First Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana)

The First Christian Church spans an entire city block in downtown Columbus, Indiana, United States, surrounded clockwise from north by Fifth Street, Lafayette Avenue, Fourth Street, and Franklin Street. There are lawns and trees around the grounds, Along Fifth Street in downtown Columbus, such modern-styled buildings include the Cummins Corporate Office Building, Cleo Rogers Memorial Library, and Irwin Union Bank. The library and the Columbus visitor's center are directly across Fifth Street to the north, The church is also close to other structures such as The Republic Newspaper Office and Columbus City Hall, along with the city's post office and the Lincoln Elementary School. ==Architecture==

The First Christian Church was designed by Eliel Saarinen, At the time of the building's development in the 1940s, the two men worked closely together, and many parts of the design cannot be attributed definitively to either man. Compared with more traditionally-styled churches, the First Christian Church has relatively simple architectural details. Form The church has an asymmetrical massing and is divided into four sections: an east wing, a west wing, a connecting bridge between the wings, and a freestanding tower or campanile. The sanctuary and chapel, in the eastern wing, One writer said that Eliel had deliberately used an asymmetrical layout to create "active tension and coherent balance" throughout the structure. The asymmetrical massing had been Eliel's idea; The two wings flank a sunken courtyard, the northern stair is situated between the east wing and the tower. The earth and the pavement in the courtyard are arranged in a similar way to the facade's brick frame and glass windows. The courtyard is surrounded by a brick retaining wall, with a bosque extending above Fifth Street and benches near the corner of Fifth and Franklin streets. with a maximum depth of . or 1960 because it was difficult to maintain. Facade In general, the church's facade is made of Indiana limestone and brick, inlaid in a grid-like pattern. The facade has concrete details, steel-sash or wooden doors, and steel-sash windows. a director of the Columbus Visitors Bureau's director said that Eliel Saarinen saw sunlight as "a gift from God", to remain unsullied by stained glass. It contains the sanctuary's entrance, which is accessed by a limestone stoop that spans the wing's width. The stoop ascends to a terrace of similar width, which measures deep, with benches at its western and eastern ends. The nave's left-hand aisle protrudes asymmetrically from the east (left) side of the entrance, with a lower roof than the rest of the wing. A Christian cross, made of limestone and painted yellow, The tall windows evoked the design of the neighboring tower; There are doorways leading to the courtyard from the Sunday school classroom and the sanctuary's reception room. West wing and connecting bridge The east and west wings are connected by a two-story enclosed bridge, which overlooks the campanile and former reflecting pool. The northern and southern elevations of the bridge have similar facade designs, which differ only in the patterns used on the facade. On either elevation, there are horizontally-arranged, steel-framed sash windows in the center and relief panels with rectangular windows at either end. Inside, there is a corridor on the southern side of either level, along with classrooms and other spaces occupying the rest of the bridge. brick is the main material used in the tower, although concrete slabs are placed at regular intervals inside. These panels start about above ground. they consist of clock hands and numerals made of metal. The interior has exposed-brick or plaster ceilings and walls for the most part; the brick used inside has a lighter hue than the bricks outside. As constructed, the floors were largely constructed of vinyl asbestos tiles and covered with carpets; the first story's main corridor has a Douglas fir floor, while other rooms have tongue and groove oak floors. The balusters are linked by horizontal steel rods, and there are handrails and lighting fixtures affixed to the balusters. which is also labeled as the narthex. It has a floor made of waxed rectangular limestone pieces, pink-brick walls, and a ceiling that slants downward toward the sanctuary to the south. On the west wall is a cloakroom behind an oak screen, which has a counterpart. On the south wall are oak rods interspersed with translucent leadlights. The oak rods and leaded glass flank a series of wooden doors with leather handles and lozenge-shaped panes. A staircase, with stone treads and wood-and-steel handrails, ascends to the balcony. It is arranged asymmetrically, with the main aisle placed slightly west of center. and are upholstered with brown cushions. illuminated by indirect lighting. The chancel's communion table is also arranged asymmetrically. The chancel has a baptistery with a font concealed behind a movable screen of oak rods. The baptistery is illuminated from the east by a tall window. Eliel Saarinen intended the "perforated and light" screen as a contrast to the solid colors of the walls. Above the choir area is a tapestry designed by Eliel and his wife Loja Saarinen, which, upon the building's completion, was cited as the US's largest religious tapestry. The instrument, which was Aeolian-Skinner's last major pre–World War II organ, A pulpit, with a wood panel behind it, stands in front of the organ and conceals the organ console. separated from the sanctuary by a west–east corridor that continues across the bridge into the east wing's lobby. There are lobbies at either end of this corridor. which was intended to host events such as theatrical shows and dinners. ==History==

Background The First Christian Church, a nondenominational Christian congregation, was originally part of the New Hope Church, which was formed in 1823 and functioned as a Baptist congregation for its first four years. The congregation, originally known as the Christian Congregation in Columbus, initially had 60 congregants. The Christian Congregation's initial senior minister, Joseph Fassett, was succeeded by a half-dozen pastors over the next 17 years. Zachary Taylor Sweeney took over as the pastor in 1872, serving for 26 years; during his tenure, the congregation more than tripled from 300 to 1,000 people. or 1879, After Z. T. Sweeney resigned in 1898, a dispute prompted Widger and half the congregants to form a new congregation, the Central Christian Church. Widger's congregation disbanded after two decades, following which many of its members went back to the Tabernacle Church of Christ. and was succeeded by Harvey H. Harmon, who resigned in early 1905. William Henry Book became pastor later that year. During Book's two-decade tenure, congregant Marshall T. Reeves established a system of evangelist districts across Indiana in 1913, and several congregants established a charitable fund, the Christian Foundation, in 1921. Martin B. Miller took over for a brief period. and a plaque honoring him (later reinstalled in the current church building) was dedicated at there. and the congregation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the old Tabernacle Church building that year. at which point there were about 1,000 congregants. Railroad Square, a nearby tract of parkland that had housed a railroad depot until 1909, was acquired on the congregation's behalf by two siblings, William G. Irwin and Linnie I. Sweeney, the latter of whom was Z. T. Sweeney's widow. hiring E. B. Gilchrist to design a more traditionally styled structure. J. Irwin Miller reportedly claimed to be confident that Saarinen would design a "great building", even if it were a design Miller did not like. He disliked overly indulgent and theatrical churches and particularly did not want to design a church in a more traditional style. Additionally, Eliel had built only one church before, in the Baltics, and he was apprehensive about the project until he heard the proposal for the building: The Sweeney sisters also wanted the church to feel welcoming while also commanding reverence and being "timeless".—all of which were included in the final design. As such, the committee required that the building emphasize certain events important to the congregation's faith, including the resurrection of Jesus. although a building permit was not immediately issued. Workers had difficulty demolishing a concrete and steel fountain within the old park. The foundation and central courtyard of the church were underway by November, and the campanile's brickwork had risen above sidewalk level. By early 1941, the building was estimated to cost $500,000 or $600,000. At that point, the foundations for the rest of the church were under construction. The cornerstone ceremony attracted 1,500 people; a writer for The Republic later stated that the design had been "accepted, some might say even embraced" by congregants despite its unconventional nature. and the congregation became the Christian Church around the time. The first meetings in the new building took place two days later on May 6, and one of the building's first baptisms took place on May 11, when Smith decided to give a rare weekday baptism to a local soldier on furlough. The new building was dedicated on May 31, 1942. The building's first-ever Sunday-morning service had recorded 1,200 attendees, and the library across the street collected literature about the building. On the first anniversary of the church building's dedication, Smith rededicated the edifice with a special service. The congregation's size was increasing at the time, despite more than a hundred congregants having departed to serve in the United States Armed Forces during World War II. The new church building's tower had exhibited signs of cracking as early as 1945; this necessitated a series of repairs, which continued for more than two decades. Furnishings from the congregation's old building were donated to other Indiana churches in 1946, and the old structure was demolished starting in early June 1947. During the old structure's demolition, the basement was destroyed in a fire; the last piece of that building was removed two months after demolition had started. Forty-three former members of the Tabernacle Church of Christ departed in 1955 to form a new congregation, the North Christian Church, citing ideological disagreements. The Tabernacle Church of Christ was formally renamed the First Christian Church in 1957, The youth center, located at Fourth Street and Lafayette Avenue, cost $350,000 and was designed by McQuire & Shook, Compton, Richey & Associates, with a similar brick facade to the Saarinens' church building. The First Christian Church's congregation had opposed the move, claiming that it would make it more difficult to access the church. Thomas K. Smith retired at the end of 1964, having ultimately served the congregation for 35 years (including 23 at the Saarinen building). He was succeeded by Ard Hoven, who assumed the pulpit early the next year. The openings in the campanile were sealed in 1974 after the tower continued to deteriorate. was promoted to senior pastor that September after Hoven resigned. Also in the late 1970s, the church began hosting a combined Bible study and breakfast for members of multiple denominations, and it also launched a noontime music recital series. When Armstrong joined, the congregation had 2,100 members. During his tenure, Armstrong and his wife established men's and women's Bible study groups, and Armstrong officiated at hundreds of members' births and marriages, along with attending 700 members' funerals. The church building was also a popular stop for tour groups. The chancel tapestry was temporarily removed for restoration in 1991. Armstrong ultimately left the congregation in 1996 1990s and 2000s expansion The First Christian Church's congregation planned an expansion in the 1990s. Initially, the congregation wanted to expand Saarinen's building, but this proposal was dropped due to backlash. The congregation also considered building a tunnel under Fourth Street, which would connect with the church's youth center to the south, or closing Lafayette Avenue to the east, which would permit an expansion there. In February 1999, the First Christian Church proposed closing one block of Fourth Street and connecting the youth center and the church building. The congregation ultimately withdrew their proposal to close Fourth Street. Three options were proposed that April: relocating the congregation, constructing an expansion on the same block, or constructing a new building on another block nearby. Nolan Bingham, a local architect, drew up plans for an expansion of the existing building, which were complete in late 1999. The plans called for a three-story classroom structure on the existing site, adjoining the southern end of the courtyard, for about $3 million. Work proceeded slowly over the next year. The congregation held an art show to celebrate the expansion's completion in September 2002. Mid-2000s to present For the congregation's 150th anniversary in 2005, a bell from one of the congregation's former locations was restored and dedicated. The church building was used in 2014 for a site-specific artwork, 100 Variations by Jonathan Nesci; as part of the installation, one hundred mirrors were temporarily installed in the church's lawn. Justin K. White served as the congregation's senior minister until early 2017, when he resigned after facing criminal charges. He was replaced that July by Steve Yeaton, the son of a former associate minister. Also in 2017, as part of the Exhibit Columbus biannual art showcase, Studio Indigenous created the Wiikiaami pavilion, a wigwam displayed on the grounds of the First Christian Church. The tower again began showing serious cracks in 2018, The congregation also commissioned a report on the tower's structural condition. Louis Joyner was hired to design a restoration of the tower, , Yeaton remained the congregation's senior minister. ==Impact==

Reception When the church building was being designed, Time magazine published a full-page feature on the structure, A writer for the Courier Journal said that the materials, the sanctuary's spacious feeling, and the light fixtures contributed to the ambiance. Detroit Free Press described the austerity and the high ceiling as befitting the congregation's "fundamentalist doctrine". In the 1980s, The Wall Street Journal cited the gridded facade, plain interior, and flat roof as having combined to create a "splendid" design, House Beautiful wrote two years later that the church's design had held up well over the years, evoking both the past and future. A writer for the Financial Times, in 2002, called the building "perhaps the greatest example of Scandinavian modernism outside Scandinavia itself". while another writer for The Tennessean said the church was evidence of "how Columbus' architectural heritage started and continued". The critic Michael J. Lewis of The Wall Street Journal wrote in 2024 that the church was "one of the hidden jewels of American modernism" and said that the tower itself was prominent in Columbus's skyline. Architectural influence and media The First Christian Church building was among the United States' first modernist church buildings. It was also Eero Saarinen's first project in Columbus; after the First Christian Church was completed, he became close associates with Miller. Eero eventually designed four buildings with Miller's involvement—the Miller family's Ontario summer cottage, the Irwin Conference Center, the Miller family's primary residence, and the North Christian Church. All of these, except the Ontario cottage, were located in Columbus. his later projects used several elements from the First Christian Church. The church building has been featured in exhibits about the Saarinens' work, including a 1990 exhibit hosted by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. and it was featured in Columbus, a 2017 film set in the city. Effect on modernist architecture in Columbus The church building was retrospectively described as Columbus's first modern-style building although most of these were not constructed until after the late 1950s, when J. Irwin Miller offered to pay the design fees for the city's modernist public buildings. Dialogue wrote that the church was "ironically unimposing" compared to the buildings it inspired, One scholar in 2024 described the First Christian Church as "a deceptively simple geometric design" that, in later years, encapsulated the "spirit of Columbus". Several sources compared the First Christian Church with the later North Christian Church. Wolf Von Eckardt wrote that the churches were "two pinnacles in the uncertain architecture of our time" and that, despite their vastly different shapes, the churches were built in the same spirit. He later wrote that the building was "pure reason" compared to the North Christian Church, whose design had been "pure emotion". The Wall Street Journal wrote in 1970 that the First Christian Church was just as "eye-catching" as the North Christian Church, and Paul Goldberger said the older church had a more "convincing" design. Church History magazine wrote that the First Christian Church "goes more than halfway toward the then-regnant aesthetic of Modernism in its absence of applied ornament and clean geometric shapes" and that the North Christian Church design went even further. Landmark designations In early 2000, the First Christian Church and five other modernist structures in Columbus were nominated for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as National Historic Landmarks (NHLs). The United States Department of the Interior designated four of these buildings as landmarks that May; the designations of the McDowell Adult Education Center and First Christian Church were delayed until January 2001. This was the first time in US history that several buildings were simultaneously designated as NHLs before turning 50 years old, the minimum cutoff required of most buildings on the NRHP; the six listings, except the First Christian Church, were all built after 1950. The designation allowed the building to qualify for federal preservation funds. The First Christian Church is also a contributing property to the Columbus Historic District, where it is labeled as an "outstanding property". The district was added to the NRHP on December 10, 1982. ==See also==