WHAT QUALIFIES AS A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK?
National Historic Landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Today, fewer than 2,500 historic places bear this national distinction. Working with citizens throughout the nation, the National Historic Landmarks Program draws upon the expertise of National Park Service staff who work to nominate new landmarks and provide assistance to existing landmarks.
National Historic Landmarks are exceptional places. They form a common bond between all Americans. While there are many historic places across the nation, only a small number have meaning to all Americans--these we call our National Historic Landmarks.
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First Christian Church (1942) is one of the first modern religious buildings in America, and an outstanding example of the work of Eliel Saarinen.
The building was nationally recognized at the time of its construction, and had an impact on church design in the United States in the post World War II era. First Christian Church is also important as the first Modern building in Columbus and illustrates Eliel Saarinen’s genius in building composition and urban design.
The integration of arts and crafts into both interior and exterior reflect the concept of total design that Saarinen had developed in his Finnish period and refined during his establishment and leading of the Cranbrook Academy collective of artisans in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
The relationship of the building and the site’s open space, as well as the manner in which the total work relates to the surrounding urban fabric, remain lessons to later generations of designers.
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First Financial Bank, formerly Irwin Union Bank and Trust, (1954) is a highly innovative bank design and an outstanding example of classic Modernist form, a minimalist but entirely functional glass pavilion referenced as Miesian in homage to the Mies Van Der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion.
The work of Eliel Saarinen’s son Eero Saarinen, Irwin Union Bank and Trust was possibly the first financial institution in the United States with glass walls and an open plan, dramatically differing from past solutions for banks, and influencing the future of bank design.
The Dan Kiley landscape of tree bosque surround is an extension of the building’s formalism and a precursor to the structuralism he further developed throughout his career.
This property is one of a number of examples in Columbus, Indiana that illustrate trends in modern architecture and landscape architecture. Its development coincided with that of the much larger and well-known General Motors Technical Center, a major influence in corporate architecture for years to come.
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The Miller House (1957), one of a small number of residences designed by Eero Saarinen,is an important residential representation of the International Style, a subtype of the Modern Movement.
Its design is informed by the Irwin Union Bank and Trust building in its formalism and refinement of detail.
The landscape by Dan Kiley is one of the most important integrated Modern designs in residential landscape architecture. Building and landscape are fully integrated in this collaboration, with a series of exterior room-like spaces extending the pinwheel organization of the principal structure.
The Miller home will open to the public in the summer of 2011.
Photo from The Indianapolis Museum of Art, see the IMA's feature video of the Miller House here >
Mabel McDowell Elementary School (1960) is an excellent representation of the effort in Columbus to improve the quality of life through outstanding design.
The building is an early example of modern architecture in Columbus, and an example of the contextual world of John Carl Warnecke, a leading architect of the twentieth century. The site contains five separate 1-story buildings linked by landscaped courtyards and covered walkways. Four classroom buildings flank the central hub which was designed to contain the cafeteria and administration spaces.
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North Christian Church (1964) is the work of architect Eero Saarinen with landscape architecture by Dan Kiley. This innovative design incorporates many aspects of Modern architectural interpretation of religious spaces and traditions.
The landscape of the Church represents the fusion of Modern architecture and landscape architecture, with Kiley’s planting organization perfectly complementing and grounding the building in an expression of intense collaboration between architect and landscape architect.
The sloping roof of this six-sided building blends with the landscaped earth-mound which surrounds it. This low line accentuates the slender 192-foot spire, topped with a gold-leaf cross, which gives North Christian Church its distinctive design.
This was Eero’s last work, with its development assisted by members of Saarinen’s studio who have achieved prominence on their own, including Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo, and Paul Kennon.
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First Baptist Church (1965) is an outstanding representation of the work of a distinguished American architect, Harry Mohr Weese, and generally thought to be his best work in Columbus, Indiana, where he completed numerous works of modern architecture.
The church is built on the brow of a gently sloping knoll. This elevation combined with its peaked non-dimensional bell tower emphasizes the building’s function as a place of worship. The steep roof, which is twice as high as the surrounding pink brick walls, is covered with hand-laid slate. The chapel is a smaller, separate, but similar building to one side of the sanctuary.
The main brick building is built on two levels, taking advantage of a natural grade around a landscaped open courtyard. Landscaping was designed by Dan Kiley.
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