Mayor’s commission explores historical significance of Government Center

The 46-year-old Columbus Government Center has historic significance that should be considered as the city tries to determine what to do with the building, a local preservationist said Thursday.

Elizabeth Barker, executive director of Historic Columbus, presented a historic overview to the Mayor’s Commission on Government Center and Judicial Building, which met in a conference room on the site.

“First, let me be very clear – what I am presenting today is information to expand the discussion and the context in which you look at the Government Center,” said Barker, who is also a member of the commission. “This is not a formal position from Historic Columbus and it is not to eliminate any options. All options, including demolition, are certainly on the table.”

Barker showed the commission PowerPoint slides of how the location changed over the decades, starting with the city’s first courthouse in the early 1800s.

“Even as the building changed over the years, you will see there are three continuous elements,” she pointed out, “the city’s original grid pattern, the public use of the block, and the incorporation of public open space.”

The city built the current tower in 1971 after outgrowing the old building and looking toward government consolidation, Barker said. The Springer Opera House was considered as an option for a parking lot, which sparked a community backlash.

“The group that saved the Springer in the early to mid-1960s, formed Historic Columbus in 1966 – a direct response to the planning of this building,” she told the group. “And for 51 years, Historic Columbus has been working to save our sense of place, revitalize our neighborhoods, draw people to our town, and make not only a visual impact, but an economic one as well.”

Barker said the tower and its wings have historical significance because of the architecture, a combination of two mid-century styles - International and Brutalism.

“Brutalist buildings have a look of weight and massiveness that immediately sets them apart from those of other predominantly rectangular, flat-roofed styles,” she said. “Concrete is the favorite material. It is always left exposed and often rough-surfaced. This really describes what is happening at the bottom of the tower and in the large planters around the wings and the stairways.”

Above that rough concrete is the International style “characterized by a lack of ornament, flat roofs, smooth and uniform wall surfaces, windows that look as though they are a continuation of the surface rather than holes in the wall.”

Barker said the commission should be very careful when considering what to do with the building.

“In the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, Columbus lost many buildings, residential and commercial, to the argument that newer was better,” she said “The Columbus Historic District was also full of empty lots by the 1960s because as people moved to the suburbs, it was cheaper to pay property taxes on a vacant lot than fix up their downtown homes or business buildings – because why? They weren’t considered worthy of saving at that time.

“Mid-century modern architecture is now in the same danger zone chronologically that late 19th-century buildings were in during the urban renewal period of the 1960s,” she said. “These buildings are old enough to be considered dated, but not old enough to be considered ‘historic.’ The exact same was true of all those buildings that got torn down in the 40s, 50s, and 60s and are now are so lamented.”

At the end of her presentation, the commission discussed the significance of the history and what impact it could have on the possibility of demolishing the tower and its wings.

Kristen Miller Zohn, a local art historian and downtown resident, gave some input.

“I would say that just because something is of an age and of a style, the next question is: ‘Is it a good example of that age and of that style,” she said. The combination of the two architectural styles may, or may not, have been successful, she added. And there have been changes over the years that strayed from the original design.

Neil Clark, an architect with Hecht Burdeshaw Architects, one of the architectural firms now helping the commission explore options for the Government Center, said the Tower is an iconic structure that many people associate with the city.

Other attendees suggested that the commission explore what emotional attachments citizens may have to the building. Mayor Teresa Tomlinson recommended that such questions be included in a public survey that will be conducted.

“The takeaway from today is that all of our options are on the table,” the mayor said. “But I think what’s important is that we be very respectful of the decision that we make because there’s a reason why this building is here and there’s a reason why it was built this way even though we can’t fully appreciate it today.”

This story was originally published April 13, 2017 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Mayor’s commission explores historical significance of Government Center."