Columbus, Indiana’s Lucabe Coffee Wins Docomomo US Award
Lucabe Coffee Co.’s second location restored Harry Weese’s iconic Irwin Union Bank building
Columbus, IN – Docomomo US, the organization that preserves modern architecture, landscapes, and design through principled advocacy, collaboration, and celebration, announced today that it had selected Lucabe Coffee to receive a 2022 Modernism in America Award Design Citation of Merit.
In 2021, Lucabe Coffee owners, Tyler and Alissa Hodge, opened their second location within the iconic Irwin Union Bank building at Eastbrook Plaza.
Designed by Harry Weese in 1961, the building exemplified the considerations of the Motor Age, featuring four drive-thru windows and a large parking area just outside of a major arterial road. This 5,000-square-foot split-level building is best known for its crenulated towers, which Weese likened to a child’s vision of a castle. The gray-glazed brick creates an unusual visual impression, which earned it the local title of the ‘dead horse,’ with its four original towers appearing like feet stretching into the sky. It had been vacant for more than a year before Lucabe took it over.
Owners Alissa and Tyler Hodge noticed the building when they first moved to Columbus, and with the recent proliferation of biking and pedestrian paths in the area, they saw an opportunity to adaptively reuse the structure as a new coffee house and gathering space for the community. The floor in particular was an achievement. Tyler led the efforts overnights and weekends to remove carpeting and multiple layers of glue. The beauty of the green slate floor was restored, and it is now the centerpiece of the building. One of the four large tower elements required structural engineers and skilled tradespeople to restore its drive-thru functionality, and the bank vault was transformed into a children’s area.
Alissa Hodge says, “because of its distinctiveness, this was one of the first buildings I fell in love with upon moving to Columbus. We are so thrilled that we’ve been able to give it a new life.”
Jury member Susan Macdonald noted that “the merit in this project is the care, attention, and community effort taken for a building in an important neighborhood.” Jury chair Henry Moss concurred, stating “it is a valuable example of passionate recognition of historic modernism by entrepreneurial residents, that was realized largely outside of academics and specialist professionals.”
Download press release here.
About Landmark Columbus Foundation
Landmark Columbus Foundation cares for, celebrates, and advances the cultural heritage of Columbus, Indiana. To fulfill its mission, LCF directs two locally-engaged and globally- connected programs that are interwoven in their impact and networks: Exhibit Columbus and Columbus Design Institute. landmarkcolumbusfoundation.org
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