Landmark Columbus

Last updated
Landmark Columbus
Formation2015
Headquarters Columbus, Indiana, United States
Parent organization
Landmark Columbus Foundation
Website landmarkcolumbusfoundation.org/landmark-columbus

Landmark Columbus is the progressive preservation program arm of Landmark Columbus Foundation that is dedicated to caring for and celebrating the world-renowned cultural heritage of Columbus, Indiana.

Contents

Projects and events

Landmark Columbus' 2015 Columbus Conversation in the chapel at First Christian Church 2015 Columbus Conversation - Davis, Prudon, and Joyner 11.jpg
Landmark Columbus' 2015 Columbus Conversation in the chapel at First Christian Church

Landmark Columbus produces a number of ongoing projects in an effort to care for the city's cultural heritage. [1] The organization is active in the community in various ways, [2] including nominating the Irwin Conference Center [3] for a Docomomo US National Citation of Merit in 2014 for the National Historic Landmark building designed by Eero Saarinen, which was restored through an adaptive reuse project by Cummins. [4] Columbus historians David Sechrest and Ricky Berkey have been involved with the organization from the beginning, helping to create projects around both the early and modern history of the community. [5]

Getty Foundation Keeping it Modern Architectural Conservation Grant

Landmark Columbus received a 2019 Keeping it Modern Architectural Conservation Grant from the Getty Foundation for the iconic North Christian Church. With this grant, Landmark Columbus—together with Prudon & Partners, Reed-Hilderbrand, Bryony Roberts Studio, Enrique Ramirez, ICR-ICC and others—are developing a conservation management plan to provide the historical context and strategic guidance necessary for the church's long-term upkeep. [6]

Friends of First Christian Church Architecture

Friends of First Christian Church Architecture (FFCCA) is a collaborative effort with a mission "to preserve the architecture and design elements of FCC, a National Historic Landmark designed by Eliel & Eero Saarinen in 1942." [7] The project was launched in January 2017 as a partnership with First Christian Church, Heritage Fund, Landmark Columbus, and Indiana Landmarks. [8] The first project for FFCCA was to help save the sanctuary skylight, [9] which leaked for years and caused damage. [10] In August 2018 FFCCA had raised enough resources from the congregation and throughout the community to have the skylight fully restored. [11] Fundraising for the restoration of the skylight was a collaborative effort, and included contributions from the church congregation, Kenny Glass, Inc., and the Columbus Area Visitors Center. [12]

Columbus Conversations

Columbus Conversation is an annual symposium held to address a pressing need in the community related to Columbus' cultural heritage. The series began in 2014 and featured Theodore Prudon's keynote presentation "Modern Architecture as Heritage", [13] and included lectures by Marsh Davis, from Indiana Landmarks; Louis Joyner, a Columbus-based architect; Richard McCoy; and a conversation moderated by Harry McCawley. [14]

The 2015 Columbus Conversation featured a panel discussion by Jeff Baker, the last president of Preserve to Enjoy, Inc.; Tricia Gilson from the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives; Flora Chou, board member of Docomomo US; and Theodore Prudon, board president of Docomomo US. [15] This moderated discussion defined ways that Landmark Columbus could raise awareness about caring for the area's cultural heritage and begin growing a constituency that actively helps in the cause. [16]

Chaotic Tuesdays

A "Chaotic Tuesday" inside the Commons 2015 Chaotic Tuesday.jpg
A "Chaotic Tuesday" inside the Commons

In celebration of Jean Tinguely's masterwork, Chaos I , located inside the Commons, Landmark Columbus started "Chaotic Tuesdays" as a free community event during which everyone could see the kinetic artwork operate during the evening. [17] The idea for the event came from the director of Museum Tinguely, Roland Wetzel, when he visited in 2014. [18] The event happens on the fourth Tuesday of every month and has grown to be a partnership between many in the community and led by the Columbus Area Arts Council. Professors from Ivy Tech bring drawing materials for the community and provide lessons on how to draw the artwork, which Tinguely himself did many times; his drawings of Chaos I are in collections around the world.

Landscape architecture cleanups

2015 North Christian Church Landscape Clean Up 2015 North Christian Church Clean Up.jpg
2015 North Christian Church Landscape Clean Up

Landmark Columbus has organized a number of community efforts to help clean and maintain the landscape at North Christian Church, which was designed by Dan Kiley and is one of seven National Historic Landmarks in the city. Cleanups have addressed issues caused by storms and ongoing maintenance, including the dormant pruning of the many magnolias that surround the church. [19]

Yearly bicycle rides

Landmark Columbus started a yearly bicycle tour in May that coincides with National Preservation Month and National Bike Month.

Landmark Lego Challenge

In May 2016 Landmark Columbus held a first-of-its-kind competition that invited participants to build one of the seven National Historic Landmarks out of Lego bricks. [23] This project was launched in partnership with the Indianapolis Museum of Art, kids commons, the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives, and other organizations. [24]

Docomomo US Tour Day

Various partners began participating in "Tour Day" starting in 2013 to draw regional interest in visiting Columbus and seeing the modern architecture.

Documentation and surveys

In 2013 and 14, all of the public art in Bartholomew County was surveyed, photographed, and placed in the database of the Public Art Archive. [28] The list of public art in Bartholomew County, Indiana includes more than 100 artworks in a diverse group of places. Also at this time, all of the resources in the Columbus Arts District and all of the modern buildings were surveyed, photographed, and published in the database of CultureNOW. [29] [30] Other research projects have included investigations for public artworks that are now missing. [31]

Ongoing series of talks

Landmark Columbus occasionally hosts experts of architecture, art, and community.

Public art walking tours

With the rich history of public art throughout the community, [37] walking tours are frequent. There is also a special walking tour every October in partnership with Reach Healthy Communities. [38] [39]

Related Research Articles

Columbus, Indiana City in Indiana, United States

Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Bartholomew County, Indiana, United States. The population was 44,061 at the 2010 census. The relatively small city has provided a unique place for noted Modern architecture and public art, commissioning numerous works since the mid-20th century; the annual program Exhibit Columbus celebrates this legacy. Located about 40 mi (64 km) south of Indianapolis, on the east fork of the White River, it is the state's 20th-largest city. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Indiana metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Bartholomew County. Columbus is the birthplace of former Indiana Governor and former Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence.

Eero Saarinen Finnish-American architect

Eero Saarinen was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the Washington Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., the TWA Flight Center in New York City, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the son of noted Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen.

Cranbrook Educational Community United States historic place

The Cranbrook Educational Community is an education, research, and public museum complex in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This National Historic Landmark was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. It consists of Cranbrook Schools, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Cranbrook Art Museum, Cranbrook Institute of Science, and Cranbrook House and Gardens. The founders also built Christ Church Cranbrook as a focal point in order to serve the educational complex. However, the church is a separate entity under the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan. The sprawling 319-acre (1,290,000 m2) campus began as a 174-acre (700,000 m2) farm, purchased in 1904. The organization takes its name from Cranbrook, England, the birthplace of the founder's father.

North Christian Church Eero Saarinen-designed church in Columbus, Indiana

The North Christian Church is a church in Columbus, Indiana. Founded in 1955, it is part of the Christian Church. The church building of 1964 was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) and completed in 1964. Saarinen's father Eliel Saarinen had designed the First Christian Church in Columbus.

First Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana) United States historic place

The First Christian Church in Columbus, Indiana, was built in 1942. It was the first contemporary building in Columbus and one of the first churches in the United States to be built in a contemporary architectural style.

Irwin Conference Center United States historic place

The Irwin Conference Center was designed by Eero Saarinen and built in 1954 in Columbus, Indiana. It is currently owned and operated by Cummins, whose world headquarters is located across Jackson Street in the Cummins Corporate Office Building. In recognition of its unique and beautiful design, the resource was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 2001.

First Baptist Church (Columbus, Indiana) United States historic place

The First Baptist Church is one of six National Historic Landmarks in Columbus, Indiana. It was designed by distinguished architect Harry Weese; construction was completed in 1965. Since completion, few alterations have been made and the building has retained its integrity. It was one of the first church designs to integrate Modern movement architecture and a non-traditional church plan.

J. Irwin Miller American businessman

Joseph Irwin Miller was an American industrialist, patron of modern architecture, and lay leader in the Christian ecumenical movement and civil rights. He was instrumental in the rise of the Cummins Corporation and giving his hometown of Columbus, Indiana international stature with its modern architecture buildings.

Gunnar Birkerts

Gunnar Birkerts was a Latvian American architect who, for most of his career, was based in the metropolitan area of Detroit, Michigan.

Christ Church Lutheran (Minneapolis, Minnesota) United States historic place

Christ Church Lutheran is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Minneapolis. Its buildings—a sanctuary with chapel (1949) and an education wing (1962) designed by Finnish-American architects Eliel Saarinen and Eero Saarinen—have been internationally recognized, most recently in 2009 as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S Department of the Interior.

"America's Favorite Architecture" is a list of buildings and other structures identified as the most popular works of architecture in the United States.

Miller House (Columbus, Indiana) United States historic place

The Miller House and Garden, also known as Miller House, is a mid-century modern home designed by Eero Saarinen and located in Columbus, Indiana, United States. The residence, commissioned by American industrialist, philanthropist, and architecture patron J. Irwin Miller and his wife Xenia Simons Miller in 1953, is now owned by Newfields. Miller supported modern architecture in the construction of a number of buildings throughout Columbus, Indiana. Design and construction on the Miller House took four years and was completed in 1957. The home was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000. The Miller family owned the home until 2008, when Xenia Miller, the last resident of the home, died.

Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse United States historic place

The Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, formerly known as the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office and as the Federal Building, is a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, located in Indianapolis. It is a distinguished example of Beaux-Arts architecture, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Constructed from 1902 to 1905, the United States District Court for the District of Indiana met here until it was subdivided in 1928; the United States Circuit Court for the District of Indiana met here until that court was abolished in 1912. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "U.S. Courthouse and Post Office" in 1974. The courthouse was renamed in honor of Senator Birch Bayh in 2003.

<i>Chaos I</i>

Chaos I is a kinetic artwork by Swiss artist Jean Tinguely located inside The Commons, which is downtown Columbus, Indiana, United States. The work was commissioned by J. Irwin Miller, his wife Xenia Miller, and E. Celementine Tangeman in late 1971 for The Commons, an enclosed public space designed by Cesar Pelli. The artwork is often simply called Chaos and is occasionally referred to as Chaos No.1.

Cleo Rogers Memorial Library

The Cleo Rogers Memorial Library, also known as the Main Library, is the flagship library of the Bartholomew County Public Library system. It includes a branch in Hope, Indiana, and a bookmobile that serves the county. The building was designed by I. M. Pei & Partners and constructed by Dunlap & Company, completed in 1969, and dedicated in 1971. It is notable for its design of red brick with concrete details and its Library Plaza, an urban space punctuated by the sculpture, "Large Arch" by Henry Moore. It is named for Cleo Rogers (1905-1964) who was the county librarian for 28 years and assistant librarian for nine years.

<i>Friendship Way</i>

Friendship Way is the name of the brick-lined alley in the 400-block between Washington and Jackson Streets in Columbus, Indiana, United States. It was designed by William A. Johnson Associates of Seattle, Washington, landscaped by Storrow Kinsella Associates of Indianapolis, Indiana and completed in 1998. The untitled neon sculpture located in Friendship Way is an outdoor sculpture by American artist Cork Marcheschi. The sculpture is owned and maintained by the city of Columbus.

<i>Large Arch</i>

Large Arch is an outdoor sculpture by British sculptor Henry Moore. It was installed in 1971 and is located in the outdoor plaza of the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library in Columbus, Indiana. Xenia and J. Irwin Miller commissioned the sculpture and gave it to the library. The sculpture is nearly 20 feet tall and is made of sandcast bronze that has been patinated.

Exhibit Columbus Annual exploration of architecture, art, design, and community in Columbus, Indiana

Exhibit Columbus is a program of Landmark Columbus Foundation, and an exploration of architecture, art, design, and community that activates the design legacy of Columbus, Indiana. It creates a cycle of programming that uses this context to convene conversations around innovative ideas and commissions site-responsive installations in a free, public exhibition. It features the internationally sought after J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize.

<i>Columbus</i> (2017 film) 2017 American film

Columbus is a 2017 American drama film written, directed, and edited by Kogonada in his feature directorial debut. The film follows the son of a renowned architecture scholar who gets stranded in Columbus, Indiana, and strikes up a friendship with a young architecture enthusiast who works at the local library. Michelle Forbes, Rory Culkin, and Parker Posey appear in supporting roles. The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on August 4, 2017, by the Sundance Institute, receiving acclaim from critics.

<i>The Republic</i> Newspaper Office Historic building in Indiana, USA

The Republic Newspaper Office is a modernist building in Columbus, Indiana that was originally home to the local newspaper The Republic. Completed in 1971, it is an acknowledged masterpiece of Modern architect Myron Goldsmith, and was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture in 2012.

References

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