Alvin M. Strauss Is Born (1895)

In 1895 Alvin M. Strauss was born in Kendallville, Indiana, the son of German immigrants. After apprenticing with architects in Chicago and Fort Wayne, he opened his own Fort Wayne practice in 1918 and became one of the most prolific architects in Indiana and Ohio. Among his commissions was the crisp Art Deco administration building and showroom of the Auburn Automobile Company (1930) — today the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum and a National Historic Landmark — built to display the luxury cars that carried the town’s name across America.