Susan's Cabinet: Columbus, Indiana: Small Town, Big-Name Architecture

I recently spent a weekend in Columbus, Indiana and that was not enough time! Columbus is a small town with a big reputation for Modernist architecture. The American Institute of Architects ranks it 6th in the U.S. for architectural innovation and design, right behind New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Washington, DC. Thanks to businessman and local resident J. Irwin Miller, the town boasts more than 70 architectural treasures, many by "starchitects" including Eero Saarinen (St. Louis’s Gateway Arch), I.M. Pei (Louvre addition), Richard Meier (LA’s Getty Center), and César Pelli (some of the world’s tallest buildings).

Columbus City Hall, Edward Bassett of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1981

As the Columbus Visitor Center notes, the city is “in the middle of everything and right on your way.” Very accurate; I have passed by it many times while traveling up and down the I-65 (it's 45 minutes south of Indianapolis), yet I had no idea I was passing by an architectural mecca within such easy reach. Usually, you have to fight the traffic and crowds of the world’s major cities to see a collection of architecture of this caliber. Yet here, in this town of about 45,000 people, you can experience it in the comfort of small town charm.

The Visitor Center is located in an 1864 house with a 1995 addition by Kevin Roche

Zaharakos, established in 1900, is still serving ice cream and sodas from its original location. It also has a mechanical music and soda fountain museum (free). I had a delicious chocolate malt and especially enjoyed the collection of marble soda fountains.

Columbus's Modernist legacy began in the 1940’s when J. Irwin Miller decided that great architecture would help attract high-caliber workers to Columbus and his Cummins Engine Company. It took some persuasion, but he convinced Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen to design one of the U.S.’s first Modern style church buildings for Columbus. Next, he had Eliel’s son, Eero Saarinen, design the new headquarters for the Irwin Union Bank and then a magnificent Midcentury Modern home for his family.

First Christian Church, Eliel Saarinen, International Style, 1942
One of the first Modern style churches in the U.S.

First Christian Church - a National Historic Landmark

Irwin Union Bank, now the Irwin Conference Center, Eero Saarinen, 1954, a National Historic Landmark. This was a huge departure from the then typical neoclassical style banks.

The Miller home was donated to the Indianapolis Museum of Art upon the death of Mrs. Miller in 2008 and was opened for guided tours in 2009 (reserve ahead at the Columbus Visitor Center because they do fill up - and note that Columbus is on Eastern time). The family had made very few changes to the home over the years. The architecture, interior design, and gardens are pristine! "Miller House ranks alongside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, and Philip Johnson’s Glass House as a hallmark of Modernist design (and) it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful Modernist gardens in the United States, created by landscape architect Dan Kiley." ~ Travel and Leisure Magazine. Our volunteer tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the architecture, design, gardens, and the family. Check out the iconic conversation pit!

Miller House, Eero Saarinen, Midcentury Modern, 1957, a National Historic Landmark (designated while still occupied by the original owners - a first)

In 1957, J. Irwin Miller offered to pay architects’ fees for any new public buildings, as long as the architects were chosen from a list provided by the Cummins Engine Foundation, and the city took him up on it. Schools, fire stations, bridges, monuments, parks, community centers, libraries, and hospitals followed. These, in turn, inspired private ventures to step up their architectural aspirations.

Cleo Rogers Memorial Library, I.M. Pei, 1969

Interior of the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library

Fire Station 4, Robert Venturi, 1967 (with a 37-ft hose drying tower)

The Commons, Koetter Kim, 2011

This community center includes a free indoor playground with a 35-foot tall climbing structure, great seating for the adults, and casual dining options.

Luciana's is one food option in the Commons building. I loved their shrimp fajitas, and Zaharakos is right across the street for dessert!

Chaos 1, kinetic sculpture by Jean Tinguely in the Commons community center.

Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans, Thompson and Rose Architects, 1997. The 40-ft high columns are engraved with excerpts of war time letters from those who died.

The Robert Stewart bridge is a gateway into downtown, by Jean M. Muller, 1999

The Republic Newspaper building, Myron Goldsmith of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1971, a National Historic Landmark. The printing presses could be viewed from the street. The building is now occupied by the Indiana University J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program.

North Christian Church, Eero Saarinen, 1966, a National Historic Landmark

Interior of the North Christian Church. This was one of the stops on the Visitor Center's Architecture Highlights Bus Tour.

First Baptist Church, Harry Weese, 1965, a National Historic Landmark

AT&T Switching Center, Paul Kennon, 1978

Color-coded stacks for the AT&T building’s HVAC system

Bartholomew County Jail, Don Hisaka, 1990

Even the the jail is beautiful, and this is the back of it!

There is also plenty of public art on display in Columbus:

Columbus is celebrated for its Modern and Post Modern architecture, but it has some beautiful examples of earlier styles too.

J. Irwin Miller's office (second floor), 1882

Bartholomew County Courthouse, Second Empire style, Isaac Hodgson, 1874

J. Irwin Miller grew up in this Italianate house, built by his great-grandfather in 1864, remodeled in 1880, and added upon to become a mansion with Pompeii-inspired gardens by 1910. It is now a Bed & Breakfast, the Inn at Irwin Gardens. If you don’t stay at the B&B you can still book a tour of the mansion through the Visitor Center. These are only given twice a week so I missed out. Next time! The gardens are open to the public two afternoons a week, June through October. And you can always take a peek through the gates. Another nice place to stay is the Hotel Indigo Columbus Architectural Center (at least, a fellow tourist in Wisconsin recommended it to me). However, preferring low budget travel (so I can do even more of it), I stayed at a Motel 8 which was quite comfortable but not at all beautiful.

J. Irwin Miller grew up in this Italianate house

Pompeii-inspired gardens at J. Irwin Miller's childhood home

The Crump Theatre, 1874, redesigned in the Streamline Moderne style in 1941. Currently closed, hoping for restoration.

There is even interesting architecture in the parks! Mill Race Park is a beautifully designed 85-acre park beside the Flatrock River, just outside of downtown. Climb the observation tower for a great view of the river and the town. The park includes architectural "follies" by Stanley Saitowitz and a covered bridge built in 1840.

Columbus has way too much to see and do in just a couple of days. I plan to stop by again to try more of the architecture tours offered by the Visitor Center; see more building interiors and public art; and enjoy more of the restaurants (such as the Powerhouse Brewing Company and Zwanzigz Pizza), as well as parks, trails, and maybe even a winery. Maybe I'll make it to Exhibit Columbus, the "annual exploration of art, architecture, design, and community that alternates between symposium and exhibition programming each year."

Pick up the Columbus Guide map at the Visitor Center for the locations of almost 100 sights (art, architecture, landscapes, & historic buildings).

More photos from around Columbus:

Trellises on the Cummins Headquarters campus

Kidscommons - Columbus's Community Children's Museum

The Cerealine Building, circa 1867

Cerealine, one of the first dry breakfast cereals, was made here (and was served on the Titanic). The building is now part of the Cummins corporate headquarters campus. It was renovated and enlarged, including the addition of this beautiful waterside employee cafeteria.