential.
you know, a really fun example I alwaysgo back to is in Florence, the Duomo in
Florence, the architect who designed it.
design this incredibledome on the top of it.
Yet at that time they didn't havethe technology to build a dome, but

(24:42):
he said it's going to take about ahundred years to build this building.
And by that time we'll have thetechnology to build the dome
that like that architect, Mr.
Dow was always thinkingabout the growth potential.
What's in the future in new definitions.
And I love that someone is thinking aboutthe future and the 1940s, he wrote a

(25:02):
paper, called man in modern architecture.
And he wrote a paper on what hehoped the, what the world would look
like kind of from an architecturalperspective in the year 2000.
I don't know if I'm thinking about60 years from now, or how many people
are thinking about 60, but if wedon't think about it, it won't happen.
He would say if we don't thinkabout it, write about it,

(25:24):
draw about it, talk about it.
It won't happen.

Cliff Duvernois (25:27):
You know, I, I love this concept of future thinking.
What would be maybe something that youwould hope that the, you know, the,
the Alden B Dow Home and Studio couldinspire future generations, or maybe what
it could contribute to the legacy of.
Midland going forward.

Craig McDonald (25:47):
You know, I think always new ideas.
I mean, isn't that it's growth thatwe're inspiring growth in people.
you recently had a guest on your show,Ryan, who was who has designed this
incredible collapsible skateboard.
He was one of our Theoryof Knowledge students.
He did every camp, everyexperience we have.
He he he he He participated in and hewill say, this is where he started to

(26:08):
think he, you know, he's from a family ofengineers and he said, I wanted to kind
of marriage this engineering mind thatI have and legacy I have in my family.
But it was also, I wantedto design the skateboard.
And that this kind of opened himand gave him some permission to be
this entrepreneur that he is today.
That's the legacy of this building.
And the, the impact of cominghere is challenging the world.

(26:32):
And as Mr.
Dow would say, positiveand constructive ways.
He had these three guidingprinciples of honesty, humility,
and enthusiasm, which is part ofa larger philosophy that he had.
But those are pretty great principlesto live by and to be inspired by.

Cliff Duvernois (26:49):
If somebody is coming here, they've never been here before.
What would be something that youwould recommend, highly encourage
that they see, maybe spend sometime with, but what would that be?

Craig McDonald (27:03):
I think that the way the tours are given, which
is interaction, it's a dialogue.
It's not a monologue.
We're speaking with people, not at people,that we learn where people are from.
And so if we know what we do know,if you're coming from Petoskey,
in the archives, the archivistputs out a building that Mr.

(27:24):
Dow designed in Petoskey.
So it relates to your community.

Cliff Duvernois (27:27):
Oh, cool.

Craig McDonald (27:27):
So if you're from East Lansing, if you're from
Ann Arbor, if you're from GrossePointe, so that connection is there.
I think whatever you connectwith, that you are allowed to ask
questions and encouraged to askquestions about tell me more about
this, this artwork, this pottery.
Tell me more about these trains.
Tell me more about this copper roof.
And that it's an interaction and you know,a fun experience that you learn from it in

(27:51):
a fun way about what you're interested in,what you connect with while you're here,

Cliff Duvernois (27:56):
Let's use your imagination for a second.
Knowing what you know about theplace now, because you basically
built your whole career here.

Craig McDonald (28:02):
It has been my whole professional career after
university and all through highschool, all through university.
Then after university, yes, it has been.

Cliff Duvernois (28:11):
If we could somehow lift that veil between this world
and the next, then you could ask Mr.
Dow, a question.
What would it be?

Craig McDonald (28:20):
Oh, there's a long list of questions.
Um, I'm going to have to think a littlebit on that, but we have to remember
also with history, there are alwaysgoing to be unanswered questions, and I
think it's actually a really good thing.
It makes us think.
It makes us look at thingsfrom different perspectives.
Um, we never like to say what Mr.
and Mrs.
Dow would think today.
We don't, we don't know.

(28:40):
the family, his children andgrandchildren, really want us to,
to look at what life is and what itis today and how can we, support it,
how can we challenge people to thinkfor themselves and think creatively,
yeah, there's so many questions wewant to, details that we want to know.
I already know how he would answer it.
So he'd answer it with a question.

(29:01):
Yes.
What do you think?
Without question.
Well, there's, you know, There'sagain so many detailed questions like
what do you hope for the next phase?
I'd probably ask him more aboutthe future then it may be even a
detail like what do you want to see?
Next at the Home and Studio.
How do you want us to inspirepeople going into the future?
And through his vision of what we, whatwe've done together, the family and the

(29:25):
staff, because it's an amazing staff ofpassionate humans who we're all very proud
to be a part of this legacy and share itwith other people and to inspire them.
and so, yeah, I would say like, whatwould you like to see in the future?
How would you like us to challenge people?

Cliff Duvernois (29:42):
And if somebody is listening to this, they want to come
and check you out, find you onlinebecause your, your website's beautiful.
The videos that you have outthere are absolutely beautiful,
but how can they do that?

Craig McDonald (29:52):
you can do that.
But again, getting online at the, AldenDow Home and Studio website, abdow.
org.
We've also started a second, organizationcalled Mid Century Modern Midland,
where we've now documented not only hisstructures in Midland, but then all those
other mid century structures that heinfluenced other architects and designers.
And we've documented about 400buildings in total in Midland that

(30:14):
were built between 1930 and 70.
And so that's mid centurymodern Midland has a website.
again, we have lots of social media.
We have Facebook, all the, all thethings of the day, so to speak, if
that's how you want information,the best way to learn about, the
all to meet at home in studio, Mr.
Dow is.
to come to the Alden B.
Dow Home and Studio,

Cliff Duvernois (30:33):
which I highly recommend that you do.

Craig McDonald (30:35):
Yeah.
Come for a tour, come for movieSundays in February and March.
Come to adult camp orsummer camp for kids.
Come to, you know, specialevents or lectures that we host.
you have to experience this buildingto to fully appreciate it, that it's
almost beyond definition in ways.
And everyone, as we've talked about,take something different way and

(30:56):
would define it in a different way,which is exactly, the right way.

Cliff Duvernois (31:00):
Craig, thank you so much for taking time to chat with us today.
We really do appreciate it.

Craig McDonald (31:04):
Thank you so much for coming here and sharing this information.
It's, it's been a lot of fun.

Cliff Duvernois (31:09):
For audience, you can always roll on over to Total Michigan.
com and get the linksthat Craig just mentioned.
We'll see you next time when wetalk to another Michigander doing
some pretty extraordinary things.
We'll see you then.