The Red Bud City

The architecture of Columbus offers the casual traveler or seasoned student of design an inspirational look into the past. The entire downtown is an historic district on the National Register. What is perhaps even more unusual is that buildings such as the 1892 City Hall, 1916 Park Pavilion and 1912 Carnegie Library all still serve their original purposes. The 1919 Farmers and Merchants Union Bank is Columbus’ greatest claim to fame. Every year architects, students and enthusiasts come to view and photograph the building, one of the last designed by the great Louis Sullivan. The tapestry brick, elaborately decorated with terra cotta ornamentation, is truly something to behold, and the five arched, stained glass windows cast a gorgeous light as the sun is setting. The bank maintains a small museum collection related to its history, and to Sullivan and his works, that is open and free to the public during regular banking hours.