One of the world’s more prestigious preservation entities has given two grants within the same city in the same year for the first time in the six-year history of a program called Keeping It Modern — all to help two of Columbus’ most iconic Modernist buildings.
The 35-year-old Los Angeles-based Getty Foundation, which supports the visual arts worldwide and some of the globe’s better-known structures, has given a grant of $150,000 to the Eero Saarinen-designed North Christian Church, and $170,000 to the Miller House and Garden, also designed by Saarinen. Landscape architect Dan Kiley coordinated the grounds on both, including the Miller House garden.
The two gifts, which will cover efforts through 2020, are the only two grants announced Wednesday for all of North America, according to a Getty news release. The grants are part of $1.6 million in support covering 10 total grants stretching from Bulgaria to Mozambique, foundation officials said.
“Keeping It Modern grants are making a collective impact, with stewards of modern buildings increasingly adopting comprehensive planning as a long-term strategy,” said Joan Weinstein, director of the Getty Foundation, in a news release. “Our grantees are putting in the work, delivering fantastic results, and sharing their findings with the field to lift the level of architectural conservation practice worldwide.”
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Richard McCoy is executive director of Landmark Columbus, which cares for the design heritage of Columbus. He mentioned that the application for the 55-year-old North Christian Church, where leaders have worked to keep up with some expensive physical maintenance in recent years such as the just-replaced air conditioning system, was a four-year effort.
Landmark Columbus operates under the umbrella of The Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County.
McCoy said the grants highlight a wide-ranging, team effort.
“We’re really excited because we think it shines a bright light on all the work that so many in town are doing,” McCoy said.
Landmark Columbus, acting as a partner, will use the funds for the church to create a conservation management team in the form of experts “who are part of the world’s best,” McCoy said. Interestingly, one of those people is New York City architect Bryony Roberts, one of the five Miller Prize winners for the upcoming Exhibit Columbus exhibition. That team will prioritize work that needs to be done on the building and its sprawling Dan Kiley-landscaped grounds.
The Rev. Tonja Gerardy, North Christian’s minister, and grant leader and New York City architect and preservationist Theodore Prudon will travel to London, England in October for a workshop.
“The congregation of North Christian Church is excited and grateful for this grant,” Gerardy said. “It ensures the continuance of our meticulous standards of care for our church, and this architectural gem.”
In April 2018, the Indiana Landmarks historic preservation organization added the church to its list of 10 Most Endangered Indiana landmarks to raise awareness of the building’s challenges and to rally extra support for the building.
Gerardy said that a master site plan “will help us continue to be excellent stewards” of the structure designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2001.
“We are forward-thinking, planning for needs that will arise in the future,” the pastor said. “This grant will more clearly identify the steps we should take, and will take the guesswork out of how to continue to preserve the building and grounds to the highest possible standards.”
At the Miller House, Newfields, which owns the Modernist home completed in 1957, will work with expert consultants to prioritize needs and work that should be done, according to the Getty Foundation.
The Miller House and Garden at 2760 Highland Way was the residence of wealthy industrialist J. Irwin Miller and his wife, Xenia Miller. The nearly 7,000-square-foot structure, which took four years to build, was considered a Modernist masterpiece and was donated to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2009, shortly after the death of Xenia Miller.
Some of the repairs needed include “roof complications caused by the skylight system, surface damage and leaking throughout the house and maintenance of signature landscape elements,” according to the Getty Foundation.
The Miller House and Garden was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2000.
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The Getty Foundation, initially called the Getty Grant Program, was established in 1984 in the belief that philanthropy is a key ingredient in carrying out the mission of the J. Paul Getty Trust.
In 2014, the foundation developed Keeping It Modern, an international grant initiative that continues a commitment to architectural conservation with a focus on important buildings of the 20th century.
Keeping It Modern has now supported 64 grant projects of outstanding architectural significance that contribute to advancing conservation practice. Current active grants focus on the creation of conservation management plans that guide long-term maintenance and conservation policies, the thorough investigation of building conditions, and the testing and analysis of modern materials.
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Finnish architect Eero Saarinen designed North Christian Church and the Miller House and Gardens with landscape architect Dan Kiley coordinating the grounds on both.
The Miller House and Gardens, the residence of wealthy industrialist J. Irwin Miller and his wife, Xenia Miller, was completed in 1957 at 2760 Highland Way, after four years of work. The nearly 7,000-square-foot structure, considered a Modernist masterpiece, was donated to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2009, shortly after the death of Xenia Miller.
North Christian Church, where the Millers attended for years, was completed in 1964 after Saarinen’s death. It is located at 850 Tipton Lane in Columbus. Its spire that rises 192 feet above the ground has become a trademark of the Columbus skyline.
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The 10 buildings receiving grant funding from the Getty Foundation Keeping It Modern grant program this year include:
- Buzludzha Monument, Hadzhi Dimitar Peak, Bulgaria (architect: Georgi Stoilov)
- Torino Esposizioni, Turin, Italy (engineer: Pier Luigi Nervi)
- Beira Railway Station, Mozambique (architects: Paulo de Melo Sampaio, João A. Garizo do Carmo, and Francisco José de Castro)
- Villa E-1027, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France (architect: Eileen Gray)
- North Christian Church, Columbus, Indiana, USA (architect: Eero Saarinen)
- Miller House and Garden, Columbus, Indiana, USA (architect: Eero Saarinen)
- Laboratory for Faculty of Chemical Technology at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania (architect: Vytautas Landsbergis-Žemkalnis)
- Uganda National Museum, Kampala (architect: Ernst May)
- Escuela Superior de Comercio Manuel Belgrano, Córdoba, Argentina (architects: Osvaldo Bidinost, Jorge Chute, José Gassó, Mabel Lapacó, and Martín Meyer)
- Paraninfo at the Universidad Laboral de Cheste, Spain (architect: Fernando Moreno Barberá)
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