Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Matt Gilmore, center, from Taylor Brothers, holds the cross from the spire of the former North Christian Church in Columbus. Contractors were onsite to remove the cross from the spire of the church since the structure is now the property of the Bartholomew County Public Library.
The Bartholomew County Public Library board is beginning the process of selecting a new name for the North Christian Church building it took ownership of earlier this year.
The church body at 850 Tipton Lane in Columbus disbanded in 2022 and gifted the architecturally significant structure and grounds to the library. The cross at the top of the former church’s famous spire was removed in August in accordance with the wishes of the congregation.
So far, the library has used the grounds for outdoor activities, but not the inside because of refurbishing that needs to be done, including work on long-term accessibility. The last indoor activity was a Landmark Columbus Foundation book signing event in July.
The 60-year-old, celebrated Modernist Eero Saarinen building is one of seven National Historic Landmarks in the city, and is especially useful to the library because it is within walking distance from several northside schools — making it ideal for after-school programming.
Library director Jason Hatton said the step-by-step work will include selecting a marketing/branding firm probably by mid-month to help with the effort that he expects will take until spring. He said that is partly to allow the public ample time for input. The library’s request for proposals went to firms in areas such as Indianapolis, Chicago and Louisville.
“We certainly want this to be a very robust process,” Hatton said. “There are a lot of opinions about what a new name for the campus should be. And we want to be respectful of everybody, right?
“So we definitely want to do some community engagement.”
He mentioned that he is uncertain this early what an estimated cost could be for the work toward renaming. The deadline for firm’s proposals for the process was Friday. By nearly week’s end, library leaders had received four proposals for the renaming process, and were expecting one more.
The selected firm would work to spearhead that community input and more, according to Hatton. The firm also would structure and guide the process with the library board.
“In this process, we want to be very respectful of the campus’ history, respectful of its legacy, and its former faith community — and we want to make sure we get this renaming right,” he said.
In its request for proposal, the library board has outlined that a new name should be “inclusive.”
Columbus already has seen one other significant Modernist structure be given new life. In 2021, the former First Financial Bank designed by Harry Weese in the Eastbrook Plaza became a second location for Lucabe Coffee Company.
