Too often we think of our legacy as only that which is tangible: wealth, property, a family heirloom. Yet we also inherit decisions of our forebears — both those houses and cities which they built, and all those things never made. All the countless things they chose not to do. Columbus’ bicentennial is the perfect moment to reflect on the legacies of this city and think about what the decisions being made today will mean in another 200 years time — to both look back, and beyond as well.
Many would say the launching of the modernist project that made Columbus a center for design in this country started with the construction of Tabernacle Church of Christ (now First Christian Church) (Eliel Saarinen, 1942). From this, one of the earliest modernist churches in the U.S., as Columbus’ architectural legacy grew into what we find today. It’s likely the reason why I ended up working in Columbus.
But the church could have been something else. First Christian Church had an architect and designs ready for a much more traditional church. Indeed, the congregation was divided on the modern design — and certainly the cost. But now its noble clocktower has become the town’s icon, both visually, but also metaphorically as community commitment to being different by design.
But it goes deeper than one church. One could point to the Bartholomew County Courthouse, which, at the time, was also an incredibly ambitious project for a town of its size. The industries that emerged here that have supported this city and defined its architectural style are many, with long ties to this place.
As interesting as it is to see the icons of Columbus, it is also interesting to explore what could have been, what did not get built. Columbus’ 1992 gateway project seeks to welcome drivers into the city, and much has been done in this regard. But what about Robert Venturi’s planned gateway into the city along highway 46 from I-65? What about Cummins Child Development
Center, (Morphosis, 1998), that would have placed child care right at the heart of the Columbus welcome mat? Certainly not nearly as flashy as the spectacular bridges we find now, but what greater sign for a community committed to its future?
I think also of the several Indian burial sites, documented throughout Bartholomew County. These sites, sacred to the indigenous peoples that called this area home for more than 12,000 years — through the rich and vibrant cultures of the Adena, Hopewell, Cahokia, Shawnee, Miami, Kickapoo, and Delaware nations — were poorly preserved and practically unrecognized. Their stories go largely unknown and unseen in our public spaces, in a city named after Christopher Columbus.
Now, at the city’s bicentennial, and with First Christian Church’s tower needing significant repairs, and its downtown upended by COVID-19, Columbus once more has an opportunity to think big and decide again what it will invest in and what it will leave behind. Because design excellence is a process that is never finished, our history is never finalized.
Looking back, I really wish that the proposed bridge project by Emilio Ambasz (1992) was realized. I think of Snow Kreilich’s planned County Annex building (2015), which featured outdoor seating around a community garden and orchard. What visionary concepts for a more green, sustainable city. But the thinking that drew those plans remains, and I see it now growing along the People’s Trail, in Blackwell’s pollinator park, the Airpark’s Community Garden, and Cummins’ Planet 2050 plan.
Now, I think our generation’s charge is to not build more, but to live more sustainably. To create a city that lasts for centuries more, and serves everyone.
Thankfully, we have the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives, an exceptional asset for Columbus. There, Archivist Tricia Gilson documents and cares for the models, sketches, and artifacts of the community’s decisions. Built or not, iconic or forgotten, it is this organization that allows us to tell the full story of design. And no matter where this city is headed in the next 200 years, we can only benefit from a clear understanding of our past.
