LANDMARKSL a n d M a r k s Pillsbury Hall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1889 (MHS COLLeCTIOnS) Pillsbury Hall, Minneapolis Since opening its doors nian Romanesque style, Pillsbury stunning new buildings by many of in 1889, Pillsbury Hall has Hall also offers lessons in the forces the stars of the contemporary archi- been home to a variety of Univer- of nature. The large rusticated stones tectural firmament. Although they sity of Minnesota departments. It on the lower portion of the build- may be newer and shinier, this crop seems fitting that mineralogy and ing are undeniably anchored by the of recent buildings has done little to geology were among those disci- earth’s gravitational pull, and the diminish the aesthetic and textural plines, because the hall resembles a squat columns of the arcade appear charm of the historic hall; in fact, large, multi faceted specimen of rock to have narrowly escaped being they only serve to counterpoint its wrested from the earth and await- drawn by that force into the ground. beauty. More than 100 years old, ing scientific study. The building The massive arches of the entrances Pillsbury Hall remains a head-turner was, in fact, constructed from locally compress and narrow as they recede, of a building and an expressive re- quarried Minnesota stone, much of exerting a visual magnetic pull on minder that they certainly don’t which retains a rough-hewn charac- anyone who ascends the stairways. build them like they used to. ter. But the facades also reveal the The structure, one of the univer- —Jane King Hession artistry of the craftsmen who skill- sity’s oldest extant buildings, stands fully transformed the hard material in the National Register-listed Old into delicate carvings, gargoyles, and Campus Historic District, once the Jane King Hession is an architectural polychromatic patterns. heart of the land-grant school. Today, writer and historian based in Alexandria, Virginia, who remains a Minnesotan at Designed by LeRoy Buffington the district is only a small sector of heart. She is currently working on a mono- and Harvey Ellis in the Richardso- the sprawling campus, which boasts graph on modern architect Lisl Close. Spring 2010 3 Copyright of Minnesota History is the property of the Minnesota Historical Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. Users may print, download, or email articles, however, for individual use. To request permission for educational or commercial use, contact us. www.mnhs.org/mnhistory .