Albert Kahn designed Stambaugh Building, Mahoning Bank | The skyline of Detroit and the development of American industry would have been much different without Albert Kahn. As the leading industrial architect of the 20th century, Kahn’s revolutionary engineering helped Henry Ford streamline the assembly line and achieve mass production.
Kahn’s pioneering use of reinforced concrete allowed for wider expanses of open, unobstructed space in factories and public buildings. His brother, Julius, patented the process and Albert used it in thousands of factories and public buildings in the U.S. and abroad.
Kahn’s 1903 Packard Automotive Plant in Detroit was the first major factory to use reinforced concrete, but the Ford Highland Park Plant was a turning point for both the automaker and modern American manufacturing when it opened in 1910. In addition to creating efficient production spaces for automotive clients, Kahn’s designs also considered the comfort and safety of workers. Factories typically had large, operating windows that allowed light and ventilation into the workplace and the buildings were fireproof.
Although Kahn embraced modern technology, he also created residential, commercial and institutional architecture rooted in history. Like many of his contemporaries, Kahn used classical elements in his public buildings and homes for Detroit’s auto elite were often steeped in traditional English architecture.
Kahn remained in Detroit, but his brother and the Trussed Concrete Steel Co. relocated to Youngstown in 1906. Around this time, Albert also got some of his earliest work in the Mahoning Valley. In 1906, he built the Stambaugh Building, which became the headquarters of Youngstown Sheet and Tube. It was one of the earliest skyscrapers on Central Square.
Kahn designed the Mahoning National Bank Building, which he built in 1910 and expanded in the mid-1920s. Other structures in Youngstown included the Trussed Concrete Steel Co. (Truscon) on Albert Street and Julius’ Youngstown home on Tod Lane.
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