While my wife was temporarily residing in Indiana for work, we made sure to explore some of the state on the weekends. We both appreciate modern architecture and art and heard about the collection of mid-century modern architecture in Columbus, IN. We highly recommend anyone with similar interests pay a visit to this city. The town motto is "Unexpected. Unforgettable." and I'd say it lives up to the motto. The link above to the city leads to plenty of information about the history of the city, but the short version connected to modern architecture starts with J. Irwin Miller, who led the Cummins Engine Company (now Cummins Inc.) after World War II. He wanted to encourage the construction of modern buildings in Columbus, so whenever public buildings (city and county government buildings, schools, churches, etc) were being planned, the Cummins Foundation would pay the architect fees as long as the client chose from a list of approved architects working in modern styles. This program has been very successful in bringing famous architects, artists, landscape architects, and interior designers to Columbus. The visitors' bureau offers architecture tours of the city (a two-hour introduction to the city). Some of our favorite sites are listed below.
The first item we saw after parking was a sculpture, Large Arch (1971) by Henry Moore.
The Henry Moore sculpture sits next to the Bartholomew County Library designed by I.M. Pei.
The Columbus City Hall was designed by Edward Charles Bassett. It features an interesting pair of cantilevered brick walls which frame the stairs and semi-circular windows facing the street.
Across the street from City Hall is the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans designed by landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh. The memorial features excerpts of letters from armed services members to their families.
Some of the other interesting features of buildings in the city are the ventilation stacks of the AT&T Switching Station designed by Paul Kennon,
and the landscape around the Cummins Corporate Office Building.
Two of my favorite structures were designed by Eero Saarinen. One is the North Christian Church.
Probably the highlight of a visit to Columbus is a tour of the Miller House designed by Eero Saarinen with interior design by Alexander Girard and landscaping by Dan Kiley.
If you are interested in more of the story of J. Irwin Miller and modern architecture in Columbus, Indiana you may want to visit the city or at least check out the following video for visitors.