Mike Wolanin | The Republic The sun sets on North Christian Church in Columbus, Ind., Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018.
North Christian Church’s board has transferred ownership of the buildings and grounds to Columbus Capital Foundation, a nonprofit entity that maintains historically and architecturally significant local structures and sites for future use.
The foundation, for example, has owned The Crump Theatre for some time.
Hutch Schumaker, president of the six-member foundation board, said final paperwork will be signed before the end of the week.
The foundation already has established a person to handle weekly or more oversight and maintenance of the North Christian property and 13-acre site that is on the National Register For Historic Places. Also, North Christian’s board kept funds aside for Columbus Capital Foundation to use for maintenance at the 850 Tipton Lane property.
“We will make sure that the property is maintained to an incredibly high standard,” Schumaker said.
Schumaker has long been a proponent of architectural preservation, including being one of the biggest cheerleaders when Landmark Columbus Foundation formed to care for the city’s art and its significant buildings and works, and also when Exhibit Columbus launched.
Nance Auraund-Humpf, North Christian’s board chair, said the foundation “intends to care for and hold the property with the hope that the Bartholomew County Public Library will be able to receive it, if appropriate, after the library’s year-long strategic planning process that it is about to undertake.”
Library leaders are investigating purchasing the building and property and using it for programming space. North Christian members and community friends and supporters recently celebrated a final service.
The Eero Saarinen-designed church, completed in 1964, is best known for its 192-foot, needle-like spire reaching toward the sky. Noted landscape architect Dan Kiley designed the park-like grounds. Also, celebrated designer Alexander Girard contributed to the interior.
In the building’s heyday, when influential community leaders such as the late J. Irwin and Xenia Miller were members, it had more than 300 people attending services most Sundays, and maintained 460-plus members when the new church first opened.
For about the past decade, the congregation, organized in 1955 as a split from First Christian Church, has fought dwindling attendance, an issue that it has wrestled with openly.
Indiana University leaders, before launching its J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program at the former Republic Building, looked into the possibility of acquiring the church for its base for that particular program.
In April 2018, the Indiana Landmarks historic preservation organization added the church to its list of 10 Most Endangered Indiana Landmarks to raise awareness of the problem and find ways to save it.
“Even internationally known landmarks designed by famous architects can get in trouble,” Indiana Landmarks said in its announcement.
Richard McCoy, executive director of Landmark Columbus Foundation that cares for the area’s art and architecturally significant works, mentioned that the property’s “value is way beyond anything monetary.”
Landmark Columbus Foundation several years ago intervened to assemble workers and volunteers to spruce up the property when the church was facing dwindling attendance and struggling to maintain the property.
McCoy regularly has emphasized North Christian’s special place in the city’s overall architectural impact.
“It is a rare expression,” McCoy said, “of three American geniuses working together at one of the peaks of Columbus’ Modern legacy.”
