What happens when an iconic building in a small city distinguished by its architecture can no longer be sustained for its original intended purpose?
That’s the question North Christian Church, and indeed, our community, now must ask.
The Republic’s Brian Blair last week broke the news that the church is looking for new uses for the building.
“Like many mainstream churches, we have seen a steady decline in membership over the last few decades,” North Christian Church’s board chair Nance Aurand-Humpf told Blair. “Unlike most churches in this category, we have had the added challenge of caring for and protecting a National Historic Landmark and Columbus’ architectural treasure. That is no small feat for an active congregation of fewer than 30 people.”
The Bartholomew County Public Library is in the very early stages of determining whether the church building may fit with its current and future space and programming needs.
If we can be forgiven for saying so, this would seem like a match made in heaven if it can work out. Granted, that’s a big “if.” Any considerations would have to work out for the library, the church, and with wide acceptance from the community. After all, taxpayers would be underwriting the future care and upkeep of this landmark if the library became the patron.
That said, our community does have an obligation here. Not just to a building, but to our very identity. Visit Columbus notes, “The American Institute of Architects ranked (Columbus) 6th in the nation for architectural innovation and design – right behind Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.”
Our architectural heritage is a big draw for visitors, and thus a driver for the local economy.
Few stops on Columbus’ Architectural Tour are as remarkable as North Christian, whose soaring spire directs visitors’ gazes to the heavens. As symbolic architecture goes, it’s among Eero Saarinen’s best work. As modernist landmarks go, it’s at the pinnacle in a community brimming with notable midcentury marvels.
Library and church officials have been talking, along with the nonprofit Landmark Columbus Foundation (as a guide and resource) for several months, Blair reported. Foundation director Richard McCoy has long experience and deep knowledge of the First Christian Church building, and he sees the library as a good fit.
“I know the background of that church’s aspirations in 1964 when it opened,” McCoy said. “I think a library space going in there is the closest thing we can come to matching the original aspirations of what that church was all about.”
Libraries are places of congregation, too, and the proximity of the church building to multiple schools could make it a logical venue for a library with a vast array of programming for children and teens.
“So we are definitely interested,” library director Jason Hatton. ” But we are way, way, far away from making any kind of decision. And we understand that the North Christian congregation is very interested about the legacy of the building.”
We all should be interested in the legacy of North Christian Church. We hope for an adaptive reuse that allows this jewel of our city to continue to serve as a welcoming place, respectful of its congregation’s values.
