To the Editor of The Journal,
It certainly would be a graceful act on the part of the regents of the state university to name the new main building Folwell Hall. It would be a deserved recognition of the services of one who has given his whole life to the service of his country, his state and the city in which for so many years he has done so. much in moulding the thoughts of the young men who have been graduated from the university and who are now our prominent judges, lawyers, educators and business men. Dr. Folwell came to Minneapolis after having been mustered out of the arms, where as an engineer. he performed some wonderful feats in bridge building, and was elected president of the state university. Well do I remember. attending the first commencement. exercises where a class of two were graduated, and of many subsequent events, each year showing an increased growth in the number of graduates who took their sheepskins from Dr. Folwell’s hands. Dr. Folwell is not only entitled to honor for the work he has done in the university. He has always taken an interest In civic affairs, and has always been ready to give his time for the improvement of, not only his home city, but of other cities in the state. More than thirty years ago he was an active member and vice president of the first improvement association in this city, and as president of the Art Institute, president of the Minneapolis Improvement league and for so many years president of the board of park commissioners he has shown his enthusiasm for the improvement of the city he loves so well. His services are entitled to recognition, and if a vote of his friends could be taken; I believe it would be unanimous for Folwell Hall.
-C. M. Loring
Letter to the Editor
Minneapolis Journal
Oct. 27th, 1906
Folwell Hall was built to house departments displaced after the burning of Old Main in 1904. Designed in the Jacobethan Revival style by Minnesota State Architect Clarence H. Johnston, the building was completed in 1907. The exterior of the building features carved brick detailing, balustrades, parapets, gargoyles, and a congress chimneys. Interior highlights include polished marble hallways, fireplaces, and ornate staircases. Folwell was named for the Univeristy of Minnesota’s first president, William Watts Folwell. These days the building hosts the majority of the university’s foreign language departments.
