Columbus, Indiana - Architectural Showpiece

Just when we feel like we've gotten to know this area and we've seen all there is to see as "tourists," south-central Indiana can still offer up some pretty amazing surprises. One such recent surprise was the city of Columbus, population 40,000 or so. We went out there with my parents (so that's 3 weeks ago today) to have a look at what has become one of the most important architectural sights in the country, an outdoor museum of interesting and thoughtfully designed buildings. Why Columbus, Indiana, you might ask? I wondered that myself, so I give you what I discovered on Wikipedia.com:

Columbus is a city known for its architecture. J. Irwin Miller, Co-Founder of the Cummins Engine Company, a local concern manufacturing diesel engines, instituted a program in which Cummins would pay the architects' fee on any building if the client selected a firm from a list they compiled. The plan was initiated with public schools. It was so successful that Miller went on to defray the design costs of fire stations, public housing and other community structures. Columbus has come to have an unusual number of notable public buildings and sculpture, designed by such individuals as Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, Robert Venturi, Cesar Pelli, Richard Meier and others. Six of its buildings, built between 1942 and 1965, are National Historic Landmarks, and 60 other buildings sustain the Bartholomew County capital seat's reputation as a showcase of modern architecture. National Geographic Magazine once devoted an entire article to the town's architecture.

So enjoy some visuals of this special city... And thanks for putting up with my enthusiasm as an architecture buff!

The 1942 church designed by Eliel Saarinen


A sculpture by Henry Moore stands outside the library, designed by I.M. Pei

The roof being fixed on a church by Eero Saarinen

A downtown bank building

Another notable church

The war memorial

...and a view up between the columns....