NEWS

Conference highlights preservation of Mid-Century Modern landmarks

Indiana’s statewide preservation conference takes place in Columbus for the first time, April 17-20. While the conference covers a host of topics and issues, this year’s agenda emphasizes saving and reviving Mid-Century Modern buildings—the source of Columbus’s international recognition.

Columbus earned the moniker “Athens of the Prairie” in the 1960s for its world-class architecture and enlightened leadership. The preservation conference will showcase the city’s Modernist landmarks on tours and as the venues for sessions exploring The Columbus Way, conserving Modernist landscapes, and how to preserve and celebrate landmarks of the Mad Men era. The agenda also includes a host of other topics, from creative placemaking to dealing with abandoned properties.

Keynote speaker Donovan Rypkema of PlaceEconomics in Washington, DC, will outline his firm’s findings in a just-completed study of the economic and quality-of-life impact of preservation in Indianapolis.

Other keynoters address the topic of sustainability from different angles. James Lindberg, senior director of the National Trust’s Preservation Green Lab, explores the green qualities of historic buildings. Jonathan Spodek of Ball State University discusses the role of preservation in addressing climate change.

First Christian Church, a National Historic Landmark built in 1942 and designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen, will serve as the conference headquarters. Cleo Rogers Memorial Library—the Bartholomew County Public Library’s flagship, designed by I. M. Pei in 1969—will host other sessions. Two meals take place at The Commons, adapted from Cesar Pelli’s design, with the kinetic sculpture Chaos I by Jean Tinguely. A buffet dinner will be held in the historic barn at the Henry Breeding Farm.

Registrants can sign up for a conference tour of the J. Irwin and Xenia Miller House. The National Historic Landmark, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1953, features original interiors by Alexander Girard and a landscape by the renowned Dan Kiley. Conference goers can also take advantage of the Columbus Area Visitors Center’s self-guided smartphone tours and downtown walking tours.

The Preserving Historic Places conference is open to the public. Register by March 2 to get the early-bird rate of $150 per person and $75 per student. After March 2, registration increases to $175 per person and $100 per student. The fee includes all education sessions, a meet-the-speakers reception at Upland Columbus Pump House, an opening luncheon, dinners on April 18 and 19, and closing luncheon on April 20.

The conference offers continuing education credits (CEU) and library education units (LEU) for certain sessions and workshops, with certification by AIA Indiana, American Society of Landscape Architects/Indiana Chapter, Indiana State Library, and the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency for Realtors.

Preserving Historic Places conference is staged by Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Indiana Landmarks, and Indiana University with support from the National Park Service and Columbus Area Visitors Center. For more information and to register, go to bit.ly/PHPColumbus2018, or call Indiana Landmarks.

WHAT:  Preserving Historic Places conference

WHEN:  April 17-20

WHERE:  Columbus, Indiana. Conference headquarters is in First Christian Church, a 1942 building designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen.

COST: $150 per person and $75 per student for registration by March 2; after March 2, registration is $175 per person and $100 for students. Registration includes all education sessions, a reception, two luncheons, and two dinners.

REGISTER:  bit.ly/PHPColumbus2018

WHO:  Preserving Historic Places conference is staged by Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, Indiana Landmarks, and Indiana University with support from the National Park Service and Columbus Area Visitors Center

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Media contacts:

Suzanne Stanis, Indiana Landmarks Director of Heritage Education, 317-639-4534 / 800-450-4534, sstanis@indianalandmarks.org

Jeannie Regan-Dinius, Director of Special Initiatives, Indiana Division of Historic Preservation & Archaeology, 317-234-1268, jrdinius@dnr.IN.gov

 

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