Northrop Mall

Northrop Mall, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was one of the earliest spaces designed for the University of Minnesota. In 1908,  architect Cass Gilbert , known for designing the Minnesota State Capitol, used  Beaux-Arts  principles to create its grand and classical form (1) (2).

Since its construction in the early 1900s, the mall and its surrounding buildings have been the iconic image of the university. Northrop Mall played an integral role in the daily activities of students. Though it seemed to be an idyllic space for education and opportunity, Northrop Mall did not serve all students equally.

At the time Northrop Mall was designed, Eurocentrism in architectural theory was especially prevalent. The term " Eurocentric " applies to countless aspects of western culture, but in terms of architecture it is referring to European aesthetics, like Greek columns, as well as European forms, like Roman plazas (3). Eurocentric architecture was (and continues to be) regarded as the ideal style of architecture, therefore it has many subsets.

 Beaux Arts , a form of Eurocentric architecture, is formal, symmetrical, grand, and communicates power (2). This style of architecture was typically used for institutional architecture, like government buildings and college campuses. Beaux Arts architecture consists of a set of principles and elements:

• The use of symmetry to create a formal setting
• Sprawling lawns with wide paths
• Raised first floors with large staircases leading to entrances
• Ornamentation, such as statues, on facades
• Greek columns to add grandeur to facades
• Expensive stone as the primary building material, usually light in color

When the University of Minnesota announced they would be holding a design competition for the campus' expansion, The Board of Regents contacted  Cass Gilbert  (1). He was a St. Paul native and ran his own architectural firm which gained notoriety in 1898 when he designed the Minnesota State Capitol building.

Gilbert presented six large-scale designs to the board, all in the Beaux Arts style which he was known for using. After considering designs from various firms, Gilbert's master plan was ultimately chosen. At the time, architects had rigid control over their designs and Gilbert was no different. Northrop Mall was designed and constructed as guided by Gilbert's grand vision for a campus that "swept" down to the Mississippi River.

However, this vision came at a literal cost. Not long after Cass Gilbert was chosen to design Northrop Mall, the price of his grand design began to climb. Though the master plan design for Northrop Mall had already been awarded to Gilbert, the board of regents began to explore other options for building architects.

Architect  Clarence H. Johnston  came to the board with offers of lower design fees as well as clever ideas to reduce the cost of materials for the Beaux Arts buildings (4). Ultimately, he was chosen to design many of the university's buildings including Northrop Auditorium, Walter Library, Morrill Hall, and Coffman Union.

Like Gilbert, Johnston was also a St. Paul native and both of their firms were located in the same building. They knew each other, but their relationship was based in competition. Johnston lost to Gilbert in the design competition for the St. Paul capitol, then later on took over Gilbert's design for the buildings surrounding Northrop Mall.

The competitive behavior and grand vision of two white, male architects quite literally built the foundation of Northrop Mall.

Following the construction of Northrop Mall, the University of Minnesota experienced  significant events relating to disability  (5). Starting with the design of Northrop Mall, this timeline highlights some of those events:

1908 Cass Gilbert designs Northrop Mall

1943 The University works with GIs returning from war, the first event associated with the Disability Resource Center

1969 in the  Morrill Hall takeover  70 black students protested institutional racism (6)

1969  FREE  was established, the university’s earliest LGBTQ student organization (7)

1970 students occupy the mall in protest against the Vietnam War

1979 the first Disability Resource Center liaison is hired

1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is enacted nation-wide

1993 the Disabled Student Cultural Center is launched

1994 Disability Services hosts “Disabled and Proud”

2008 the  ADA Amendments act  is initiated on campus, expanding the range of individuals the act aimed to serve (8)

 Greek Idealism  was a common theme in Ancient Greek culture (9). It essentially dictates that life is not based in reality, but in our perception of reality. If we are able to conceive of ideal conditions in our perceptions, then the world will become an ideal one. These ideal conditions are displayed in Greek philosophy, Greek works of art, and in the forms of Greek architecture, which is the basis for neoclassical and modernist classical architecture. 

Idealism in Greek architecture focuses around the use of the “ Golden Mean ,” also known as the “Golden Ratio” (10). One of the most iconic pieces of Greek architecture, the Parthenon, is rife with the Golden Ratio. Greek architecture was made to be an ideal place for ideal Greek citizens to use.

Since Idealism was a central part of Ancient Greek culture, planning out ideal Greek architecture involved planning around the use by ideal Greek citizens. This meant spaces were being planned around respected, able-bodied males who were educated and had some wealth. In modern Western culture, this definition was expanded to include a criteria of whiteness, as well.

One of Leonardo daVinci’s more famous works of art,  Vitruvian Man , depicts the image of an ideal male, as described in the writings of the Roman architect, Vitruvius (11). Ancient Roman culture, and especially Roman architecture, was rooted heavily in Ancient Greek culture. The image of the Vitruvian Man depicts how, even in a work of art describing the design priorities of Roman architecture, the presence of the Golden Mean is still present. With the obviously classical influence on the facilities in Northrop Mall, it is clear how these design priorities permeate the space.

 Modernist architecture , which is different from the contemporary architecture that will be built in modern times (yes, this is unnecessarily confusing), offered different priorities for designers across the globe (12). From the early 1900’s, to approximately the mid-1980’s or late-1970’s Modernist architecture promoted the idea that a building’s form should be determined by the functions it serves, should not be unnecessarily decorated with things like intricate carvings or or sculpted pieces, and should adhere to minimalism. However, the favorite style of Modernist architecture that was used by universities in the 1900’s was the style of  Stripped Classicism  (13). This style brings back notions of ideal forms and conditions into Modernist architecture so that designs can relate back to iconic, classical works of architecture.

One of the most famous Modernist “starchitects” (star-architect), Le Corbusier, even made his own pass at daVinci’s Vitruvian Man, calling it his Modulor Man. It represents the different proportions of an ideal body that provided much of the basis for his designs. With the widespread use of Classical and Stripped Classicism architecture for their main educational buildings, these exclusionary design priorities are brought directly into college campuses.

This set of priorities can be seen in something even as simple as Northrop Auditorium being elevated on what architects refer to as a “plinth,” which is essentially just lifting the building’s main floor several feet off the ground to separate the interior from the exterior, a Beaux Arts principle.

This promotes the use of space for those with ideal bodies, who are able-bodied and can easily do something like walk up a staircase into a large, looming entrance. It reinforces the idea of education only for the ideal, homogenic population of Western ideal occupants. This obviously excludes people with limiting physical capabilities, who may require the use of a wheelchair, walker, crutches, etc. and begins to organize space that only serves a specific type of people, rather than being inclusive.

Universities and other institutions have created a stigma around architectures like this, so they project a feeling of history and prestige. However, as was just explored, they also project a system of exclusion, preventing truly equitable access for non straight, white males and instead actively privileging that group. This not only presents itself in the form of the space that is being designed, but also as a series of physical barriers on site that only are accessible to specific types of people.

One of the most obvious and widely used forms of exclusion through physical barriers is the use of large, expansive staircases as the primary way of moving around the site. Large, spread out buildings can also pose a challenge, since it can be challenging to get to classes quickly with a physical disability and the huge volumes of people walking on the relatively narrow sidewalks.

There is a prime example of inaccessibility in Northrop Mall, not just for the individual buildings, but also in the organization of the Mall as a whole, where important campus events like concerts, graduation ceremonies, and even student protests occur. A large set of stairs leading up to Northrop Auditorium Courtyard and too-small sidewalks with huge stretches of European-style landscaping filling in the open spacing. Gilbert’s carefully crafted image of the mall reflected the ideal student body of the time: young, able-bodied white males. But for the physically disabled, this design would have presented many challenges.

For example, the distance between what is now known as Coffman Memorial Union and Northrop Auditorium is over one thousand feet. A student with limited mobility would find this distance difficult to traverse on a daily basis.

Along this path, there are up to six sets of staircases. In a time before the  Americans with Disabilities Act  regulated public spaces, there were few if any ramps either forcing those with limited mobility to take a longer route to avoid the stairs or to rely on assistance limiting their independence (14). Though it may have not been intentional, it’s clear that this design excluded potential students and placed a barrier between them and equitable access to an education.

The present-day Northrop Mall continues to serve the same purposes in students’ lives and is, to an extent, much more physically inclusive. The physical barriers have been brought into compliance with the ADA through the addition of features like ramps and accessible drop off areas. The university has established the  Disability Resource Center  which provides further aid to students and even helps to regulate the accessibility of proposed plans (15). But physical access is not the only factor of this space that is debilitating, nor are the physically disabled the only people who are excluded from equal access to education.

For legal accessibility compliance, there is a ramp added long after the original construction, that is incredibly cramped and circuitous and is not located along the main pedestrian walkway trajectory in the Mall. It is located at the base of Northrop Auditorium’s courtyard, navigating the change in elevation for people with physical disabilities. However, it is located off of the main paths on site and is surrounded by vegetation, only serving to hide those with disabilities and separate them from everyone else.

The vast openness of Northrop Mall can make it difficult to navigate for those with sensory disabilities. The wide space between buildings and huge foot traffic presence is challenging for people who, for example, have a visual impairment that can make it difficult for them to find their way without a wall or handrail. The light from the lack of shading can provide difficulties even for someone who is experiencing something as simple as having their pupils dilated. Heavy foot traffic and a crowd can prove to be difficult for people with social anxiety or emotional disabilities that give them trouble when interacting with others, especially strangers.

For students with disabilities, Northrop's design presented and continues to present many challenges. But the debilitating effects of the design have an even broader reach. Gilbert’s carefully crafted image of the mall reflected the ideal student body of the time: young, able-bodied white males.

Institutional racism was clearly present on campus, with the administration surveying students they viewed as threats and segregated housing, educational programs, and athletics.  Letter 1  and  Letter 2  support these facts and were written by administration leaders (16) (17).

Many student led protests occurred in Northrop Mall, including the  Morrill Hall Takeover  (18). This was when approximately 70 black students occupied Morrill Hall to protest campus hostility towards black students.

Classical and neoclassical architectures bring forward a Eurocentric history. Architecture is an expression of culture, meaning that Eurocentric architecture brings along with it dated ideals on race, sexuality, gender, and a whole host of other minority groups. Eurocentric landscaping works hand in hand with Eurocentric architecture.

The use of strategically planted trees and shrubs with short, well kept grass filling in the spaces between started in the nobility of Europe. It was a sign that a lord owned so much land they didn’t have to dedicate all of it to farming. Grafting this landscape into a non-native environment only serves to promote and prioritize a set of exclusionary principles.

Even the student union in Northrop Mall, Coffman Memorial Union, was named after the school president who penned Letter 1 and promoted segregationist and discriminatory policies at the university. If the University of Minnesota seeks to be an equitable and accessible learning environment, it should represent more than one type of student in its form and use.

Though the physical accessibility of Northrop Mall has been brought into ADA compliance, the historic aesthetic and form of an exclusive and idyllic campus remains. Some of the university's buildings, like Tate Hall, have been renovated to update their facilities and as a byproduct, their Eurocentric aesthetics are mitigated. But the idyllic, historic Northrop Mall-facing facades remain intact.

This is an inescapable reality: Northrop Mall and spaces like it across countless campuses will continue to exist as the ideal image of the college experience. Even if drastic changes cannot be made to historic university architecture, the debilitating effects they may have on students should be, at the very least, recognized.

Architecture matters. In order to create educational environments that welcome diverse, intersectional student bodies, Eurocentric architecture needs to be acknowledged and even challenged as an exclusive barrier to higher education accessibility.

1. Society Cass Gilbert, “Landscape & Planning,” Cass Gilbert Society - Cass Gilbert - the Architect - Works - University of Minnesota Campus Plan, Minneapolis, MN, 2019,  https://www.cassgilbertsociety.org/works/umn-mpls-campus-plan/ .
2. Center Chicago Architecture, “Chicago Architecture Center,” Architecture & Design Dictionary | Chicago Architecture Center, accessed December 17, 2021,  https://www.architecture.org/learn/resources/architecture-dictionary/entry/beaux-arts/ .
3. Webster Merriam, “Eurocentric Definition & Meaning,” Merriam-Webster (Merriam-Webster, 2021),  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Eurocentric .
4. Tim Brady, “History on the Grounds,” Minnesota Alumni, March 8, 2021,  https://www.minnesotaalumni.org/stories/history-on-the-grounds .
5. “History,” History | Disability Resource Center, 2021,  https://disability.umn.edu/history .
6. Susan Maas, “Remembering the Morrill Hall Takeover,” University of Minnesota Alumni Association, March 1, 2019,  https://www.minnesotaalumni.org/stories/remembering-the-morrill-hall-takeover .
7. Gwiwon Jason Nam, “New UMN Exhibit Explores History of LGBTQ Student Activism,” The Minnesota Daily, 2019,  https://mndaily.com/201086/news/acfree/ .
8. Stephen F Befort, “Let's Try This Again: The Ada Amendments Act of 2008 Attempts to Reinvigorate the ‘Regarded as’ Prong of the Statutory Definition of Disability,” Scholarship Repository, 2010,  https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/faculty_articles/360/ .
9. Jekyll1911, “Quick Answer: What Is Greek Idealism?,” Ceramics, February 14, 2021,  https://expandusceramicsquestions.com/qa/quick-answer-what-is-greek-idealism.html .
10. Gary Meisner, “The Parthenon and Phi, the Golden Ratio,” The Golden Ratio: Phi, 1.618, October 12, 2020,  https://www.goldennumber.net/parthenon-phi-golden-ratio/ .
11. Leonardo DaVinci.net, The Vitruvian Man - by Leonardo da Vinci, 2011,  https://www.leonardodavinci.net/the-vitruvian-man.jsp .
12. “Modernism,” RIBA, 2021,  https://www.architecture.com/explore-architecture/modernism .
13. “Stripped Classicism,” HiSoUR, May 2, 2019,  https://www.hisour.com/stripped-classicism-28611/ .
14. “The Americans with Disabilities Act,” Beta.ADA.gov, 2021,  https://beta.ada.gov/ .
15. “Welcome,” Disability Resource Center , 2021,  https://disability.umn.edu/ .
16. Riv-Ellen Prell, Tracking negro and Jewish students from out of State : A campus divided, 2017,  http://acampusdivided.umn.edu/text/tracking-negro-and-jewish-students-from-out-of-state/ .
17. Riv-Ellen Prell, Coffman letter to L.O. Smith of the NAACP : A campus divided, 2017,  http://acampusdivided.umn.edu/letter/coffman-letter-to-l-o-smith-of-the-naacp/ .
18. Tina Burnside, “Morrill Hall Takeover, University of Minnesota,” MNopedia, 2018,  https://www.mnopedia.org/event/morrill-hall-takeover-university-minnesota .