Landmark Columbus

History

The effort to start Landmark Columbus began in 2013 when the Columbus Redevelopment Commission began looking at new ways to research and examine the current state for the design heritage in the Columbus Arts and Entertainment District. The start of this project came at a time when some of the modern works of architecture had begun to age and show signs of transition.

The effort officially launched as "Landmark Columbus" in 2015 as a program of Heritage Fund, and began producing events in the community. The effort has been seen as a way to preserve the design legacy of the town without relying on traditional historic preservation ordinances.

Programs and advocacy projects

Landmark Columbus produces a number of ongoing programs and projects in an effort to care for the design heritage, most of which are created by an Advocacy and Education Committee. The organization is active in the community in various ways, including nominating the Irwin Conference Center for a Docomomo US National Citation of Merit in 2014 for the National Historic Landmark building designed by Eero Saarinen, which was restored through an adaptive reuse project by Cummins Inc. Columbus historians David Sechrest and Ricky Berkey have been involved with the organization from the beginning, helping to create projects around both the early and modern history of the community.

Friends of First Christian Church Architecture

Friends of First Christian Church Architecture (FFCCA) is a collaborative effort with a mission to " is to preserve the architecture and design elements of FCC, a National Historic Landmark designed by Eliel & Eero Saarinen in 1942." The project was launched in January of 2017 as a partnership with First Christian Church, Heritage Fund, Landmark Columbus, and Indiana Landmarks. The first project for FFCCA is to help save the sanctuary skylight, which has leaked for a few years and caused damage.

Columbus Conversations

Columbus Conversation is an annual symposium held to address a pressing need in the community related to Columbus' design heritage. The series began in 2014 and featured Theodore Prudon's keynote presentation "Modern Architecture as Heritage," and included lectures by Marsh Davis, from Indiana Landmarks; Louis Joyner, a Columbus-based architect; Richard McCoy; and a conversation moderated by Harry McCawley.

The 2015 Columbus Conversation featured a panel discussion by Jeff Baker, the last president of Preserve to Enjoy, Inc.; Tricia Gilson from the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives; Flora Chou, board member of Docomomo US; and Theodore Prudon, board president of Docomomo US. This moderated discussion defined ways that Landmark Columbus could raise awareness about caring for the areas design heritage and begin growing a constituency that actively helps in the cause.

Chaotic Tuesdays

In celebration of Jean Tinguely's masterwork, Chaos 1, located inside the Commons, Landmark Columbus started "Chaotic Tuesdays" as a free community event during which everyone could see the kinetic artwork operate during the evening. The idea for the event came from the director of Museum Tinguely, Roland Wetzel, when he visited in 2014. The event happens on the fourth Tuesday of every month and has grown to be a partnership between many in the community and led by the Columbus Area Arts Council. Professors from Ivy Tech bring drawing materials for the community and provide lessons on how to draw the artwork, which Tinguely himself did many times; his drawings of Chaos 1 are in collections around the world.

The Most Chaotic Tuesday

In 2016 the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives hosted "The Most Chaotic Tuesday" as a once-a-year special event in which historic films were screened, drawings from "Chaotic Tuesdays" were shown, and an exhibition of materials from the Archives were displayed. This fundraising event for the Archives also produced a limited-edition print that was created during the evening and later made for sale.

Landscape architecture cleanups

Landmark Columbus has organized a number of community efforts to help clean and maintain the landscape at North Christian Church, which was designed by Dan Kiley and is one of seven National Historic Landmarks in the city. Cleanups have addressed issues caused by storms and ongoing maintenance, including the dormant pruning of the many magnolias that surround the church.

Yearly bicycle rides

Landmark Columbus started a yearly bicycle tour in May that coincides with National Preservation Month and National Bike Month.

Landmark Lego Challenge

In May 2016 Landmark Columbus held a first-of-its-kind competition that invited participants to build one of the seven National Historic Landmarks out of Lego bricks. This project was launched in partnership with the Indianapolis Museum of Art, kids commons, the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives, and other organizations.

Docomomo US Tour Day

Various partners began participating in "Tour Day" starting in 2013 to draw regional interest in visiting Columbus and seeing the modern architecture.

Documentation and surveys

In 2013 and 14, all of the public art in Bartholomew County was surveyed, photographed, and placed in the database of the Public Art Archive. The list of public art in Bartholomew County, Indiana includes more than 100 artworks in a diverse group of places. Also at this time, all of the resources in the Columbus Arts District and all of the modern buildings were surveyed, photographed, and published in the database of CultureNOW. Other research projects have included investigations for public artworks that are now missing.

Ongoing series of talks

Landmark Columbus occasionally hosts experts of architecture, art, and community.

Public art walking tours

With the rich history of public art throughout the community, walking tours are frequent. There is also a special walking tour every October in partnership with Reach Healthy Communities.

Exhibit Columbus

On 5 May 2016, Landmark Columbus announced Exhibit Columbus as an "annual exploration of architecture, art, design, community" that will alternate programming between symposium and exhibition years. The inaugural symposium, "Foundations and Futures," took place place from 29 September to 1 October, 2016. The inaugural exhibition will open in August 2017 and will feature more than 15 temporary installations of architecture and art that are designed to re-energize a global dialogue around design in Columbus.