Harry Weese was a larger than life figure. He dominated Chicago architecture in the 1960s and ’70s and then had a sorry descent at the end of his life. (See this detailed Chicago magazine article from this past summer.)  He also had a major impact on the landscape of Washington (think Metro and Arena Stage).  The National Building Museum will hold a panel, The Architecture of Harry Weese, on March 9 from 6:30 to 8 pm. Robert Bruegmann, historian and author of The Architecture of Harry Weese (Norton),and Roger Lewis, The Washington Post‘s “Shaping the City” columnist, will explore the life of Weese, focusing on his local. A book-signing will follow the panel discussion. Weese also had a major impact on Columbus, Indiana, which I explored last year. Here are a few photos of Weese’s work in Columbus, a mecca of modernism in the Midwest.

Weese's 1965 First Baptist Church in Columbus is a National Historic Landmark.

The soaring sanctuary of the First Baptist Church.

Weese's 1957 Lillian C. Schmitt Elementary School was the first building in Columbus to be built under J. Irwin Miller's effort to foster excellence in civic design.

Custom home by Weese in Columbus. It originally had a flat roof.