In Pictures: The Miller House

Columbus, Indiana certainly lives up to its reputation as home to a vast array of architectural gems. It’s a testament to the vision of local industrialist J. Irwin Miller who set up a foundation that paid the architect’s fees for public buildings. Miller (pictured above on the cover of Esquire) also provided the town with a list of architects to choose from that included I. M. Pei and Robert Stern. The legacy left by the late Miller, who died in August 2004, is extraordinary. Take Fifth Street for example – the bank was designed by Eero Saarinen while his father, Eliel Saarinen, designed the church just a block away. And that’s two of 10 significant buildings on the street.

Yesterday was spent touring the town’s buildings and with the help of Cindy Frey from the Visitors Centre we were even able to get into J Irwin Miller’s private office on Washington Street. The building, which is being sold, was completed in the late 1800s but the interior was revamped in the early 1970s by Alexander Girard and it was amazing. It’s one of the coolest workspaces I’ve seen outside of the Mad Men set! You are going to have to wait a bit for a slideshow from yesterday. What I can share with you today is the Miller House. It was so interesting to see where Miller lived and also worked. Enjoy the slideshow!