Chuck Currie reports the death of J. Irwin Miller, a businessman from Columbus, Indiana (not Ohio) who was head of the Cummins Engine Company for more than 40 years, and president of the National Council of Churches in the early 1960s. Chuck links to a press release from the NCC describing more of Mr. Miller's service to his church. Included in that press release is the following intriguing passage:
Miller transformed Columbus, Ind., into a city of architectural wonders, attracting prominent architects and earning Columbus the nickname the Athens of the Prairie. For that, the NCC’s Department of Worship and the Arts in 1992 presented him with an award celebrating his "lifetime of service to worship and the arts."
How does a corporate president transform a small town into a "city of architectural wonders"? The New York Times, the Oregonian (cribbing from the LA Times/Washington Post news service) and other obituaries explained what was behind this intriguing sentence. As printed in the Oregonian on August 24:
After serving in the Navy during World War II, he returned to his hometown of Columbus and watched as several schoolhouses were built to accommodate the growing population in the city about 40 miles south of Indianapolis. Unhappy with the buildings and believing that "mediocrity is expensive," he offered to pay the fees if the school system would engage notable architects to design the buildings. The program grew from there, and Miller established a foundation to finance other architectural fees. The idea of fostering good architecture also became a matter of civic pride, with others following in Miller's footsteps.
Here's a field in which Portland can make the major leagues without spending $100 million on a baseball stadium: spend $1 million subsidizing architecture. It will last a lot longer.