Even with an oval Eero Saarinen tulip table on display, Julie Aton’s favorite part of her 1959 home in the local Lagoons rests with another feature.
“The wonderful views,” Aton said. “And the great neighborhood.”
Aton’s brick, sunlit structure with oversized front windows is among three Lagoons homes and six overall stops — including one garden — on Saturday’s event known as Back to the Future: The Mid-Century Modern Home Tour. The tour, last presented in Columbus in 2011, is a presentation of Indiana Modern, a part of the preservation-oriented Indiana Landmarks based in Indianapolis.
Last week, nearly 600 tickets, priced from $10 to $25, already had been sold. Organizers expect 750 or more people to attend the event. Headquarters is North Christian Church at 850 Tipton Lane. Because of limited street parking at and near homes, organizers encourage attendees to park at the Saarinen-designed church and take free shuttles running during the duration of the 1 to 6 p.m. event.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
People can visit homes in any order they wish.
This year’s tour, the 12th ever, focuses chiefly on the 1950s and 1960s, according to organizers. Some architects say the general, Mid-Century Modern style stretches from about the 1940s to the 1970s.
“We have such a strong following (on the tour),” said Mark Dollase, vice president of preservation services for Indiana Landmarks and the tour’s coordinator. “We have so many who come to this year in and year out.”
The event is held in the Indianapolis area every other year, and throughout the state during the other years. The 2016 tour in Carmel holds the record for attendance at more than 1,000 people, Dollase said.
Columbus architect Louis Joyner serves as chairman of Indiana Modern. He mentioned that Columbus includes a fairly limited number of Mid-Century Modern examples amid its homes.
“It’s surprising considering our reputation as a center for Modernist architecture,” Joyner said. “They really seem to have fallen out of favor by the ‘70s. Builders went back to more traditional styles. There was simply a change in the culture.”
Erin Hawkins, director of marketing for the Columbus Area Visitors Center, has been promoting the event that her and Chris Morlock’s home was a part of in 2011. She also holds a personal interest again this year.
“There are several stops on this tour I have been dying to see for years,” Hawkins said.
Dollase hears the same from many others, too.
“The places that we feature are of such a high design and construction standard,” he said. “They’re not just your run-of-the-mill subdivision ranch home. These are unusually significant properties of that design period.
“And I think many people like to come and be inspired.”
And possibly parlay that inspiration to something in their own home, Dollase said. He said the tour also is meant to convince home buyers to maintain and preserve their Mid-Century Modern home features rather than “tearing out that old kitchen,” as he put it.
Aton understands that. She is grateful that the three previous owners of her home preserved its greatest period features. She believes she grew to love the style from so much of her local surroundings.
“I truly believe,” she said, “it is from the exposure growing up in Columbus.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”About the tour” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Indiana Modern’s Back to the Future: Mid-Century Modern Home Tour, featuring six sites in Columbus
When: 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday
Where:
- Home of John Pugh at 4224 N. Riverside Drive.
- Hutch and Kevina Schumaker property at 316 Flatrock Drive.
- Home of Julie Aton at 308 Sunset Drive.
- Home of Larry and Shirley Duncan at 310 Sunset Drive.
- Home of Tim and Anna Denoyer at 2945 Washington St.
- Hamilton House Garden at 322 Tipton Lane.
Tickets: $10 to $25, available at the Columbus Area Visitors Center at 506 Fifth St. or online at indianalandmarks.org or at tour headquarters at North Christian Church at 850 Tipton Lane on Saturday.
Parking: At North Christian Church at 850 Tipton Lane with free shuttles running all day because of limited parking at homes.
Information: indianalandmarks.org
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Inside today’s Republic” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Exhibit Columbus and partners announce three finalists for Indy design competition | Page A3
[sc:pullout-text-end]
