Folwell Hall - University of Minnesota Old Campus Historic District
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meralgia
N 44° 58.710 W 093° 14.105
15T E 481465 N 4980588
When Old Main burned in 1904, Folwell Hall was built to house displaced departments. Named for William Watts Folwell, first president of the University, 1869-84.
Waymark Code: WM4AY9
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 07/31/2008
Views: 61
The following is text from the Application to the National Register of Historic Places Inventory (received and entered in 1984):
“Constructed between the years 1905 through 1907, according to designs by Saint Paul architect C.H. Johnston Sr., Folwell Hall (1907) was the result of a legislative appropriation of $350,000 plus insurance payments received from the destruction of Old Main. The building faces University Avenue S.E. between Fifteenth Avenue and Sixteenth Avenue. Jacobean in mode, it is three stories in height on a high basement. Materials for construction are a yellow/orange brick with cut granite foundation and basement. Decorative elements such as strapwork, sculptural figures, and ornamental panels are of gray terra cotta made in the imitation of granite. Concrete is used for floors and some walls with tile for other walls, making the building virtually fireproof.
Folwell Hall is essentially rectangular in plan and measures 322 feet by eighty feet. Dominant design features are the projecting pavilions at east and west ends and central entries, strapwork, tri-part windows with “stone” surrounds, sculptural panels and figures at the cornice line, high hipped roof springing from the parapet, and a multitude of “mock” chimneys.
On the interior, the woodwork is of dark oak throughout and the main floor corridor is lined in matched-grain marble panels. The space is divided between classrooms and offices used by the Languages and Humanities.
Folwell Hall was named in honor of Dr. William Watts Folwell, first president of the University (1869-84).”
Folwell Hall was built in 1906-07 to replace Old Main, which had been destroyed in a 1904 fire. Constructed during Cyrus Northrup's term as the university's second president, the building was originally designated as Northrup Hall, but a storm of protest from students, alumni, newspapers and the general public led to it being renamed Folwell Hall, after the University's first president, William W. Folwell.
The building currently houses:
* Spanish & Portuguese, Department of
* German, Scandinavian & Dutch, Department of
* French & Italian, Department of
* Asian Languages & Literatures
* CLA Language Center
* Classrooms
* Computer lab
* Lounge
* Vending machines
Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): University of Minnesota Old Campus Historic District
Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link]
Address:
Folwell Hall
9 Pleasant Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below)
Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]
NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): Not listed
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