Road Trip - Columbus, Indiana

For years I have been clipping articles about Columbus, Indiana and its exciting modern American architecture.  A travel window opened, and we took advantage of a family visit to Pittsburgh to continue west on Route 70 to Indiana.  Columbus, with a population of about 50,000, is about an hour south of Indianapolis.  The city is the home of a Fortune 500 Company -- Cummins, Inc. -- which, among other things, has been manufacturing diesel engines for more than a hundred years.

Since 1957, more than 50 public buildings have been designed and built by architects such as  Eliel Saarinen and his son, Eero, I. M. Pei, Kevin Roche, Cesar Pelli, and Harry Weese (designer of the Washington, D.C. Metro).  The driving force behind this was J. Irwin Miller, Chairman of Cummins from 1951 to 1977.  He established the Cummins Foundation in 1954, which offered to pay the architects’ design fees for public buildings if the architect was chosen from a list prepared by an independent committee.  And so began the development of this extraordinary group of public buildings:  schools, churches, hospital, county jail, fire stations, parking garage, public housing, library and even a bridge.  Along with the architecture came fine public art and exceptional public landscaping.

We stayed at the Inn at Irwin Gardens, now a bed and breakfast, but formerly the Irwin family home, a mansion in the center of town, which was originally built in 1864 and then extensively remodeled in 1910.  Lots of wood, high ceilings, nooks and crannies, and a large garden with different levels, water features, sculpture and a wide variety of plantings.

We scheduled two tours:  first an architectural tour of the city in the morning, and then after lunch, a visit to the J. Irwin Miller residence, which he and his wife built for themselves and their three children.  All tours begin at the Visitors Center, just a block from our mansion. The morning tour began with a short film about the city and its architecture -- introducing us to what was to come.  

Opposite the Visitors Center is the First Christian Church, designed by Eliel Saarinen and built in 1942.  This is one of the first churches of modern design built in the United States, and J. Irwin Miller was a member of the congregation that broke new ground by sponsoring a large rectangular brick church building paired with a 170 foot brick bell tower.  Hidden windows allow plenty of light to enter, and the eye is attracted and directed by the slightly off-center entrance and interior designs.

Diagonally across the street is the Public Library designed by I. M. Pei, with its plaza-like public space in the front.  Offset in the front space of the library is a sculpture, a large arch by Henry Moore.

We boarded the bus and toured the city for another ninety minutes, ending at the North Christian Church designed by Eero Saarinen.  This church is on a very large plot of land surrounded by trees and other landscape, designed by Dan Kiley.  From the parking lot, the congregant can only see the tall needle-like spire as he approaches the church on a path through the trees, allowing him to reflect and meditate as he prepares to enter the church.

After lunch, we visited the Miller residence, which again was designed by Eero Saarinen.  The house is wonderful in its simplicity.  It is a one story rectangle with a flat roof and stone and glass walls.  The focus of attention is a very large center room with a “conversation pit” at one end.  Behind the walls at one side of this room are the utilitarian children’s bedrooms, continuing around to the parents’ bedroom. The other side of the center room opens to the dining room with its glass walls, which bring the outside inside.  And then to the side of the dining room is the large kitchen.  Light colored walls and carpeting of the house contrast with the vivid colors of cushions and art provided by the interior designer, Alexander Girard, who was a favorite of the Miller family.  Extensive gardens, designed by Dan Kiley, surround the house.  

The Columbus architectural heritage is not to be missed.