Eddy Hall, Minneapolis

Eddy Hall, built in 1886, holds the title of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus’s eldest surviving structure. Back when the university was experiencing its first major growth spurt, architect Leroy S. Buffington brought the Queen Anne style to life here, using red brick, red sandstone trim, a raised basement, a gabled roof, and a square tower. At a modest $30,000 price tag for construction (plus a $10,000 southern expansion in 1903), Eddy Hall emerged as a symbol of the campus’s ambitions.

Originally known as the Mechanic Arts Building, the structure once buzzed with the university’s mathematics and engineering departments, as well as a handful of labs. That all changed in 1911 when the building was renamed to honor Professor Henry Turner Eddy, a mathematical and engineering luminary who also served as Dean of the Graduate School. Over subsequent years, it has played host to an eclectic cast of occupants: the School of Business, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, and various administrative offices, to name a few. For nearly four decades, from 1936 to 1974, it even served as headquarters for the university’s radio station, KUOM.

Time has not been kind to Eddy Hall. By 2011, the once-proud building was showing its age, prompting discussions of a multi-million dollar overhaul. However, the funding never materialized, and the proposed renovations remain in limbo. Empty and awaiting a new chapter, Eddy Hall still stands as a campus icon. Fortunately, there’s a glimmer of hope: a major infrastructure upgrade in the Knoll area kicked off in 2019, potentially setting the stage for Eddy Hall’s long-awaited preservation.