Carla Clark | For The Republic Architect Louis Joyner presents an update on the First Christian Church tower project at First Christian Church, Columbus, Ind., Sunday, November 12, 2023.
Carla Clark | For The Republic Architect Louis Joyner presents an update on the First Christian Church tower project at First Christian Church, Columbus, Ind., Sunday, November 12, 2023.
4:30 P.M. UPDATE
Due to weather issues, the schedule has changed for the Fifth Street closing.
Fifth Street may be closed for three hours at a time on two days, sometime between Dec. 8 and Dec. 13, according to city officials.
ORIGINAL STORY
A portion of Fifth Street will be closed due to construction work at First Christian Church as the tower restoration project wraps up.
The Columbus Board of Works voted on Tuesday to approve a request from F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. Inc. to completely close Fifth Street between Lafayette Avenue and Franklin Street, with the closure running from Wednesday to Friday.
“The final part of the First Christian Church Clock Tower Restoration project is to replace the concrete plaza located in front of the Church on Fifth Street,” the company wrote. “The existing concrete plaza will be removed … there will be approximately 100 yards of new concrete being poured.”
The cost of the tower repair project is $3.1 million. Over the past nine months, workers have focused on fixing wear-and-tear cracks in the brick and environmental damage on the 166-foot structure designed by Eliel Saarinen.
Builders said at the beginning of the work months ago that the plaza surface would be redone due to the sheer weight of having a crane on site for an extended period of time.
The church and the tower, dating to 1942, were the first Modernist buildings in a city that has earned global acclaim for its tall, architectural legacy. That realm of acclaim included national media coverage in then-widely-esteemed publications such as Time and Newsweek magazines.
The restoration project has represented teamwork among local architect Louis Joyner and the Wilhelm firm with Landmark Columbus, First Christian’s congregation, Friends of First Christian Church Architecture, The Heritage Fund — the Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, and the Columbus Area Visitors Center.
