In 1937, when Eliel Saarinen received an invitation to conceive a new house of worship in downtown Columbus, Indiana, he demurred. The Finnish-born architect and educator suspected that American churches demanded more flamboyance than Modernism could provide, and this small Midwestern community had no previous claim to innovative design. But the congregation soon brought the architect around by assuring him that Modernism’s restraint reflected its ethics as well as the local culture. Even before Saarinen completed First Christian Church in 1942, the once-improbable building was hailed as the most daring of its kind.
Columbus defied expectations repeatedly thereafter. Today it is home to one of the first glass-pavilion banking halls, designed by Eliel’s son, Eero, as well as career-defining commissions by the likes of Kevin Roche and Michael Van Valkenburgh. Of the dozens of cutting-edge designs completed in the city over the last 75 years, seven are National Historic Landmarks.
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