The Big Book of Urban Legends by Robert Loren Fleming

(He once said: “Gardens never end, and buildings never begin.”) You can see the kinship to Wright. They seem to flow into and out of their landscapes. The designs that Dow drew for private homes are lovely and inviting, with big windows and lots of light. Major awards soon followed, and his renown spread. Family connections helped with design contracts, as did his connection to Wright. He took further training in Wright’s studio. Alden Dow majored in engineering at Michigan for three years, then begged his parents to let him transfer to Columbia to study architecture. Dow, founder of the corporate colossus Dow Chemical. The architect was Alden Dow (1904-83), who grew up in Midland, Mich., as the son of Herbert H. Yet it was designed by a gentle man of deeply humane taste whom the architectural superstar Frank Lloyd Wright called his “spiritual son.” Alden Dowĭow was inspired by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. The building was designed years before students started taking over buildings.

People have said for years it was designed as an actual fortress to protect administrators from marauding student protesters. Most of the windows are slits at the level of the ceiling or floor. No University administration, at least not one that seeks engagement, should reside in such a bunker-like, repelling structure.” In fact, said one of his successors, Lee Bollinger, who admired Fleming: “Never has a building been more ironically named. He was a good guy to name a building for. He was a friendly and decent man who seemed to genuinely like students, even when they were yelling at him.

As president of the University from 1968-79, he navigated U-M through the mayhem of the 1960s and ’70s in one piece. When I heard it was on the schedule for demolition, my only twinge of regret had to do with Robben Fleming. (Image courtesy of U-M’s Bentley Historical Library.)

During the turbulent ’60s and early ’70s, President Robben Fleming was a skilled diplomat when the University needed one.

The Big Book of Urban Legends by Robert Loren Fleming