Looking at the series of architectural photographs above, one might assume they are a collection of significant structures from around the world. The architects who designed them read like a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ around the globe. But these buildings are not only all in the USA and not only in the same state (Indiana) but they are all in one of the least populated and unknown cities in all the Hoosier State.
Naturally, upon stumbling past this town, the first question most people ask is, “How did this happen?” The two-word answer is Cummins Engines. With 39,059 residents, Columbus is truly a ‘company town,’ where every resident has some relation to the major employer – and that employer is $14 billion dollar Cummins, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of engines for trucks.
Because he was grateful for the town’s contribution to the company and he believed that a town of happy residents would ultimate be a good town to have a successful business, J. Irwin Miller, Co-Founder of Cummins, instituted a program in which he agreed to have the company pay the architects' fee on any building if the client selected a firm from a list they compiled. The plan was initiated with
public schools. It was so successful that Miller went on to defray the design costs of
fire stations, public
housing and other
community structures. Columbus has come to have a high number of notable public buildings and sculptures designed by such individuals as Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, Robert Venturi, Cesar Pelli, Richard Meier and others. Six of its buildings, built between 1942 and 1965, are National Historic Landmarks, and 60 other buildings sustain the Bartholomew County seat's reputation as a showcase of modern architecture. National Geographic Magazine once devoted an entire article to the town's architecture.
Need any more proof that Columbus, Indiana belongs in a blog about stylish travel? The July 2005 issue of GQ Magazine named Columbus ‘one of the 62 reasons to love your country.’
- DH
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