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{{Short description|Bank and office in Columbus, Indiana, US}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP | name = Irwin Union Bank and Trust
  | nrhp_type = nhl
  | image = Irwin Union exterior.JPG
  | caption =
  | location= 500 Washington Street<br>[[Columbus, Indiana]]
  | coordinates = {{coord|39|12|13|N|85|55|17|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = USA Indiana Bartholomew County#Indiana#USA
  | area =
  | architect= {{ubl|[[Eero Saarinen]] (original building)|[[Kevin Roche]] (expansion)|[[John Dinkeloo]] (expansion)|[[Dan Kiley]] (landscape)}}
| architecture= International Modern, Bauhaus
| designated_nrhp_type= May 16, 2000<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-1566735533&ResourceType=Building|title=Irwin Union Bank and Trust|access-date=July 24, 2008|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605230710/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-1566735533&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=June 5, 2011}}</ref>
 | added = May 16, 2000
 | governing_body =
 | mpsub=Modernism in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Design, and Art in Bartholomew County, 1942–1965 MPS
 | refnum=00000704
<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>
}}

The '''Irwin Conference Center''' (also the '''Irwin Office Building and Conference Center'''; formerly known as the '''Irwin Union Bank Building''') is a commercial building at 500 Washington Street, on the northwest corner with Fifth Street, in [[Columbus, Indiana]], United States. Constructed as the Irwin Union Bank's downtown Columbus branch, the building was designed in a [[Modern architecture|modern]] style. [[Eero Saarinen]] designed the one-story main building and the original three-story office wing in 1954, while his associates [[Kevin Roche]] and [[John Dinkeloo]] designed a three-story office annex in 1973. [[Dan Kiley]] designed the surrounding landscape, which includes a lawn, trees, and a [[drive-through]] facility.

The main building, at Washington and Fifth streets, has a square floor plan with a glass facade and a concrete roof with nine shallow domes. The original office wing, north of the banking hall, is set back behind another building and has a brick and concrete facade and windows. A steel-and-glass arcade leads westward to the annex, which is made of similar materials. Inside, the first floor of the main building is an [[open plan]] space with tellers' counters, a conference area, and various pieces of furniture. A staircase descends to a basement that originally included a kitchen, dining area, vaults, and offices. The office wing and annex contains additional offices. The building has received critical acclaim for its design over the years, and it is designated as a [[National Historic Landmark]] because of its architectural significance.

The idea for the bank came from [[J. Irwin Miller]], the president of the Irwin Union Trust Company (later the Irwin Union Bank) and a major architectural patron. He commissioned Saarinen to design a new building for the bank in 1950, and Irwin Union Trust acquired the site the next year. Although construction began in 1953, most work did not take place until the following year. The building opened on March 10, 1955. The design helped increase the Irwin Union Bank's patronage, and the bank decided to expand the building in 1970; the annex was completed in 1973. The bank acquired further properties nearby in the late 1980s and early 2000s. After the Irwin Union Bank went bankrupt in 2009, the building was acquired by the First Financial Bank, which sold it the next year to the conglomerate [[Cummins Inc.]] The bank building became a conference center and office building until it closed in 2020.

== Site ==
The Irwin Union Bank Building (also the Irwin Office Building and Conference Center<ref name="Davis w204">{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Brad |date=September 18, 2024 |title=Irwin Office Building could go to Toyota |url=https://www.therepublic.com/2024/09/18/irwin-office-building-could-go-to-toyota/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Republic News}}</ref>) is located at 500 Washington Street in [[Columbus, Indiana|Columbus]], a city in [[Bartholomew County, Indiana]], United States.<ref name="Wilson q701">{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-3DrCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA459 |title=Major Companies of the USA 1988/89 |date=November 14, 2014 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-009-1297-7 |page=459}}</ref> It is set back from the northwest corner of the intersection of Fifth and Washington streets,<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="The Columbus Herald 1953">{{cite web |date=January 16, 1953 |title=Work on New Irwin-Union Bank to Be Started by Mid-April |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-work-on-new-irwin-un/181492598/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=1}}</ref> which, at the time of the bank's construction, was the town's busiest.<ref name="PA6 p. 61">{{harvnb|Pelkonen|Albrecht|2006|page=61|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="The Indianapolis News 1953">{{cite web |date=April 2, 1953 |title=New Columbus Bank Will Be 'Different' |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-new-columbus-bank/181559181/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Indianapolis News |page=42}}</ref> Adjoining the Irwin Union Bank Building are various commercial buildings, which rise two or three stories.<ref name="NPS p. 4">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2000|ps=.|page=4}}</ref><ref name="PA6 p. 61" /> The Irwin Union Bank Building's previous headquarters, a limestone building, was across the street.<ref name="PA6 p. 61" /> The Irwin Conference Center is one of several contemporary-styled buildings on Fifth Street in downtown Columbus, along with the [[Cummins Corporate Office Building]], [[Cleo Rogers Memorial Library]], and [[First Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana)|First Christian Church]].<ref name="Gard u613">{{cite web |last=Gard |first=Jon |date=August 7, 1990 |title=Special touch in face lift |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-special-touch-in-face-lift/181762464/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref><ref name="Burayidi n025">{{cite web |last=Burayidi |first=Michael |date=January 1, 2018 |title=Downtown Revitalization in Small and Midsized Cities (PAS 590) |url=https://planning-org-uploaded-media.s3.amazonaws.com/publication/download_pdf/PAS-Report-590.pdf |access-date=September 26, 2025 |website=American Planning Association |id={{ProQuest|2003306015}}}}</ref> It is also close to other structures such as [[The Republic Newspaper Office]] and [[Columbus City Hall (Indiana)|Columbus City Hall]].<ref name="Kidder j311">{{cite web |last=Kidder |first=Rushworth M. |date=July 8, 1988 |title=An astonishing small community in rural Indiana |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/journal-tribune-an-astonishing-small-com/181760123/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=Journal Tribune |page=18}}</ref>

=== Landscape ===
As built, the bank building only occupied one-third of the site. The rear or western portion houses a drive-through window and large parking lot with trees.<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /><ref name="A Look At Architecture">{{cite book |title=A Look at Architecture |publisher=Columbus Area Visitor Center |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-9659-2991-2 |page=26}}</ref> When the bank building was erected, the Irwin Union Bank did not own the entire site, and part of what is now the parking lot was occupied by another structure.<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /><ref name="NPS p. 9">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2000|ps=.|page=9}}</ref> [[Dan Kiley]] was the bank building's landscape architect,<ref name="Hellenman a137">{{cite web |last=Hellenman |first=Diane |date=May 21, 1989 |title=Architecture stands tall in Columbus |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/green-bay-press-gazette-architecture-sta/181763132/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=Green Bay Press-Gazette |page=85 |agency=Gannett News Service}}</ref> selecting specific types of trees and foliage to provide shade and integrate the building into the streetscape. He used [[Tilia cordata|littleleaf linden]] trees as the basis of the space, with [[euonymus]] as ground cover and seasonal spring bulbs, [[begonia]]s, [[geranium]]s, and [[chrysanthemum]]s as accents.<ref name="A Look At Architecture" /><ref name="TCLF k396">{{cite web |title=Cummins Inc. Irwin Office Building |url=https://www.tclf.org/landscapes/cummins-inc-irwin-office-building |access-date=September 21, 2025 |publisher=[[The Cultural Landscape Foundation]]}}</ref><ref name="The Republic 1969">{{cite web |date=April 16, 1969 |title=The Flowers That Bloom |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-the-flowers-that-bloom/181576634/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> Kiley also added an underground sprinkler system to irrigate the plants.<ref name="The Republic 1969" /> These plantings created a park-like feeling, as the Irwin Union Bank Building is shorter than the structures around it.<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /><ref name="AF p. 160">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1955|ps=.|page=160}}</ref>

The main bank building is set back {{Convert|12|ft}} from the sidewalk.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> Trees are also placed around the bank building,<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /><ref name="TCLF k396" /> which, according to the ''[[Architectural Forum]]'', was intended to attract passersby.<ref name="AF p. 160" /> Originally, there were 27 sweet gum trees surrounding the main building, each measuring {{Convert|18|ft}} high.<ref name="Gordon k081">{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Bob |date=December 29, 1954 |title=Columbus Comment |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-columbus-commentbob-gordon/181553848/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> The trees are placed near the sidewalk to help integrate the building into the streetscape, since the adjacent buildings are not recessed from the sidewalk.<ref name="PA6 p. 61" /><ref name="Merkel p. 153" /> The original trees were [[Sapling|saplings]]; they were intended to obscure the neighboring buildings as they grew, thereby reinforcing the building's park-like feeling.<ref name="AF p. 160" /> West of the building, the trees are planted in three rows measuring {{Convert|20|ft}} apart;<ref name="TCLF k396" /> some of the original linden trees have been replaced with honey locusts.<ref name="NPS p. 6">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2000|ps=.|page=6}}</ref> There is also a lawn west of the original bank, surrounded by honey locusts.<ref name="TCLF k396" /> 

The original plans included a [[drive-through]] facility to the west, with a driveway and parking lot for customers who did not want to go inside.<ref name="The Republic 1953">{{cite web |date=April 1, 1953 |title=Construction of Ultra-Modern Bank Building to Get Under Way in June |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-construction-of-ultra-moder/181551503/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-construction-of-ultra-moder/181551699/ 2]}}</ref> A driveway, dating from 1966, travels between the trees, splitting up into multiple lanes divided by brick and concrete [[median strip]]s.<ref name="TCLF k396" /><ref name="NPS p. 6" /> The driveway is paved in concrete aggregate with brick-paved borders, and there are steel and aluminum [[Traffic bollard|bollards]] illuminating the driveway.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /> When the building was constructed, there were [[radiant heating]] coils embedded into the outdoor concrete slabs.<ref name="The Republic 1955">{{cite web |date=March 9, 1955 |title=Irwin Union Completes Move Into Shiny New Home |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-completes-move/181548026/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-bank-moves-into/181547933/ 9]}}</ref>

==Architecture==
The Irwin Office Building and Conference Center was designed in two phases.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The original, one-story bank and a small three-story office wing were designed by [[Eero Saarinen]] in 1954.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Merkel p. 153">{{harvnb|Merkel|2005|p=153|ps=.}}</ref> The office wing conceals the irregular northern boundary of the lot,<ref name="PA6 p. 61" /> where the [[Right of way|right-of-way]] of a railroad line cuts diagonally across the lot's northeast corner.<ref name="NPS p. 9" /><ref name="Prather 1972">{{cite web |last=Prather |first=Jean |date=October 27, 1972 |title=Worth Mentioning |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-worth-mentioningjean-prath/181751225/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=8}}</ref> Although the railroad had stopped running by World War II, Saarinen's building occupies part of the line's right-of-way,<ref name="Prather 1972" /> and an adjacent alleyway follows the railroad's path.<ref name="NPS p. 9" /> To the west of the main building and office wing is a three-story office annex added in 1973 by [[Kevin Roche]] and [[John Dinkeloo]],<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Hellenman a137" /> both of the firm [[Roche-Dinkeloo]] (a successor firm to Saarinen's practice). The Roche-Dinkeloo annex extends westward through the block.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The writer Matt Shaw stated that the design combined the clean lines of [[Miesian]] buildings and the welcoming atmosphere of modernist buildings designed at the [[Cranbrook Academy of Art]], where Saarinen had studied.<ref name="Shaw h061">{{cite book |last=Shaw |first=Matt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fj8-0AEACAAJ |title=American Modern: Architecture; Community; Columbus, Indiana |date=2024 |publisher=Monacelli Press |isbn=978-1-58093-612-5 |pages=28–29 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref> 

The Irwin Union Bank Building is one of seven buildings in Columbus designated as [[National Historic Landmark]]s. The others are [[The Republic Newspaper Office]], the [[Mabel McDowell Adult Education Center]], the [[Miller House (Columbus, Indiana)|Miller House]], the [[North Christian Church]], the [[First Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana)|First Christian Church]], and the [[First Baptist Church (Columbus, Indiana)|First Baptist Church]].<ref name="Spiselman n169">{{cite web |last=Spiselman |first=Anne |date=July 7, 2016 |title=The midcentury capital of the Midwest |url=https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160707/ISSUE03/160709933/columbus-ind-is-the-midcentury-capital-of-the-midwest |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=Crain's Chicago Business}}</ref> Of these buildings, the Irwin Conference Center is one of three designed by Saarinen,<ref name="Spiselman n169" /><ref name="PA6 p. 57">{{harvnb|Pelkonen|Albrecht|2006|page=57|ps=.}}</ref> the others being the Miller House and North Christian Church, all three of which were commissioned by the local businessman [[J. Irwin Miller]].<ref name="Spiselman n169" /><ref name="Leslie b467">{{cite journal |last=Leslie |first=Stuart W. |year=2024 |title="Modernism with a Soul": Designing and Building Communities for Corporate and Civic Life |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/920528 |journal=Technology and Culture |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=343–357 |doi=10.1353/tech.2024.a920528 |pmid=38661806 |issn=1097-3729 |access-date=September 21, 2025|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The bank building is also one of several modernist public buildings that Miller commissioned in the town,<ref name="Apple y679">{{cite web |last=Apple |first=R. W. Jr. |date=December 5, 2003 |title=HAVENS; A Farmland Showcase For Modern Architecture |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/05/travel/havens-a-farmland-showcase-for-modern-architecture.html |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and, along with a 1952 cottage in Canada, one of four buildings that Saarinen designed for Miller.<ref name="Shaw h061" /><ref name="PA6 p. 59">{{harvnb|Pelkonen|Albrecht|2006|page=59|ps=.}}</ref> The annex is also one of numerous Roche-Dinkeloo designs in Columbus, along with the city's post office, the city's visitor center, and [[Cummins|Cummins Inc.]] facilities such as the [[Cummins Corporate Office Building]].<ref name="Prather 1978">{{cite web |last=Prather |first=Jean |date=March 27, 1978 |title=Worth Mentioning: Famous Architects' Work Reviewed |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-worth-mentioning-famous-ar/181751774/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=6}}</ref><ref name="Apple y6792">{{cite web |last=Apple |first=R. W. Jr. |date=December 5, 2003 |title=HAVENS; A Farmland Showcase For Modern Architecture |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/05/travel/havens-a-farmland-showcase-for-modern-architecture.html |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Exterior ===

==== Main building ====
The main bank building is one story high and has a square floor plan measuring {{Convert|88|by|88|ft}} across.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> All four elevations of the [[facade]] are divided vertically into 12 bays of glazed panels with steel frames.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Ladwig 2012">{{cite web |last=Ladwig |first=Boris |date=December 28, 2012 |title=Old Space, New Face |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-old-space-new-faceboris-l/181570988/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-architectural-treasures-ir/59130738/ A4]}}</ref> On each elevation, the lowest {{Convert|4|in}} of the facade consists of [[Indiana limestone]], while above it are {{Convert|8|ft|4=-wide|adj=mid}} windows that extend to the roof. Each bay has a horizontal steel [[mullion]] bar, dividing it into two panes; the lower pane measures {{convert|2|ft|m}} high, while the upper pane spans the majority of the bay's height.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The facade's steel framework is made of mullions measuring {{Convert|1/4|in}} thick, which protrude from the glass panes. Each corner of the building consists of two protruding, perpendicular mullions, creating a hollow corner on the outside.<ref name="NPS pp. 4–5">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2000|ps=.|pages=4–5}}</ref> The glass-walled design was intended to contrast both with traditional banks' facades<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /><ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="Robinson 1954" /> and with the office wing to the north.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> The trees around the building provided shade for the glass walls.<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /><ref name="AF p. 161">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1955|ps=.|page=161}}</ref>

The western elevation has [[drive-through]] tellers' windows;<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> there were originally two windows, each with [[bulletproof glass]].<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> The building is accessed from a heated [[Vestibule (architecture)|vestibule]] at the southern end of the eastern elevation, which leads to Washington Street.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> The main building's northern elevation has a pair of glass-and-steel passageways leading to the southern side of the office wing, which leads west into an [[Arcade (architecture)|arcade]] in the 1973 annex.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> Sweet gum trees were originally planted in the courtyard between the two passageways.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> The tellers' windows, entrance, and passageways have similar glazing to the rest of the facade, but are about {{Convert|8|ft}} high.<ref name="NPS p. 5">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2000|ps=.|page=5}}</ref>

The building has a concrete roof covered in [[Standing seam metal roof|standing seam metal]]. The roof's {{Convert|12|in|adj=on}} thick concrete slab is {{Convert|12|ft}} above ground level.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> At the perimeter of the roof, [[eaves]] extend {{Convert|4.5|ft}} beyond the facade;<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /><ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="AF p. 161" /> the eaves are angled downward, doubling as a [[Coping (architecture)|coping]].<ref name="NPS p. 4" /> Within the roof are nine small domes,<ref name="Davis w204" /><ref name="PA6 p. 61" /> each of which is a thin-shell concrete vault.<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Merkel p. 153" /> The domes divide the interior into a 3×3 grid of square bays. The domes were intended to give a sculptural quality to the otherwise-flat roof, and they also served to reduce the [[dead load]] of the roof, making it lighter-weight.<ref name="NPS pp. 4–5" /> In addition, the domes allowed rainwater to flow off the roof.<ref name="Long 1955">{{cite web |last=Long |first=Laura |date=March 9, 1955 |title=New Bank Far Cry from Old Safe in J. I. Irwin's Store |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-new-bank-far-cry-from-old-s/181544019/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=8}}</ref>

==== Office wing and annex ====
[[File:Irwin Union Bank, 500 Washington Street, 1977 (Columbus, Ind.) - DPLA - d1222fb23892ac0d205aae2d3d493302.jpg|thumb|Irwin Union Bank in 1977, as seen from the annex]]
The original office wing is set back behind another building on Washington Street.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="NPS p. 9" /> The office wing largely measures {{Convert|104|ft}} west–east and {{Convert|34|ft}} north–south; due to the presence of the alleyway at the northeastern corner, the eastern elevation narrows to {{Convert|18|ft}}.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> Visually, it is treated as a separate structure, since it has no materials or shapes in common with the main building.<ref name="NPS pp. 4–5" /> The office wing's south elevation has a glazed-brick facade with several openings, while the northern elevation is made of concrete block with steel-framed windows embedded into it.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The other two elevations are attached to other buildings: The northeastern and eastern elevations are [[party wall]]s shared with the Washington Street building, and the western elevation is shared with Roche's later annex.<ref name="NPS pp. 5–6">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2000|ps=.|pages=5–6}}</ref>

Roche's annex is connected to the original wing via an arcade,<ref name="Dal Co 1985" /><ref name="NPS p. 6" /> which has brown-brick floor pavers.<ref name="The Republic 1971a">{{cite web |date=November 13, 1971 |title=Glassed Arcade to Lead Customers to Bank Annex |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-glassed-arcade-to-lead-cust/181750654/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=11}}</ref> The annex is three stories high and uses similar materials to the original office wing.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /> The western and eastern elevations have masonry walls.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /> On the northern elevation is a {{Convert|50|ft|4=-long|adj=mid}}, steel-and-glass frame that includes air-conditioning ducts.<ref name="Dal Co 1985">{{cite book |last=Dal Co |first=Francesco |url=https://archive.org/details/kevinroche00roch |title=Kevin Roche |publisher=Random House Incorporated |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-8478-0677-5 |page=136 |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 6" /> The steel-and-glass frame encloses a patio running the building's length.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /><ref name="The Republic 1971a" /> A similar frame encloses the arcade on the southern elevation, although this frame has alternating bands of reflective and clear glass strips;<ref name="NPS p. 6" /> the upper part of the arcade's frame slopes down at an angle.<ref name="Prather 1978" /> On both the northern and southern elevations, the steel strips function as mullions.<ref name="NPS p. 6" /> Dan Kiley oversaw the landscape design for the arcade, adding tropical plants such as [[bougainvillea]].<ref>{{cite web |date=April 13, 1975 |title=Bank on This |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-star-press-bank-on-this/181578656/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Star Press |page=19}}</ref>

=== Interior ===
The one-story main bank building has a banking hall for public functions,<ref name="MSA-1953-07" /> which is mostly an uninterrupted, [[open plan|open-plan]] space.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /> Private offices were largely relegated to the office wing and annex.<ref name="MSA-1953-07">{{Cite magazine |date=Jul 1953 |title=Eero Saarinen & Associates |url=https://www.usmodernist.org/AIAMI/MSA-1953-07.pdf |magazine=Monthly Bulletin, Michigan Society of Architects |page=53 |volume=27}}</ref> A basement extends underneath both the banking hall and the original office wing.<ref name="The Republic 1953" /> The banking hall has a [[forced-air]] heating system, while the rest of the original building is heated and cooled by boilers and three chillers.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> A set of [[pneumatic tube]]s connected the bookkeepers' offices and tellers' counters.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="Long 1955" /><ref name="AF p. 163">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1955|ps=.|page=163}}</ref> The building also had telephone [[dictation machine]]s, a first in Indiana.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 22, 1955 |title=Irwin Union Bank Hits Another First |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-irwin-union-bank-hit/181565374/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=4}}</ref> An elevator and spiral stair led between the tellers' counters and basement.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="AF p. 163" />

==== Banking hall ====
From the outset, Saarinen's design for the banking hall was intended to make it seem welcoming and friendly.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="PA6 pp. 61–62">{{harvnb|Pelkonen|Albrecht|2006|pages=61–62|ps=.}}</ref> The floors are made of buff-brick pavers in a basket-weave pattern,<ref name="PA6 p. 61" /><ref name="Wainwright h955" /> which are covered with carpets in some places.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The banking floor itself was placed at ground level to increase accessibility.<ref name="NPS p. 8">{{harvnb|National Park Service|2000|ps=.|page=8}}</ref> The windows have full-height bamboo drapes.<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /><ref name="The Republic 1955" /> The ceiling measures {{convert|11|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} high, interspersed with the nine domes.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="AF p. 161" /> The ceiling domes each measure {{Convert|18|ft}} across<ref>{{cite web |date=March 9, 1955 |title=Irwin Union Completes Move Into Shiny New Home |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-completes-move/181548026/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-bank-moves-into/181547933/ 9]}}</ref> and are clad with acoustic material, in contrast to the rest of the ceiling, which is covered in plaster.<ref name="AF p. 161" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The domes act similarly to lamp shades,<ref name="Davis w204" /> with uplights mounted into the middle of each dome.<ref name="PA6 p. 61" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /> There are a total of 364 recessed lamps in the ceiling.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> Circular steel columns, measuring {{Convert|8|in}} thick, denote the corners of each bay.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The design was intended to make the banking hall inviting even to factory walkers with dirty overalls or farmers with muddy boots.<ref name="Wainwright h955">{{cite web | last=Wainwright | first=Oliver | title=From brutalist school to space-age church: the architectural oasis deep in Trump country | website=the Guardian | date=December 9, 2024 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/dec/09/columbus-indiana-america-architectural-oasis-deep-in-trump-country | access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref><ref name="AF p. 162">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1955|ps=.|page=162}}</ref>

The banking hall was originally decorated in shades of blue-gray, yellow, and brown, interspersed with cane and walnut paneling. There were also red planters.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> To avoid having traditional tellers' windows with unwelcoming "Closed" signs, the banking hall originally had tellers' counters with movable plastic hoods.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="PA6 p. 62">{{harvnb|Pelkonen|Albrecht|2006|page=62|ps=.}}</ref> There were initially 14 hoods, each of which measured {{Convert|13|in}} high and could be removed whenever a teller was on duty.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> For the most part, the interior of the banking hall was originally furnished with furniture manufactured by [[Herman Miller]]<ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref name="Long 1955" /> and [[Knoll, Inc.]].<ref name="Long 1955" /><ref name="PA6 p. 62" /> The desks and planters were designed by [[George Nelson (designer)|George Nelson]], while Saarinen designed other objects such as the tellers' counters and upholstered fiberglass-and-steel chairs.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /><ref name="p2528884241">{{cite magazine |last=Paletta |first=Anthony |date=April 30, 2021 |title=The Architecture of Accessibility |url=https://bankingjournal.aba.com/2021/04/the-architecture-of-accessibility/ |access-date=September 30, 2025 |website=ABA Banking Journal |volume=113 |issue=3 |id={{ProQuest|2528884241}}}}</ref> In the 2000s, the building largely retained its original furnishings, which had been modified slightly.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The building's original artworks included [[Alexander Girard]]'s collection of Eastern European textiles.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ladwig |first=Boris |date=December 28, 2012 |title=Old Space, New Face |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-old-space-new-faceboris-l/181570988/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-architectural-treasures-ir/59130738/ A4]}}</ref>[[File:Irwin Union Bank and Trust Floor Plan.jpg|thumbnail|Floor plan]]As built, a display area was placed at the southeast corner of the banking hall, adjoining the main entrance.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> The bank's more private divisions, such as the [[Special servicing|special service]] and [[loan]] departments, were placed in the rear, behind the tellers' partitions in the front.<ref name="AF p. 162" /> The center bay of the banking hall's northern elevation contains an {{Convert|8|ft|m|-high|adj=mid}} conference area, with a walnut partition facing south toward the stairs, greenish-gray cabinets and cupboards on the other walls, and a wire glass ceiling.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> This area is divided into three walnut-paneled workspaces or conference rooms.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /> These offices were placed in the main building because J. Irwin Miller wanted the bank's executives to interact with the customers.<ref name="PA6 p. 61" />

==== Other spaces ====
In the middle of the banking hall, south of the conference area, is a stair descending to the basement,<ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="NPS p. 5" /> where the bank's non-public departments were housed.<ref name="AF p. 162" /> The stair has walnut railings, stainless-steel [[baluster]]s, and oak treads suspended from the ceiling, and there are no [[Stair riser|risers]] between treads. The design of the staircase is similar to those in some buildings that Saarinen also designed at the [[General Motors Technical Center]] in Michigan.<ref name="NPS p. 5" /> The bottom landing of the staircase has a lobby that led to the employee dining room (which had dining tables and lockers), and an employee lounge. Also in the basement were a kitchen, directors' office, and bookkeeping rooms. The basement had a steel-and-concrete vault, as well as a concrete room for nighttime deposits, which had a conveyor belt leading to the street.<ref name="The Republic 1955" />

The original office wing has concrete floors and a concrete frame.<ref name="NPS pp. 5–6" /> The office wing's basement had mechanical equipment and storage space. The ground floor had Irwin Union Trust's trust-and-investment department, the second floor had a bookkeeping department, and the top story was originally used for storage. These floors are connected by an elevator,<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> as well as a staircase at the eastern end.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /><ref name="NPS pp. 5–6" />  Within the annex, each story is carried on exposed trusses that run across the building from north to south. The center of the annex has open plan offices, while there are service and mechanical areas at either end. These service areas contain conference rooms, as well as stairs, closets, and restrooms.<ref name="NPS pp. 5–6" /> The annex has {{Convert|16000|ft2}} of space underground and {{Convert|28000|ft2}} above ground.<ref name="Thomas m979">{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=George |date=December 2, 1970 |title=Bank Addition to Double Space at Downtown Site |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-bank-addition-to-double-spa/181575683/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-bank/181575784/ 2]}}</ref>

==History==
The building was commissioned for the Irwin Union Trust Company, formed in 1928 when Irwin's Bank acquired the Union Trust Company.<ref name="The Republic 1971">{{cite web |date=May 28, 1971 |title=First 'Banker' Here in 1833 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-first-banker-here-in-1833/181573848/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A18, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-2-banks-date-back-100-years/181573801/ A19]}}</ref><ref name="Burton 1986">{{Cite news |last=Burton |first=Brian |date=Sep 1986 |title=Expanding Horizons: A Growing Bank in Columbus |work=Indiana Business |page=22 |volume=30 |issue=10 |id={{ProQuest|213110802}}}}</ref> Irwin's Bank, in turn, had been founded in 1871 as a [[safe deposit box]] at Joseph I. Irwin's dry-goods store.<ref name="Long 1955" /><ref name="Burton 1986" /> The store, originally located at the corner of Third and Washington streets in downtown Columbus,<ref name="Long 1955" /> relocated two blocks away to the northeast corner of Fifth and Washington streets in 1881.<ref name="The Republic 1971" /> The banking division, which originally occupied one corner of the Fifth Street location,<ref name="Long 1955" /> had expanded to cover the whole store by 1907.<ref name="The Republic 1971" /> The bank remained at that location in 1947, when [[J. Irwin Miller]] became president of the Irwin Union Trust Company after the death of his father, the bank's previous president.<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /> At the time, Miller was an influential businessman who led the [[Cummins]] engine company and owned several buildings in Columbus.<ref name="Merkel p. 151">{{harvnb|Merkel|2005|p=151|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="Pace y570">{{cite web |last=Pace |first=Eric |date=August 19, 2004 |title=J. Irwin Miller, 95, Patron of Modern Architecture, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/business/j-irwin-miller-95-patron-of-modern-architecture-dies.html |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By the early 1950s, Irwin Union Trust's existing building was overcrowded; deposits at the Irwin Union Trust had grown 900 percent over the past two decades, and a proposal to expand the building had been deemed infeasible.<ref name="The Republic 1951">{{cite web |date=January 10, 1951 |title=Irwin-Union Plans New Bank |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-plans-new-bank/181502163/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-plans-new-bank/181502535/ 2]|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=January 17, 1951 |title=Irwin-Union Plans New Bank Building |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-irwin-union-plans-ne/181503704/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=1}}</ref> 

=== Development ===
Miller contacted the modernist architect [[Eero Saarinen]] about the possibility of designing a new building for the bank in 1949,<ref name="PennPraxis">{{Cite report |url=https://www.getty.edu/foundation/pdfs/kim/miller_house.pdf |title=Miller House and Garden Conservation Management Plan |date=June 2022 |publisher=PennPraxis |page=35 |via=Getty Center}}</ref> hiring him the next year.<ref name="PA6 p. 61" /><ref name="Merkel p. 153" /> The two men had known each other since 1939, when Saarinen's father [[Eliel Saarinen|Eliel]] had been hired to design the [[First Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana)|First Christian Church]] in the same city.<ref name="PA6 p. 58">{{harvnb|Pelkonen|Albrecht|2006|page=58|ps=.}}</ref> Eero Saarinen was Miller's favorite architect, and Saarinen likewise regarded Miller as "the perfect client", ultimately designing four buildings for him.<ref name="PA6 p. 57" />

==== Planning ====
[[File:Irwin Union interior.JPG|thumb|Interior of the banking hall, showing one of the domes]]

Saarinen's involvement in the new bank building's design was publicized at the bank's annual stockholders' meeting in January 1951. The same month, the Irwin Union Trust Company obtained the Griffith Building at the northwest corner of Fifth and Washington streets, which at the time housed several businesses. The bank also acquired the Columbus Milling Company's mill just west of the Griffith Building,<ref name="The Republic 1951" /> which included a grain elevator.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> The bank had chosen this site after carefully examining numerous other sites in Columbus.<ref name="Robinson 1954">{{cite web |last=Robinson |first=Cliff |date=September 11, 1954 |title=There's No Hint of Filthy $ in This Modernistic New Bank |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-theres-no-hint-of-f/181545975/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Courier-Journal |page=7}}</ref> In exchange, the Griffith Building's owners, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Marr, obtained Irwin Union Trust's existing structure and continued to lease it to the bank. Irwin Union Trust then announced that it would demolish the mill while leaving the Griffith Building intact.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 31, 1951 |title=Old Mill to Be Razed This Spring |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-old-mill-to-be-razed/181503157/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=6|postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=January 26, 1951 |title=Old Mill to Be Razed This Spring |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-old-mill-to-be-razed-this-s/181503542/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> Work on the mill's demolition commenced that March, with scrap metal from the mill being sold.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 21, 1951 |title=Begin Razing Big Mill Soon |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-begin-razing-big-mil/181506941/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=2}}</ref>

Miller went to Saarinen's office in Michigan to discuss plans for the new bank.<ref name="Long 1955" /> Saarinen, who knew nothing about the banking industry, took on the commission "to learn the banking business".<ref name="Shaw h061" /> In developing the new building, Miller and other officials primarily sought to improve the bank's image by making the building feel welcoming.<ref name="The Indianapolis News 1953" /><ref name="Robinson 1954" /> As the ''[[Courier Journal]]'' put it, "the money in the vault is only incidental" and could have been stored in any secure location.<ref name="Robinson 1954" /> To distinguish the new bank building, Saarinen wanted the design to be perceived as welcoming, not formidable.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="Merkel p. 154">{{harvnb|Merkel|2005|p=154|ps=.}}</ref> His design did not use the architectural elements of older banks, such as masonry facades, or tellers' windows with iron bars.<ref name="NPS p. 8" /><ref name="Robinson 1954" /> The architect assigned each department a specific part of the building based on how busy it was,<ref name="Long 1955" /> allocating only as much space as needed.<ref name="Robinson 1954" />

The final plan called for a one-story building at the corner of Fifth and Washington streets, and an office wing north of it.<ref name="The Columbus Herald 1953" /><ref name="The Indianapolis News 1953" /> According to Miller, the building had a low [[Form (architecture)|form]] "so it won't look down on our nice old buildings", while the glass facade would allow people to "look in and watch us operate".<ref>{{cite web |date=June 29, 1954 |title=Fortune Magazine Pays High Praise to Businessmen Who 'Rebuilt' Columbus |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-fortune-magazine-pays-high/181558770/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-fortune-magazine-pays-high/181558700/ 2]}}</ref> The glass facade symbolized the bank's progressive mission,<ref name="Merkel p. 153" /> which included being one of the first American banks to issue credit cards.<ref name="Beck 2002">{{cite magazine |last1=Beck |first1=Bill |last2=Curley |first2=Kathleen |date=September 1, 2002 |title=Irwin Union Bank & Trust |magazine=Indiana Business Magazine |page=39 |volume=46 |issue=9 |id={{ProQuest|213126667}}}}</ref> The building itself would be one of the United States' first banks to use glass walls and an open-plan layout.<ref name="Ladwig 2012" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Dunham |first=Wayne |date=October 10, 1975 |title=Touring: Have you discovered Columbus? |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=B1  |id={{ProQuest|171267019}}}}</ref><ref name="Haukebo t406" /> Saarinen hired [[Dan Kiley]] as the bank's landscape designer; Kiley did not meet Miller until later, when the architect was hired to design the Miller House's gardens.<ref name="PennPraxis" /> As Saarinen later told his friend [[Astrid Sampe]] after spending a few days with her in Spain:<blockquote>I fly from Dallas to Columbus, Indiana where before the war we built a church. Perhaps you remember it. The same family, only a younger generation, wants to build a bank. We now have what I think is a very good scheme. I don't think it would be just the way it is unless you and I had been to Cordoba and seen the mosque. It is a wonderful opportunity to do something really good and different because the client is simply out of this world. It is going to be a bank without any pompousness, absolutely no intention to impress. All it is a very low glass enclosed marketplace-like little building in the middle of the town.<ref name="Merkel p. 154" /></blockquote>

==== Construction ====
[[File:Irwin Union Bank & Trust Company, Columbus, Indiana, 1950-57. Aerial view - 00223v.jpg|thumb|Aerial view from the south]]
Irwin Union Trust officials announced in January 1953 that they would begin constructing a modern-style bank building in downtown Columbus by either April or June.<ref name="The Columbus Herald 1953" /><ref name="The Indianapolis News 1953" /> The Irwin Union Trust issued eviction notices to the Griffith Building's residents that April,<ref name="The Republic 1953" /> and work on demolishing the Griffith Building began the next month.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Bob |date=May 16, 1953 |title=The Week in Review |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-the-week-in-reviewbob-gord/181550871/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> Eight firms submitted bids for the [[General contractor|general contract]] to construct the building, and construction contracts were awarded to four Indiana–based firms that July. J. L. Simmons Company was hired as the general contractor, the Taylor Lumber and Supply Company as mechanical engineer, the Long Electric Company as the electrical engineer, and the Service Elevator Company as the elevator contractor.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 7, 1953 |title=Work on Bank to Start in 10 Days |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-work-on-bank-to-start-in-10/181552916/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1 |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=April 1, 1953 |title=Construction of Ultra-Modern Bank Building to Get Under Way in June |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-construction-of-ultra-moder/181551503/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-construction-of-ultra-moder/181551699/ 2]}}</ref> Although construction began in 1953, most work did not start until the following year.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 1, 1955 |title=Columbus Moves Ahead in 1954 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-columbus-moves-ahead-in-195/181564767/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=6}}</ref>

In April 1954, cement contractors went on strike while pouring the roof; at the time, much of the concrete work had been completed.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 15, 1954 |title=30 Cement Finishers Strike Here |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-30-cement-finishers-strike/181556197/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1 |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=April 16, 1954 |title=30 Cement Finishers Strike Here |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-30-cement-finishers/181557642/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=4}}</ref> The vault door from the old bank was relocated to the new building that July.<ref name="Gordon q111">{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Bob |date=July 10, 1954 |title=The Week in Review |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-the-week-in-reviewbob-gord/181556343/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> Workers tried for several weeks to demolish the old building's vault, but this was extremely difficult because the vault was encased in {{Convert|27|in}} of concrete.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 11, 1955 |title=Old Irwin Union Bank Value Was Safe One, Wrecking Crew Agrees |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-old-irwin-union-bank-value/181486401/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref>  The trees around the new building were being planted by December 1954, when bank officials announced that the bank would be renamed to the Irwin Union Bank and Trust Company.<ref name="Gordon k081" /> The bank made an agreement with the owner of a neighboring property to repaint a brick wall facing the bank building.<ref name="Robinson 1954" /><ref name="AF p. 161" /> The bank had wanted to move into the new structure by January 1955, but this was delayed due to issues with delivering some objects for the tellers' counters.<ref name="Gordon t846">{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Bob |date=January 12, 1955 |title=Columbus Comment |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-columbus-commentbob-gordon/181561403/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> The simple design reduced the building's total cost to either $690,000<ref name="AF p. 162" /><ref name="Merkel p. 154" /> or $700,000 in total, or about {{Convert|20|-|22|$/ft2}}.<ref name="Green 1954">{{cite web |last=Green |first=Ann |date=November 27, 1954 |title=Pattern of New Glass Bank in Heart of New York Has Most Familiar Ring |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-pattern-of-new-glass-bank-i/181557975/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref>

=== Use as bank ===

==== Completion and early years ====
The bank moved all its departments between the old and new downtown branches on March 9, 1955, and the new building opened the next day, March 10.<ref name="The Republic 1955" /> The relocation did not disrupt the bank's operations, since it took place while the bank was closed to the public.<ref name="The Republic 1955a">{{cite web |date=March 3, 1955 |title=Irwin-Union to Be at Home in New Building Next Thursday |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-to-be-at-home-i/181754651/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> In contrast to the old branch, where different departments had maintained different operating hours, the new branch maintained one set of operating hours for all departments.<ref name="The Republic 1955a" /> The Irwin Union Bank and Trust Company hosted a three-day-long [[Open house (school)|open house]] event two weeks after the official opening;<ref>{{cite web |date=March 22, 1955 |title=Bank Is Ready for Open House |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-bank-is-ready-for-open-hous/181559721/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> the open house attracted 5,000 visitors, including 2,555 just on March 25.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 26, 1955 |title=5,000 Visitors at New Bank |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-5000-visitors-at-new-bank/181563303/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=7}}</ref> The new building also hosted a tour for 800 bankers that April.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 8, 1955 |title=Bankers Visit Irwin Building |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-bankers-visit-irwin/181563513/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=4}}</ref> The building also won an award from the [[American Association of Nurserymen]]'s (AAN) 1955 Plant America competition for its landscape design.<ref name="Gordon g556">{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Bob |date=December 14, 1955 |title=Columbus Comment |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-columbus-comment/181564961/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> Miller retained a small office in the old bank building at 301 Washington Street,<ref>{{cite web |last=Markham |first=Wayne |date=August 26, 1979 |title=An Architectural Treasure Trove |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-an-architectural-treasu/181512228/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Miami Herald |pages=1H, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-columbus-citizens-have/181512053/ 4H]}}</ref><ref name="McCawley g038">{{cite web |last=McCawley |first=Harry |date=January 16, 2011 |title=Bringing 100 yrs. of history to an end |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-bringing-100-yrs-of-histor/181777528/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-301-washington-street/181776588/ A3]}}</ref> working there for most of the rest of his life.<ref name="McCawley g038" /> Other parts of 301 Washington Street were leased to a drug store.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 23, 1955 |title=Carpenter's to Occupy Former Bank Location |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-carpenters-to-occup/181565158/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=1}}</ref>

Observers made fun of the new bank building's roof, which they likened to a "brassiere factory".<ref name="AF p. 162" /><ref name="Merkel p. 154" /><ref name="Glaser e344">{{cite web |last=Glaser |first=Susan |date=July 30, 2023 |title=How Columbus, Indiana, became a mecca for modern architecture |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-how-columbus-indiana/181783373/ |access-date=September 26, 2025 |website=The Plain Dealer |pages=K1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-plain-dealer-columbus-indiana/181783308/ K2]}}</ref> Even so, the design of the new building helped increase the Irwin Union Bank's patronage,<ref name="Merkel p. 154" /> which grew nearly four times faster in the new building than at the old location.<ref name="AF p. 160" /> A. R. Engle, an executive at the bank, credited the new building's design with improving workers' productivity, since departments were arranged more efficiently than in the previous bank building.<ref>{{cite web |last=Scheurle |first=Jason |date=May 5, 1979 |title=Outstanding Architecture Doesn't Grow on Trees |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-outstanding-architecture-do/181753338/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=4}}</ref> During the 1960s, visitors frequented the building for its architecture as well.<ref>{{cite web |last=Weaver |first=Don E. |date=September 20, 1967 |title=Bright New Facades Show Off an Old Town |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-bright-new-facades/181572200/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Pittsburgh Press |page=53}}</ref> Due to the growth of the bank's business, the computer and operations departments were relocated to another building on 6th Street in 1965.<ref name="Thomas m979" /> [[Kevin Roche]] and [[John Dinkeloo]], who had taken over Saarinen's practice,{{Efn|Saarinen had died in 1961.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 2, 1961 |title=Eero Saarinen, 51, Architect, is Dead; Versatile Designer Created Terminal for T.W.A. Here and Embassies for U.S. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/09/02/archives/eero-saarinen-51-architect-is-dead-versatile-designer-created.html |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>}} redesigned the bank's drive-through facility in 1966, replacing the tellers' windows with three standalone booths.<ref name="NPS p. 9" /> Kiley was rehired to design a lawn west of the banking hall (near Jackson Street),<ref name="NPS p. 9" /> while a parking lot was added northwest of the building.<ref name="The Republic 1971" /> Kiley added 107 linden trees to the lawn in 1968 and planted more than 7,500 flower bulbs around the building the next year.<ref name="The Republic 1969" />

==== 1970s expansion ====
[[File:GREENHOUSES ARE PART OF THE NEW ADDITION TO THE IRWIN UNION BANK - NARA - 546517.jpg|thumb|Interior of the 1970s annex's arcade]]
The bank had outgrown its downtown office by 1970, despite having opened five branches in [[Bartholomew County, Indiana|Bartholomew County]] over the preceding fifteen years.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 20, 1970 |title=Planning Can Pay Off for City, Too |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-planning-can-pay-off/181573530/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=6}}</ref> The bank's staff had grown from 78 to 230 during that time.<ref name="Thomas m979" /> Irwin Union Bank officials announced plans in December 1970 to expand the downtown branch by {{Convert|44,000|ft2}}, more than doubling the building's size while providing adequate space for all of the bank's departments. This project included a three-story office annex and a glass arcade connecting both the office wing and its annex.<ref name="Thomas m979" /> Roche and Dinkeloo were hired to design the annex,<ref name="NPS p. 9" /><ref>{{cite web |date=August 29, 1972 |title=Designers of Post Office Sued in East |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-designers-of-post-office-su/181578307/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=8}}</ref> and Taylor Brothers Construction was hired as the general contractor. Before work began, the customer parking lot was relocated to the northwest corner of the site,<ref name="Thomas m979" /> and 25 trees on the site were relocated to Irwin Union's other branches.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 17, 1970 |title=Trees Moved |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-trees-moved/181576305/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=30}}</ref>

Despite a construction accident in June 1971, when some of the annex's beams collapsed during a heavy wind, work proceeded with few delays.<ref name="The Republic 1971a" /> During the annex's construction, the original building celebrated the Irwin Union Bank's centennial with an exhibit displaying coinage, a bust of Joseph I. Irwin, and images of the bank's branches.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 30, 1971 |title=Irwin Union Bank's 100th Anniversary to Be Marked |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-banks-100th-an/181750501/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=15}}</ref> The annex's construction was one of several projects that were constructed as part of a revitalization of downtown Columbus.<ref name="Prather 1978" /> The annex was finished in 1973,<ref name="NPS p. 4" /><ref name="Hellenman a137" /> and the landscape around the expanded bank won an award from the AAN that year.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 21, 1971 |title=Mrs. Nixon Presents Landscaping Awards |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-mrs-nixon-presents-landsca/181578424/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=October 27, 1971 |title=Landscape Architects Cited |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-burlington-free-press-landscape-arch/181578763/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Burlington Free Press |page=24}}</ref> The annex originally contained the Irwin Union Bank's data-processing department in the basement, the bank's travel bureau on the first floor, a [[Trust (law)|trust]] department on the second floor, and an accounting bureau on the third floor.<ref name="The Republic 1971a" /> An open house for the annex was hosted in October 1973, attracting 500 guests, including bankers from across the U.S.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 19, 1973 |title=Bank Guests Get 'Samples', Tours |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-bank-guests-get-samples/181753149/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=14}}</ref>

==== Mid-1970s to 2000s ====
In 1976, to celebrate the [[United States Bicentennial]], a time capsule was displayed at the bank's downtown branch and then buried under a nearby sidewalk.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 25, 1976 |title=Capsule Contents in Bank Display |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-capsule-contents-in-bank-di/181753604/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=8}}</ref> The bank's travel bureau, which had offices in the downtown branch, was sold in 1980 to IVI Travel, which continued to occupy the building.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 19, 1980 |title=Irwin Union Travel Business Is Sold |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-travel-business/181756923/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=14}}</ref> The next year, the Inland Mortgage Corporation opened an office in the banking hall, occupying space vacated by the home loan department.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 1, 1981 |title=Inland Mortgage Corp. Names Local Manager |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-inland-mortgage-corp-names/181753974/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=16}}</ref> [[Prudential Bache Securities]] also opened an office at Irwin Union's downtown branch in 1984.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 5, 1984 |title=Prudential-Bache to Open Office at IUB |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-prudential-bache-to-open-of/181760316/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=12}}</ref> To improve the branch's efficiency, in 1989, the Irwin Union Bank relocated several of the downtown branch's departments from the office wings to the main banking hall. In addition, the insurance services department, which had been located at another branch, was relocated to the downtown office.<ref name="Vlahakis b210">{{cite web |last=Vlahakis |first=George J. |date=January 27, 1989 |title=Consolidation at Irwin Union Bank |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-consolidation-at-irw/181755533/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=4}}</ref> The bank also sought to consolidate the offices of its subsidiary Irwin Union Capital Corporation, which were split between the Irwin Union Bank's downtown branch and a building across the street, so it simultaneously renovated the adjacent Sparrell Block Building at 520 Washington Street.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gill |first=Joseph B. |date=May 6, 1988 |title=Irwin Union gives 'gift' |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-irwin-union-gives-g/181761280/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=4}}</ref>

The Irwin Union Bank became the Irwin Financial Corporation in 1990,<ref name="Beck 2002" /> and the building's parking lot was renovated in the late 1990s.<ref name="Saunders i282">{{cite web |last=Saunders |first=Leslie |date=September 18, 1997 |title=Study eyes downtown parking woes |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-study-eyes-downtown-parking/181763928/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-parking/181763993/ A10]}}</ref> The branch's original design remained largely unchanged in the early 21st century; ''[[Architecture: The AIA Journal]]'' wrote in 2002 that an ATM and computers were the only visible alterations to the banking hall.<ref name="A-2002-06">{{cite magazine |last=Guiney |first=Anne |date=Jun 2002 |title=Carlos Jimenez: Three projects for the Millers |url=https://www.usmodernist.org/AJ/A-2002-06.pdf |magazine=Architecture: The AIA Journal |pages=94–101 |volume=91 |issue=6 |id={{ProQuest|227888094}}}}</ref> Though Irwin Financial's headquarters remained in Columbus, it had expanded outside of Indiana, opening multiple branches across the U.S.<ref name="Beck 2002" /><ref name="Ladwig o578">{{cite web |last=Ladwig |first=Boris |date=April 22, 2001 |title=Irwin Union on new path to growth |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-on-new-path-to/181767924/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=9}}</ref> Due to a shortage of space at its downtown offices, Irwin Financial announced plans in 2000 to expand into an adjacent lot at 526 Washington Street,<ref name="Vollmer p205">{{cite web |last=Vollmer |first=Sabine |date=August 19, 2000 |title=Irwin Union plans expansion |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-plans-expansion/181765677/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> and it acquired another building at 435 Washington Street in 2003.<ref name="Ladwig d488">{{cite web |last=Ladwig |first=Boris |date=April 1, 2003 |title=Irwin Union Bank expands downtown |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-bank-expands-do/181770801/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-bank/181770849/ A10]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 5, 2003 |title=Irwin Union buys building |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tribune-irwin-union-buys-building/181771241/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Tribune |page=4}}</ref> Saarinen and Roche-Dinkeloo's structure at 500 Washington Street hosted a [[commercial bank]] branch and administrative and operational offices, while other departments were scattered across 520, 526, and 435 Washington Street.<ref name="Ladwig d488" />

Amid the [[Great Recession in the United States]], Irwin Financial went into [[receivership]] in September 2009, and the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]] (FDIC) took over as the receiver.  First Financial Bank of [[Hamilton, Ohio|Hamilton]], [[Ohio]], purchased all deposits and virtually all assets of Irwin Union Bank, including all of its branches.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 18, 2009 |title=Regulators seize assets of Irwin Financial banks |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32919361 |access-date=September 25, 2025 |publisher=NBC News}}</ref><ref name="JL t796">{{cite web |last1=Johannesen |first1=Kirk |last2=Ladwig |first2=Boris |date=September 19, 2009 |title=Irwin Union bought by First Financial |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-bought-by-first/181773303/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-bought-by-first/181773353/ A3]}}</ref> First Financial, which had been considering constructing an office complex in Columbus, canceled these plans after the merger, instead planning to use 500 Washington Street.<ref name="Johannesen b205">{{cite web |last=Johannesen |first=Kirk |date=October 11, 2009 |title=FFB drops plans for downtown center |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-ffb-drops-plans-for-downtow/181772809/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-ffb/181772927/ A4]}}</ref> Instead, First Financial decided to construct another building several blocks away, at Third and Brown streets.<ref name="Showalter w394">{{cite web |last=Showalter |first=Brenda |date=October 27, 2010 |title=Engine maker to buy bank office |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-engine-maker-to-buy-bank-of/181776093/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-hires/181776143/ A3]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=November 6, 2010 |title=First Financial planning new banking center |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tribune-first-financial-planning-new/181777876/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Tribune |page=5}}</ref> First Financial sold the Irwin Union Bank Building in October 2010 to Cummins Inc. for $5.25 million.<ref name="Showalter w394" /><ref name="The Daily Journal o276">{{cite web |date=October 27, 2010 |title=Cummins plans to add 350 jobs in 18 months |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-journal-cummins-plans-to-add-3/181776328/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Daily Journal |page=2}}</ref>

=== Use as conference center ===
[[File:Exterior of Irwin Union Bank and Trust - April 2008 - Holly Higgins.jpg|thumb|View from Jackson Street on the west]]
Cummins announced plans to renovate it into office and meeting space for 350 workers. First Financial would continue to occupy the building until its new facility was completed in 2012, with Cummins renovating the building afterward.<ref name="Showalter w394" /><ref name="The Daily Journal o276" /> A local firm, Dunlap Contractors, was hired to conduct the renovation.<ref name="Minnis y774">{{cite web |last=Minnis |first=Paul |date=November 22, 2011 |title=Parking problem expected to worsen next year |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-parking-problem-expected-to/181777792/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> By the end of 2012, Cummins was renovating the structure into the Irwin Office Building, which accommodated 525 employees. Cummins planned to convert the banking hall into an atrium, furnishing the building with mid-century furniture, while the rest of the building became open-plan offices.<ref name="Ladwig 2012" /> The initial renovation cost $7.1 million and did not involve a [[tax abatement]]. In 2013, Cummins requested and received a tax abatement for a $5.2 million renovation of Roche-Dinkeloo's 1970s annex, which involved upgrading building systems and improving the annex's accessibility.<ref name="Clark r338">{{cite web |last=Clark |first=John |date=July 3, 2013 |title=Facility to draw workers |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-facility-to-draw-workersjo/181781362/ |access-date=September 26, 2025 |website=The Republic |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-council/181781329/ A3]}}</ref> Following the restoration, [[Docomomo International]] gave the building's renovation a Citation of Merit in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 16, 2000 |title=Cummins Irwin Conference Center and Office Building |url=https://www.docomomo-us.org/register/cummins-irwin-conference-center-and-office-building |access-date=September 26, 2025 |website=Docomomo}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 29, 2015 |title=2015 Modernism in America Awards winners distinguished for preservation work + advocacy |url=https://bustler.net/news/4313/2015-modernism-in-america-awards-winners-distinguished-for-preservation-work-advocacy |access-date=September 26, 2025 |website=Bustler}}</ref>

As part of the inaugural edition of the [[Exhibit Columbus#2017: Inaugural|Exhibit Columbus]] art program, in 2017, [[Oyler Wu Collaborative]] repurposed three of the Irwin Conference Center's drive-through teller windows for a [[site-specific art]] installation called ''The Exchange.''<ref name="Sokol v309">{{cite web |last=Sokol |first=David |date=October 30, 2017 |title=Oyler Wu Opens Up in Indiana |url=https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2017/10/30/oyler-wu-architecture/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=Cultured Mag}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Shaw |first=Matt |date=November 22, 2017 |title=Looking back at Exhibit Columbus in Columbus, Indiana |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2017/11/exhibit-columbus-comeback/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Architect's Newspaper}}</ref> The artists won the [[J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize]] for this installation,<ref>{{cite web |date=January 9, 2017 |title=Miller Prize architecture finalists |url=https://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/life/2017/01/09/miller-prize-architecture-finalists/96343444/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=IndyStar}}</ref> which remained at the building for several years.<ref>{{cite web |last=Klein |first=Kristine |date=July 8, 2020 |title=Oyler Wu Collaborative repurposes Eero Saarinen bank for installation |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2020/07/08/oyler-wu-collaborative-old-bank-teller-installation/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=Dezeen}}</ref> The original banking structure was used as a conference center and work space until the onset of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Indiana]] during early 2020.<ref name="East v482">{{cite web |last=East |first=Andy |date=February 27, 2024 |title=Cummins selling Irwin Office Building and Conference Center and the Cummins Sears office building in downtown Columbus |url=https://www.therepublic.com/2024/02/27/cummins-selling-irwin-office-building-and-conference-center-and-the-cummins-sears-office-building-in-downtown-columbus/ |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The Republic News}}</ref> The building was completely vacant by October 2022,<ref name="East v482" /><ref name="Brown m942">{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Alex |date=February 28, 2024 |title=Cummins to sell two Columbus office buildings |url=https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/articles/cummins-to-sell-two-columbus-office-buildings |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=Inside INdiana Business}}</ref> and a sign within the building announced that the conference center was closed.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 2, 2024 |title=Columbus business owners see possible silver lining as Cummins sells downtown spaces |url=https://indianaeconomicdigest.net/MobileContent/Default/Major-Indiana-News/Article/Columbus-business-owners-see-possible-silver-lining-as-Cummins-sells-downtown-spaces/-3/5308/115994 |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=Indiana Economic Digest}}</ref> In February 2024, Cummins announced that it would sell the Irwin Conference Center and its office annex, as well as the adjacent Cummins Sears office building.<ref name="East v482" /><ref name="Brown m942" /> By that September, [[Toyota Material Handling]] was negotiating to buy the Irwin Conference Center complex.<ref name="Davis w204" />

== Impact ==

=== Reception ===
When the bank was constructed, the ''[[Courier Journal]]'' of [[Louisville, Kentucky]], wrote that "about the only thing in the new Irwin Union Trust Company building that looks like a bank is the vault door".<ref name="Robinson 1954" /> ''The Architectural Forum'' wrote that the Irwin Union Bank Building was "a building that belongs to its time and to the people of Columbus", and that the bank and the [[First Christian Church (Columbus, Indiana)|First Christian Church]] represented the city's 20th-century culture much as the [[Columbus City Hall (Indiana)|Columbus City Hall]] had represented the city's 19th-century culture.<ref name="AF p. 159">{{harvnb|Architectural Forum|1955|ps=.|page=159}}</ref> When the annex was built, a writer for the ''[[Cincinnati Post]]'' said that Roche's involvement in the annex's design "is both logical and appropriate since he continues [the Saarinen family's] concept of modern elegant design."<ref name="Webster u982">{{cite web |last=Webster |first=Sally |date=August 4, 1973 |title=Shapes of Columbus, Ind. |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-post-shapes-of-columbus/181752038/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Cincinnati Post |page=54}}</ref> In 1976, ''[[New York Times]]'' architectural critic [[Paul Goldberger]] wrote that the Irwin Union Trust Bank was a "gracious" structure, calling it one of several unique buildings in Columbus that stood "among the well-crafted Victorian storefront buildings that could be anywhere".<ref name="Goldberger n040">{{cite web |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=April 4, 1976 |title=Design |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/04/04/archives/design-prairie-showplace.html |access-date=September 21, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> That year, [[Paul Gapp]] of the ''Chicago Tribune'' called the bank Columbus's "greatest architectural success", enhanced in part by Kiley's landscaping.<ref name="Gapp 1976">{{cite news |last=Gapp |first=Paul |date=August 22, 1976 |title=Discovering Columbus |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-discovering-columbus/181579159/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |page=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-discovering-columbus/181579159/ G38]  |id={{ProQuest|169471276}}}}</ref>

The ''[[Green Bay Press-Gazette]]'' wrote in 1989 that the building "has aged with immense grace" despite its simple design.<ref name="Hellenman a137" /> [[Blair Kamin]] of the ''Chicago Tribune'' said that the bank building's style and scale was a suitable complement to the older structures nearby, despite its contemporary style,<ref>{{cite news |last=Kamin |first=Blair |date=November 30, 1993 |title=Exploring Columbus: This Indiana Town Specializes in Modern Architecture With a Human Touch |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-exploring-columbus-this/182743265/ |access-date=October 10, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706 |pages=C1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-exploring-columbus-this/182743246/ C5]  |id={{ProQuest|1821895272}}}}</ref> while Douglas Wissing of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that the open plan had obviated the need for bulky tellers' windows.<ref name="Wissing t338">{{cite web |last=Wissing |first=Douglas |date=May 28, 2000 |title=Little Columbus Builds a Reputation |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-may-28-tr-34810-story.html |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=Los Angeles Times |issn=0458-3035}}</ref> The preservationist Jeff Baker regarded the ceiling domes as impractical, since they carried sound across the room, but said that this unusual design feature was precisely why the building merited historical protection.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 28, 2000 |title=Profile: Efforts Under Way in Columbus, Indiana, to Have Several Structures Declared National Historic Landmarks |work=Morning Edition |publisher=NPR |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|189804631}}}}</ref> When Miller died in 2004, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' wrote that the building he had commissioned for the Irwin Union Bank was "wonderfully transparent".<ref>{{cite news |last=Forgey |first=Benjamin |date=August 21, 2004 |title=The Champion of Urbane Renewal |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=C.05 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|409655884}}}}</ref> Architecture writers Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen and Donald Albrecht wrote in 2006 that the design "has a timeless quality thanks to the skillful blend of [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe|Miesian]] formality and warm Cranbrook touches".<ref name="PA6 p. 62" /> 

[[Cultured (magazine)|''Cultured'']] magazine wrote in 2017 that "the banking hall eschewed impenetrable temple designs for an almost unprecedented glass pavilion" and that the lack of barriers between tellers and customers was unusual for the era.<ref name="Sokol v309" /> In the 2020s, ''[[The Guardian]]'' said the building "was intended to feel more like a welcoming country store" than like traditional banks,<ref name="Wainwright h955" /> while Matt Shaw said it was "an important project in the history of bank design".<ref name="Shaw h061" /> Writing about Eero Saarinen's work, a writer for ''[[Technology and Culture]]'' magazine wrote that the Irwin Union Trust Building was "a perfect glass box as radical as his father's church [the First Christian Church] had been".<ref name="Leslie b467" /> A writer for the ''[[ABA Banking Journal]]'' said the building's "very visible contents" were part of the allure of the building.<ref name="p2528884241" /> 

=== Architectural influence ===
[[File:Former Irwin Trust Bank, Columbus, Indiana.jpg|thumb|The main bank building viewed from across Fifth Street]]
The Irwin Union Bank Building helped inspire the designs of several of the bank's other branches.<ref name="Stanton 1975">{{Cite news |last=Stanton |first=Phoebe B. |date=December 21, 1975 |title=Columbus, Ind., the model 'company town' |work=The Baltimore Sun |page=D1 |issn=1930-8965 |id={{ProQuest|538538246}}}}</ref> The building's roof was emulated in a branch at State and Mapleton streets, completed in 1961 and designed by [[Harry Weese]].<ref>{{cite web |date=December 6, 1961 |title=Irwin Union Office Plans 'Open House' |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-irwin-union-office-plans-o/181568467/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=7}}</ref> ''The Baltimore Sun'' wrote in 1975 that all of Irwin Union Bank's branches in Bartholomew County were "innovative and elegant", having been inspired by the quality of the downtown branch's design.<ref name="Stanton 1975" /> Another branch of the bank, designed by [[Deborah Berke]] in 2000, was inspired by the downtown branch's lighting and decorations.<ref name="Hart i749">{{cite web |last=Hart |first=Brittany |date=April 12, 2007 |title=Architect designs 'sleek, modern' bank |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-architect-designs-sleek-m/181773172/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=1}}</ref> The Irwin Union Bank Building also inspired the design of other bank buildings in the U.S. in general.<ref name="Wainwright h955" /> The building's design was likened to that of [[Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill]]'s (SOM) [[Manufacturers Trust Company Building]] in New York, which was completed around the same time.<ref name="Shaw h061" /><ref name="p2528884241" /><ref name="Green 1954" /> The Manufacturers Trust building also had an open plan and a glass facade,<ref name="Shaw h061" /> but its highly-visible ground-level vault and hidden-away offices differed from the Irwin Union Bank Building's hidden-away vault and highly-visible ground-level offices.<ref name="p2528884241" /> 

Miller's satisfaction with the Irwin Union Bank Building's design prompted him to fund the design of other buildings in Columbus.<ref name="Gapp 1976" /><ref name="Klaric r970">{{cite web |last=Klaric |first=Betty |date=December 30, 1968 |title=How J. Irwin Miller Transformed a City |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cleveland-press-how-j-irwin-miller/181569830/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Cleveland Press |page=20}}</ref> He initially offered to pay for the city's schools before offering to finance other public buildings as well,<ref name="Klaric r970" /><ref>{{cite magazine |date=Jul 1974 |title=This is the Town Irwin Miller Built |magazine=Town & Country |pages=42–43 |volume=128 |issue=4621 |id={{ProQuest|2137409595}}}}</ref> and for several years, an average of two modernist structures were developed in Columbus annually.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bohm |first=Mary Frances |date=February 27, 1968 |title=Schools that say 'now': Quality emphasized Long a family interest |work=The Christian Science Monitor |page=9 |issn=0882-7729 |id={{ProQuest|511023375}}}}</ref> ''[[The Architectural Review]]'' of Britain described Saarinen's buildings for Miller as an "important legacy from Saarinen for the environment".<ref>{{cite web |date=September 8, 1967 |title=City Architecture Is Praised |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-columbus-herald-city-architecture-is/181569066/ |access-date=September 22, 2025 |website=The Columbus Herald |page=5}}</ref> The high concentration of modern buildings in Columbus, including the Irwin Union Bank Building, helped make it one of the [[American Institute of Architects]]' top U.S. cities for innovation and design.<ref name="Wissing t338" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dannatt |first=Adrian |date=October 19, 2002 |title=Columbus, city of wonders The Indiana town's accumulation of buildings by famous architects is unlike any other in the world |work=Financial Times |page=13 |id={{ProQuest|249365238}}}}</ref> The building's design was also depicted in ''[[Columbus (2017 film)|Columbus]]'', a 2017 film set in the city.<ref name="McCarthy z359">{{cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Bonnie |date=July 29, 2017 |title=Discovering 'Columbus': New movie puts Midcentury architecture in the spotlight |url=https://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-columbus-movie-20170729-story.html |access-date=September 26, 2025 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

In early 2000, the Irwin Union Bank Building and five other modernist structures in Columbus were nominated for inclusion on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] (NRHP) as [[National Historic Landmark]]s (NHLs).<ref name="Mullen p652">{{cite web |last=Mullen |first=Ruth |date=January 24, 2000 |title=Architectural treasures |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-architectural-trea/181766672/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Indianapolis Star |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-treasures/181766637/ A2]}}</ref><ref name="McCawley a609">{{cite web |last=McCawley |first=Harry |date=January 6, 2000 |title=Praise for Columbus still travels through country |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-praise-for-columbus-still-t/181767540/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=10}}</ref> The [[United States Department of the Interior]] designated four of these buildings, including the Irwin Union Bank Building, as landmarks that May.<ref name="Burnette x829">{{cite web |last=Burnette |first=Andy |date=May 31, 2000 |title=City buildings on historic-landmarks list |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-republic-city-buildings-on-historic/181765858/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Republic |page=12}}</ref><ref name="Haukebo t406">{{cite web |last=Haukebo |first=Kirsten |date=May 27, 2000 |title=Distillery named historic landmark |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-distillery-named-his/181766917/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Courier-Journal |page=F1}}</ref> This was the first time in U.S. history that several buildings were simultaneously designated as NHLs before turning 50 years old,<ref name="The Daily Journal k465">{{cite web |date=June 30, 2001 |title=Irwin Union Bank's headquarters earns historic landmark designation |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-journal-irwin-union-banks-hea/181766224/ |access-date=September 25, 2025 |website=The Daily Journal |page=6}}</ref> the minimum cutoff required of most buildings on the NRHP.<ref name="Mullen p652" /> The Irwin Union Bank Building was designated for being one of the first bank buildings in the U.S. with an open plan and glass facade;<ref name="Ladwig 2012" /><ref name="Haukebo t406" /> the designation allowed the building to qualify for federal preservation funds.<ref name="Burnette x829" /> The landmark nominations themselves received national media attention, in part because very few NRHP sites were designated as NHLs, let alone in such a small area.<ref name="McCawley a609" />

==See also==
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Indiana]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Bartholomew County, Indiana]]
* [[List of works by Eero Saarinen]]

==References==

=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{cite magazine |date=Oct 1955 |title=Columbus, Indiana… A Study in Small-Town Progress |url=https://www.usmodernist.org/AF/AF-1955-10.pdf |magazine=Architectural Forum |volume=103 |issue=4 |ref={{Harvid|Architectural Forum|1955}}}}
* {{cite report |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/4fa0109b-7cad-4e9d-8675-7ba35e837dfa/ |title=Irwin Union Bank and Trust |date=May 16, 2000 |publisher=[[National Register of Historic Places]], [[National Park Service]] |access-date= |ref={{harvid|National Park Service|2000}} |website=}}
* {{cite book |last=Merkel |first=Jayne |title=Eero Saarinen |publisher=Phaidon |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7148-6592-8 |page= |oclc=57750853}}
* {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/eerosaarinenshap0000saar |title=Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-300-12237-4 |editor-last=Pelkonen |editor-first=Eeva-Liisa |editor-last2=Albrecht |editor-first2=Donald |url-access=registration}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ev6kkwEACAAJ |title=Columbus, Indiana: A Look at Modern Architecture & Art |date=2012 |publisher=Visitors Center |isbn=978-0-615-74469-8}}
*  {{cite book | last=Kriplen | first=Nancy | title=J. Irwin Miller: The Shaping of an American Town | publisher=Indiana University Press | year=2019 | doi=10.2307/j.ctvs9fh0p | isbn=978-0-253-04381-8 | jstor=j.ctvs9fh0p | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvs9fh0p }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Irwin Union Bank and Trust}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070701210324/http://www.irwinunion.com/iub/about_us/irwin_history.jsp Irwin Union Bank History]
{{Columbus, Indiana}}
{{Eero Saarinen}}
{{NHLs in IN}}
{{NRHP in Bartholomew County, Indiana}}
{{portal bar|Architecture|Indiana|National Register of Historic Places}}

[[Category:1950s architecture in the United States]]
[[Category:1954 establishments in Indiana]]
[[Category:Bank buildings in Indiana]]
[[Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1954]]
[[Category:Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana]]
[[Category:Eero Saarinen buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Modernist architecture in Indiana]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Columbus, Indiana]]