Columbus—a “Midwestern mecca” of mid-century architecture is the subject of a new film
Columbus is the capital of and largest city in Ohio. It also is the name of a much smaller city in neighboring Indiana. The Ohio version home to The Ohio State University. The Indiana version is known for its wealth of mid-century modern architecture. While the former is better known to the public, the latter is the subject of a new motion picture.
The Cummins Engine Company was founded in Columbus (Indiana) in 1919 and has since become a Fortune 500 company. In 1954, J. Irwin Williams, a co-founder of the Cummins Engine Company, started a foundation and three years later he offered the resources of the foundation to the city of Columbus to initiate a civic architecture program—the foundation would pay the architect’s fees for all new public buildings in the city. Thus, the city was able to enlist the service of numerous famous mid-century modern architects, including Eero Saarinen, I.M.Pei, César Pelli, and others to design public buildings. This architectural legacy forms the centerpiece of a new motion picture. (The 2009 photo above of the Miller House is in the public domain).
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‘Columbus’ explores a city’s personal relationship with its architecture
By Michael O’Sulivan
The Washington Post
August 19, 2017
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Discovering 'Columbus': New movie puts Midcentury architecture in the spotlight
By Bonnie McCarthy
Los Angeles Times
July 29, 2017