etting out at 9am from Chicago and heading eastward to Columbus, Indiana, we drive past hundreds of glitzy tall buildings along Lake Shore Drive before passing by a scattering of small industrial and repair facilities, through corn fields and then across a gigantic wind farm stretching for twenty or thirty miles.

To tell the truth, we had never heard of Columbus, IN, until my friend suggested it for an overnight visit during our short stay at their place in Chicago.

She assures me that, as an architect, I will like it very much. We hop into the car, and while her husband drives and she navigates via Google Maps, we exchange family gossip and Urdu poetry and enjoy old songs on the car radio.

Having taken a midway stop for burgers and coffee, we arrive at our destination in downtown Columbus by 3pm and check into Hotel Indigo with its bright and cheerful, quaintly modern 1970s entrance lobby, and are guided into a pair of rooms also furnished in an off-beat décor.

We leave our bags and immediately set out on foot to get a feel for the place. Situated in Bartholomew County, some 250 miles from Chicago, this town of 55,000 is home to unexpected world-class architecture and unforgettable public art and green spaces.

Back in the 1950s, industrialist J Irwin Miller, then chairman of Cummins Inc (an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures and distributes engines, filtration and power generation products), started a foundation that funded some of the world’s leading architects to design buildings in Columbus.

Topmost among these, the Irwin Union Bank, now the Cummins Conference Centre, the North Christian Church and the elegant Miller House were all designed by Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), a Finnish-American architect who also designed the Gateway Arch in St Louis, the sculptural TWA Terminal at New York and the Dulles International Airport terminal building in DC, still in proud use today. IM Pei, the designer of the Louvre Pyramid in Paris, designed the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library here.

A large, arch-like sculpture by English artist Henry Moore sits across from the library. This is said to be his largest work in the US. Some sixty other buildings were designed by equally noted architects, among them Richard Meier, Cesar Pelli, Kevin Roche, James Polshek, Harry Weese and Robert Venturi, to name a few.

The area’s history goes back some 3,000 years when native people lived along the Flat Rock River and Clifty Creek before the European settlers arrived in the 18^th and 19^th Centuries. The fertile land, abundant water and forests filled with good timber convinced many of them to stay and start a settlement here.

In 1850, Joseph Ireland Irwin, great-grandfather of J Irwin Miller, started a successful dry goods store on Washington Street, Columbus’s main street. His safe was the safest place in town for people to keep money, so he opened the Irwin Union Bank.

The area’s history goes back some 3,000 years when native people lived along the Flat Rock River and Clifty Creek before the European settlers arrived in the 18th and 19th Centuries.

As we walk around, with City Guide maps in hand, we tick off buildings, sculptures and other memorable features in the spotlessly clean and green downtown until we come to Zaharakos, an ice cream parlour and museum opened by immigrants from Greece in 1900. The lure of having some ice cream is irresistible.

Today, Zaharakos is everyone’s favourite spot for a sundae. With its Mexican onyx counters and North German orchestration, it is like stepping back in time. A Tiffany-style lamp and carbonated water dispenser are on display, an enormous 50-foot back bar of mahogany, stained glass, mirrors and the most extensive collection of pre-1900 soda fountains in a late 1800s Victorian-style suite.

Early the following day, we have breakfast in a traditional diner, lovingly restored and retained in its 1920s glamour. We have tickets for the 2-hour Miller House and Garden Tour, so the four of us join a group of eight others at the Visitors’ Centre next to the county library we have already visited the afternoon before. While there, we check out the beautiful gift shop sporting the work of local artistic talent, admire the art in Gallery 506 and experience an installation in the stairwell by the renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly.

Before we are taken in a van to the House, we are first shown a brief documentary film about it. The Miller House, built in 1957, is now maintained through a trust fund allocated through the sale of artwork owned by the Miller family. Warm, colourful and alive, the House with all its furnishings seems as if it was still being lived in and as contemporary as if it had been built yesterday. For me, who has been reading about Eero Saarinen and his work since my first year in architecture school, this visit is akin to a pilgrimage. Having visited many iconic homes, I find this 7,000sqft House, with its interiors designed by Alexander Girard, select furniture designed by Charles and Ray Eames and the landscape over 13.5 acres designed by Dan Kiley truly outstanding: the work of a world-class design team.

Interestingly, Columbus has inspired and is also the setting for a beautiful film released in 2017, titled Columbus, of course, in which many of the town’s famous Modernist buildings are featured. The interiors of the Miller House are also shown and would appeal to all architects, thanks to the stunning photography by filmmaker Kogonada.

In 1991, the American Institute of Architects rated Columbus sixth on its list of the top 10 American cities for architectural quality. Seven of the 60 public buildings in Columbus have been classified as National Historic Landmarks, rare for a relatively little-known Mid-West town.

Having seen so much in so short a visit and seeing the film as well, we have the feeling there was much we may have missed. We promise ourselves we must come again another day, soon.

The writer is an architect. He may be reached at mukhtar.husain@gmail.com