The Columbus Indiana Art and Architectural Tours

by Steve W

At the suggestion of a friend, we stopped on the way from Bloomington, Indiana to Louisville, Kentucky, in the small town of Columbus, Indiana. We had been told that there was some great street art and architecture, and since the drive to Louisville was not too long, we had plenty of time for a stopover.

Below are a few of the photos we took as we walked around town for a few hours.

There is a mix of older and more modern architecture:

An office building downtown

The original City Hall

Cerealine Manufacturing Company

AT&T Switching Station

County Courthouse

New jail, with open air dome where inmates can exercise.

The Inn at Irwin Gardens

There was a monument to memorialize local soldiers who had died in various wars. In addition to the names of the fallen soldiers, there were excerpts of letters from some of them to their families. We found two of them especially moving, as the soldiers died very shortly after having written home.

There were also numerous pieces of art on the streets.

"The Large Arch" by Henry Moore

"Conversation Plinth" by IKD

"Eos" by Dessa Kirk

"Flamenco" by Ruth Aizuss Migdal

All in all, time well spent in a small town that we otherwise might have missed. On to Louisville.

Bloomington, Indiana

by Rosemary

We left Illinois for another state with a flat landscape and plenty of cornfields - Indiana.

In Bloomington, we enjoyed the hospitality of our friends Melanie and Eric Isaacson. On our first full day in town, we went hiking with Eric and his buddy Mike near Crooked Creek Lake in Yellowwood State Forest.

We didn't spot any wildlife, except for a couple of little toads. This one sat motionless in the path, apparently hoping we wouldn't notice him.

The next day, Eric and Melanie took us on a walking tour of the town. We walked to Indiana University, which has an attractive campus and many interesting buildings.

Nearby, a plaque commemorates composer/performer Hoagy Carmichael, who was born in Bloomington.

Among the city's historical landmarks is the former Johnson's Creamery, whose smokestack is now in use as a communications tower.

We also enjoyed this gigantic outdoor sculpture, "Bloomington Banquet", by Dale Enochs.

Eric recommended that we take the architectural tour in Columbus Indiana, a city less than 40 miles from Bloomington. We took his advice, and headed for Columbus the next day. See our next blog post for details.
 

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