Former Republic building in good hands

For more than four decades, the address 333 Second St. meant one thing in Columbus. It was the home of The Republic, where the community’s daily newspaper was produced.

It was where people could look into the iconic all-glass building designed by renowned architect Myron Goldsmith of Chicago and catch a glimpse into the life of a newspaper — reporters and editors at work, and from a Second Street vantage point watch copies of the newspaper being printed on a Goss Urbanite press. That transparency helped residents gain more of a connection to the daily news provider.

The building had community value, too. It was where civic leaders came to talk to editors about important issues, particularly with longtime columnist Harry McCawley. Its location downtown near Columbus City Hall, the Bartholomew County Courthouse, the jail, the county’s Government Office Building, The Commons and retail stores put it in the hub of daily life and community decision making.

That wasn’t by accident. The late Bob Brown, former Republic chairman and owner, picked the location personally with the intent of The Republic’s new home helping spark a downtown redevelopment. City Hall and The Commons were among the developments to follow.

The newspaper building’s importance and legacy grew when it was named a National Historic Landmark in 2012 — becoming one of the youngest in the nation to achieve that designation.

That’s quite a history for the building. Fortunately, its story is beginning a new chapter.

The former Republic building will become the home of Indiana University’s new master’s program in architecture, formally called the J. Irwin Miller Architecture program. Its name honors the late industrialist and philanthropist who was behind the Cummins Foundation’s practice of paying the architectural fees of renowned architects to design special community projects.

Indiana University completed the purchase of the building April 27 from Columbus Regional Health’s holding company, which previously bought it from the Brown family in 2016. The university made the announcement about the master’s program’s new home on Monday.

Columbus Regional is to be commended for setting aside its personal interest in how it might have used the building. Instead, CRH worked with IU to bring this important community project forward. Once again, another vital public-private partnership will further enhance our community.

This will bring students and teachers, and their ideas and talents, into downtown, and bring a new vibrancy to the building and the area.

IU is the perfect community partner to carry on the legacy started by Bob Brown. The iconic building is in good hands.

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