Adler had some elementary-level education in the City of Detroit, and Ann Arbor, before leaving school to become a draftsman.

Adler served in the Union Army during the Civil War with Battery "M", 1st Illinois Light Artillery Regiment.

After a short period, Adler returned to architecture, in partnership with his two sons, but never regaining the prominence he had with Sullivan.

Adler and Sullivan's Auditorium Building (1889) is an early example of splendid acoustical engineering, as is their Kehilath Anshe Ma'ariv Synagogue.

In addition to their pioneering accomplishments with steel-framed buildings and skyscrapers, Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan were early employers and mentors of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, whose consistent praise for Adler ("the 'American Engineer' my 'Big Chief'")[12] surpassed even that which he reserved for Sullivan, whom he called his "lieber meister".

[4] Photographs and other archival materials are held by the Ryerson & Burnham Libraries at the Art Institute of Chicago.