“Cathedral Builder” is the term Charles E. Mitchell Rentschler uses to describe the men that built the great cathedrals of Europe. They knew they would not see the completion in their lifetimes, but worked honorably anyway. They built, stored up and prepared for the benefit of the next generation. J. Irwin Miller (1909-2004) did his own cathedral building, leaving his mark in many places, but especially on the architecture of his hometown, Columbus, Ind.
In his book, The Cathedral Builder, Rentschler provides a layered, in-depth look at the character of industrialist and philanthropist, Miller, and how genetic, familial, educational and societal influences affected it.
Miller was the sole male heir of the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller family of Columbus – a Midwestern dynasty of sorts. By the time Miller was born, his relatives were active as business owners, bankers, ministers, politicians and humanitarian activists. It was no ordinary or under-achieving clan, and topics of Christian responsibility, gender and race equality, and business management were discussed openly. The family’s heritage and the informal teachings of his parents, grandparents and extended family had profound impacts on Miller’s philosophy on life, and ultimately his legacy. Case in point, Cummins Engine Company, no doubt the most recognizable entity from the family’s conglomerate, was started by Miller’s uncle, W.G. Miller and a former family driver, Clessie Cummins, not as a money-making endeavor, but as a charity for the town of Columbus – a means of employing and benefiting its young men. Founded in 1919, Cummins lost money its first 19 years in operation.
The book has a technical and sometimes data-driven subject matter, but the author’s anecdotal style makes it easy to digest. He uses examples like the above to showcase for the reader how stewardship principles were instilled in Miller and how he then lived them out as an adult. Concurrently, he weaves in details from Miller’s childhood and teenage years, formal education, military service, and early career within the family businesses. These naturally occurring mentions of connections, principles and alliances inform the reader so that as the profile of Miller’s surprising and upright character unfolds, the reader can almost pinpoint why a particular conviction was present at all. Rentschler, who lives in Columbus and worked for and around Cummins in several capacities, shares a well-researched and careful account of Miller’s life, accomplishments and legacy.
That legacy includes Columbus’s claim to architectural fame. Miller acquired a fascination with architecture while attending Yale University. Rentschler devotes a chapter to Miller’s architectural bearing on Columbus and also speaks to his relationships with architects Eero Saarinen, Harry Weese and Kevin Roche throughout the book. Known as the “Athens of the Prairie,” six of Columbus’s seven National Historic Landmarks were essentially commissioned by Miller or paid for in part by the Cummins Engine Foundation Plan, which he set up in 1954 to cover the architectural fees of Columbus schools and public buildings, so long as the project’s architect was selected from a list Miller curated.
The list included but was not limited to:
- John Carl Warnecke
- Norman Fletcher
- Edward Larrabee Barnes
- Gunnar Birkerts
- John M. Johansen
- Eliot Noyes
- Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates
- Mitchell Giurgola
- Richard Meier
- Eero Saarinen
- Harry Weese
- Kevin Roche
Before the Foundation, though, Miller was first instrumental in bringing world-class architecture to Columbus through his faith. When the architect hired by First Christian, his family’s church, fell ill and quit, Miller petitioned for Finnish architect, Eliel Saarinen to take over the project. Saarinen did, completing the church in 1942. It was the first modern church built in America and the first modern building in Columbus.
Thereafter, Miller became great friends with Eliel’s son, Eero, and commissioned him for three personal or business-related projects, including the Irwin Union Bank (now Irwin Conference Center) and the Miller Mansion. Eero was again hired for a project when Miller and 40 families decided to leave First Christian and form North Christian Church.
Eero, though, became quite preoccupied with work at Yale (which Miller also had a hand in) and was not able to complete the church project before his death at age 51. North Christian Church was his last design and was completed by Kevin Roche and landscape architect Dan Kiley.
Eero also introduced Miller to Harry Weese, who was commissioned to design affordable housing units in Columbus and the first elementary school under the Cummins Foundation. All together, Saarinen, Roche and Weese completed 19 of 34 non-school projects in Columbus over five decades. Additionally, Weese and Roche designed several Cummins facilities at home and abroad. Platforms for changing the world are guarded, but Rentschler takes the time to reveal how being in the right place at the right time, and most importantly, with the right attitude and motivations, will position someone to truly make an impact, big or small, and literally become a part of history. The Cathedral Builder shares the story of a life worth knowing about and sheds light on a town of significant architectural importance.
