COLUMBUS, Ind. — The popular Miller House and Garden Tours return at half-capacity for health reasons beginning March 5 in Columbus.
And organizers expect most, if not all, will sell out quickly just as they did at that level last year. The 90-minute tours cost $25 per person and normally include 12 people each since groups must be brought to the grounds on Highland Way by a small shuttle bus.
In recent years, the home and gardens completed in 1957 have been closed in January and February for general maintenance.
But, for most of last year, Newfields, which owns and operates the Modernist showplace from architect Eero Saarinen and landscape architect Dan Kiley, limited visits to groups of six people twice weekly, partly because of COVID-19 and the limited physical space for people to walk in some parts of the house, such as the children’s area.
The facility also features the heralded work of interior designer Alexander Girard and Kevin Roche, who worked for Saarinen.
“I anticipate that they still will be hot tickets,” said Erin Hawkins, marketing director for the Columbus Area Visitors Center that handles the tour bookings. “If we could increase the supply, the demand is definitely there.”
