The Cathedral Builder: A Biography of J. Irwin Miller

by Charles E. Mitchell Rentschler

"
The decision to write this first-ever biography of J. Irwin Miller stemmed from learning that his children in 2010 had given his papers to the Indiana Historical Society, of Indianapolis, IN, with the intent of helping the public become more familiar with this giant 20th century American industrialist. Known as the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Collection, the bequest contains 554 boxes of archived, but not digitized, material which took 85 days to sift through manually, page-by-page, the author motivated by the same rush French farmers must get when their hog finds that occasional truffle. Cited in 45% of our foot-notes, the ISM collection not surprisingly was the single biggest source of data for this book.

Next in importance were interviews with more than 80 people (five already deceased) across a broad spectrum of Miller’s life — care-giver to Congressman, pilot to pastor, banker to board member. Most helpful of all was Miller’s son, William I, (Will) Miller, who granted us seven interviews. Additionally, the author relied upon a handful of books about institutions that fundamentally grounded his life, including Cummins Engine, Yale University and Christian Theological Seminary.

Nearly forty years living in the Columbus IN area and associating with “the engine company” as, sequentially, employee, supplier and investment analyst have provided the author with unique insights. As a measure of his conectedness, the author knows (or knew) 34 of the 61 persons interviewed for The Engine That Could, the company-sponsored history of Cummins, published in 1997.

The author knew Miller personally because their wives were actively involved in running the Columbus branch of the Indianapolis Art Museum.
"

Genres: Biography

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 17, 2014

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book since after learning about J Irwin Miller’s architectural contributions to his hometown Columbus, Indiana. But tbh, there were parts of this biography that kind of frustrated me.

For one, Irwin’s funding of the arts/architecture is one of the most significant contributions he made for his town (and nation) but the architecture in his town was essentially only mentioned in one chapter. When Eero Saarinen was introduced, there was more focus on how Eero was never able to finish the North Christian Church and how it took 10 years to complete. Eero designed two of the Miller family’s residences before the completion of the church and it was frustrating to see that barely mentioned if at all. Considering how Eero was one of Irwin’s best friends, I did not appreciate how the incomplete church was the main thing stated about him. One of the two Miller Houses that Eero designed for the Miller family would eventually be recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 2000, but there was no mention of that or the other 6 buildings in Columbus that would also be recognized as National Historic Landmarks (most of which the Miller Family played a huge role in orchestrating). Columbus is ranked 6th in the nation for its architectural innovation and is probably a huge source of pride for its residents but this is also not mentioned. Tours for the Miller House were open to the public in 2011 and this book was published in 2014 so it would’ve been nice to include aspects of the house considering that this is a biography about the man who lived there but the book shows no proof that the author stepped foot in the house at all.

Irwin was constantly stated as someone who supported equal rights for all genders and races in this book. I liked reading about just how much Irwin contributed to the civil rights movement for example. But I felt that the author’s appreciation for Irwin's values was disingenuous at times. There is absolutely no mention of Xenia’s contributions (to the arts and barely anything about her philanthropy). If Irwin supported equal rights for all genders and races, why was Irwin's wife barely mentioned? She worked closely with Alexandar Girard in the interior design of the Miller House but that is not included. I found the lack of mention of the Xenia’s contributions or shared love for the arts odd considering how the author states that he knew the family personally because his wife and Xenia were both involved in running the Columbus branch of the Indianapolis Art Museum in the description of the book. The absence of this (or any personal accounts) just feels like the author (and his wife) did not actually know the Miller family personally. There is also no mention of how other important women in his family appreciated the arts. His sister, Clementine, and her husband commissioned Henry Weese to design their summer house so Clementine clearly shared Irwin’s love for architecture but this was also not mentioned. The author goes into detail about the lives of Irwin's father and Xenia's father so he can't really argue that he just wanted the focus to be mainly on Irwin himself.

The author says that he interviewed Will Miller, one of Xenia and Irwin’s children. Will states that his father found music more important than architecture but Irwin’s love for music is honestly barely mentioned compared to the highs and lows of the Cummins Engine Company (which honestly I felt could’ve been shortened). This part was essentially condensed into a few pages at the end of one of the chapters. Overall I would’ve loved more mention of how Irwin’s love for music influenced his children. Since the author interviewed Will Miller, I would’ve loved to have more personal accounts of how music was integrated into the family culture. There are pictures online of the Miller family playing instruments together (e.g. Will playing the flute and piano at the Miller residence) so music clearly had some sort of influence.

I wouldn’t be so upset about this had the author included an author’s note in the back stating why he chose not to focus on certain arguably significant aspects of Irwin’s life. The way that this was written felt like the author had more interest in exploring the Miller family’s business endeavors than he was interested in the Miller family’s support for the arts. Honestly it felt like the author did not care whatsoever about architecture or design at all since the author does not show strong understanding of how significant Irwin's contributions were. The author is able to state how certain business men were associated to what businesses but he does little to no justice to associate the designers to any of their significant designs (e.g. I.M. Pei designed the library so it would've been nice to mention that I.M. Pei would later design the Lourve Pyramid). There were other aspects of this biography that bothered me but this is already an essay so I'll just leave it at that.

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently visited Columbus, Indiana to enjoy and tour the architecture. I stayed at the Inn at Irwin Gardens, the original Irwin mansion, and toured the Miller House while I was there. I became fascinated with the Miller family, and their passion for and influence on the town.

I found this book to be a riveting story about a family that became staggeringly wealthy yet stayed humble and focused on the needs of their fellow workers, citizens, and children in their community.

[Greg L.Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful biography of a brilliant person who knew how to guide his company into the 21st Century but also care for his local community. Fascinating details of his family history and upbringing with nice vignettes of Columbus, Indiana and the Cummins Corporation.

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

J. Irwin Miller was a name I knew from early on. My first savings account was at his family-owned bank. So many of my friends had family who worked for Cummins Engine Co. And the architecture of buildings the Miller's foundation would aide in the design of in Columbus, Indiana, my parents' hometown, captured my imagination. So all of my thoughts about the man were from a very localized basis. So this opened my eyes to how much of a national figure Miller was as well. I can tell what a labor of love this was for the author.

[Josh Mings · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed learning more about the man that shaped my hometown and set me on a course to becoming an architect, I feel this book focused too much on Cummins business operations and not enough focus was given on how Columbus came to be shaped by Irwin. One chapter and a few sporadic mentions are not enough to tell the poetic story of J. Irwin, Eero, and Columbus.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight to the servant leader who was responsible for so much good in my hometown of Columbus, Indiana.