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Columbus, Indiana
North Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, Tipton Lane, was founded in 1955 by eighteen families from First (Tabernacle) Christian Church, visited during this convention. Initially meeting in homes, the group was offered space to worship in Saint Paul Episcopal Church, Eighth Street, on Sunday evenings.
The congregation purchased the Caldwell residence and property at the southeast corner of Twenty-fifth Street and Caldwell Place, and an addition was constructed for worship space. George Caldwell had built a number of buildings at the 1904 World's Fair in Saint Louis, Missouri, and when these buildings were demolished, he returned to Columbus with a number of items to be included in the residence. The congregation began meeting there in February 1956, attended by the Reverend Beauford Norris, president of the Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, visited during this convention. The first pastor called by the church was the Reverend James L. Stoner.
In 1957 the congregation purchased five acres bounded by U.S. Highway 31, Sycamore Street, Tipton Lane, and Home Avenue for a new church complex. On February 2, 1959, Eero Saarinen, whose father, Eliel, had designed the present First Christian Church, was commissioned as architect. The younger architect may be best known for his designs...