One sure way to make me a happy boy is to provide shelter and an endowment for a fantastic piece of Modern architecture that might otherwise decay into dust or be plowed under the dirt to make room for a big box store. Such is the case today, with this story coming out of Columbus, Indiana, via the IndyStar.com, about Eero Saarinen’s masterwork of residential Modernism, The Irwin House. According to the article from today, Wednesday, Nov. 19, the Indianapolis Museum of Art will be acquiring the house, via a donation from the children of the Millers, for whom the house was built. The family, besides donating the house for the greater good, is also establishing a $5 million endowment. The IMA will be fundraising another $3 million to go towards upkeep.

This is an excellent thing for Mid-Century Modern Architecture, for the Midwest and for the cause of Mid-20th Century preservation everywhere. The house is a magnificent piece of Modernism that was well-used, well-loved and well-lived in. One of the donating heirs, quoted in the story, talks about what a wonderful place it was to grow up in, and I can only imagine. While there are not a lot of pictures of the house available online, there are a few excellent ones taken by the Indy Star and published with the article. The most spectacular of all the excellent Modern flourishes in the house is a “Conversation Pit” in the center of the living room, four feet deep, lined with pillows and benches and looking like the perfect place to sit and debate the merits of such a thing as a “Conversation Pit” in the first place. I also bet you could have some killer holiday family games of Risk down there…

I am ever a fan of Saarinen, who had a great architectural love affair with America, and the Midwest – he designed St. Louis’s Gateway Arch, among others. It is fitting that, with all the monumental and monolithic structures the man designed that this lovely house stands as one of his greatest works, and it is on one of the most intimate scales, if you can call 7,000 square feet intimate… It will, however, be exciting once the museum has control of the house and grounds and it opens it up to the general public for tours and scholarship. If I can get to Columbus, IN anytime in the future I’ll guarantee you a trip to the Miller House will be in the offing.

Here are a few facts about The Miller House, courtesy of The Columbus Architectural Archives:

The roughly 7,000-square-foot house, built in 1957, features an open layout and flat roof above glass and stone walls. Its interior walls are marble and plaster; the exterior walls are sandblasted white marble and cleft black slate. The floors are predominantly travertine.

Some of the furnishings are fixed, such as the travertine dining table that includes a fountain in the middle. Another unusual feature: The fireplace descends from the ceiling and provides warmth and light for 360 degrees.

Interior Designer Alexander Girard gave the home a warm look, using modernist furniture, as well as traditional Western pieces and folk art. He created four distinct seasons of rugs, draperies and upholsteries tied to color, such as reds for winter and greens for spring. When the Millers realized that the underside of their piano was visible while sitting in the sunken conversation pit, Girard painted it scarlet red.

Here’s a link to the Indy Star. Check out the pictures of the house, especially the “Conversation Pit.” Absolutely love it…

-Noah Fleisher, Nov. 19, 2008