How Columbus, Indiana, became a living museum of modern architecture

When J. Millers wanted the most prominent family in town. They owned a local bank and co-founded Cummins Engine, a leading manufacturer of diesel engines.

When the devotees grew up on the previous building, the Miller family donated land and money to build a new building. But it was c. It was Erwin who wanted modern design – his family was more in favor of the Gothic church. He believed that modernity represented the values ​​of both Columbus and his church, and eventually convinced the rest of his family to see it his way.

The less modern aesthetic was a stark departure from the more ornate and neoclassical styles of Art Deco that came before it. but c. Irwin understood that the devotees were not concerned with luxury or ostentation. They appreciated simplicity and community and chose the theme “Our Church is Our People”.

“This was really radical for its time,” says Erin Hawkins, director of marketing for the Columbus Visitor Center, as we stood in front of the First Christian Church. “Seldom have there been churches without a tower and with a cross on it.” The product of J. Irwin’s efforts was undoubtedly beautiful, featuring a stone cross embedded within the geometric limestone facade. A free-standing bell tower to the right of the main building makes the entire structure feel slightly off center in an intentional and striking way. Its clean lines, flat planes, and minimal aesthetic perfectly incorporate mid-century design ethos. Nothing is exaggerated. It is simple, practical and easy.

The building’s designer, Eliel Saarinen (father of famous architect Eero Saarinen), originally rejected the commission, believing that American churches were too theatrical and over the top. He eventually agreed to the project after persuasive words from J.” Nitti told Saarinen. The building was constructed in 1942 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001.

Mecca of mid-century modern architecture

While I admire the early Christian church, plants are being sold in the library behind me. Columbus residents wander around folded tables holding seeds and seedlings, seemingly unfazed by the fact that they pick out their garden fixtures in front of a building designed by I.M. Pei. This is not to say that they do not appreciate the beauty of the building, just that impeccable design by some of the most important architects of the 20th century is the norm in this southern Indiana city.

Like many places in this part of the country, the land is mostly flat and strewn with cornfields. The population is small—about 44,000—but the 28 square miles that make up Columbus are just the typical Midwest city.

Columbus is the mecca of mid-century modern building and, according to the American Institute of Architects, is the sixth most architecturally important city in the United States, and certainly the most impressive in terms of its size, after Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and nearly every building in The city somehow leads to J. Irwin Miller.

In addition to being a man once called “the most socially responsible businessman in the country” by Martin Luther King, J. Erwin Miller is an industrialist, patron of the arts, and philanthropist. Says Nancy Kraepelin, author of Erwin Miller: Shaping an American City.

good design case

While there are varying descriptions of how J.

J. Irwin’s business, Cummins Engine Company, has been struggling to attract strong talent. Knowing that the Midwest couldn’t rival the mountains, beaches, or megacities of the country’s coastal regions, J. Irwin needed a solution that would encourage potential employees to move to southern Indiana. He believed that for a company to be successful, it must satisfy five key stakeholders: customers, employees, partners, investors, and the community. “The community was extraordinary,” Kriplen says. “He’s always been very aware of what Cummins is going to do to people, especially the people who live in Columbus.”

As the postwar baby boom spread across the United States, and seeing the success of the early Christian church, J. Erwin believes Columbus can offer parents a unique education for their children. While he recognized that good teachers and a strong curriculum are an integral part of education, he also believed that good design can help reinforce these prerequisites.

In 1957, J. Irwin proposed the Cummins Foundation Architecture Program. Cummins will pay architectural fees for new public schools as long as the city selects a designer from a pre-approved list. The inaugural school, Lillian C. Schmidt Elementary, was designed by Harry Weiss. Perhaps one of the most successful examples of public-private partnership, the project quickly expanded the former schools to include other civic buildings, including the library. “Good design becomes a value to society,” Hawkins says. “After that, independent companies started hiring their own architects, as well as independent church congregations.” As a result, Columbus became the living museum of modern design as it is today.

Columbus, Indiana, and Washington, DC

Other notable buildings in Columbus include Fire Station No. 4 by Robert Venturi, the Irwin Convention Center (formerly the Irwin Union and Trust Bank), the North Christian Church by Eero Saarinen, and Republic Myron Goldsmith’s newspaper desk of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill.

My favorite post office is the post office designed by Kevin Roche in 1970. “People have really strong reactions to this building,” Hawkins says. “They either love it or hate it.” The building’s large brick pillars support a flat roof that extends over floor-to-ceiling windows, creating a tunnel-like corridor in which people wander their way to drop packages.

This private post office has an interesting origin story. Seated in the Oval Office with President Lyndon Johnson, Lee Hamilton, a congressman from Indiana’s Ninth District, lobbied then-President of the Post Office Larry O’Brien to allow Columbus to break with the traditional designs and architects the Postal Department used to use. As Kraepelin describes in her book, the chief turned and said, “Larry, you give Hamilton anything he wants.” Roche Post Office is what he wanted.

To this day, the ultimate achievement of the architecture program goes beyond pure aesthetics and historical monument. Columbus has been cited as an example of how to invest in people and society. It is one of the few industrial cities unaffected by the industrial decline of the 1980s, most of which escape the nefarious diseases that have plagued similar cities across the Rust Belt.

Cummins is doing well, too—it’s a Fortune 500 company that currently employs more than 58,000 people. Even 15 years after the death of J. Erwin, his favorite project continues; The latest installment is a new campus for Ivy Tech Community College, the state’s largest public post-secondary institution.

As we wind up our walk, Hawkins sums up her feelings about Columbus’ unexpected cache of modern architecture: “He’s an inspiration to me, the impact a few people can have on an entire city.”