Holland Hall: A Dense Fact for St. Olaf College : 11/11/10

     After reading the article, "New Norman Gothic 'Mount St. Olaf',"written by Carl Melby, I was immediately interested in discussing my thoughts on the buildings of St. Olaf's campus.  I especially enjoyed Melby's point about the style in which the new administration building--now called Holland Hall--was to be modeled.  The building was inspired by the "Merveille" building, which is one of the many buildings that make up the Mount St. Michael Castle in Normandy, France.  Isn't it fascinating to think some of our buildings here at St. Olaf were modeled after ancient castles?  Castles--prestigious and timeless buildings--are perfect models for St. Olaf College as well.  The institution represents outstanding students and a long heritage.  By modeling Holland Hall after Mount St. Michael, the college highlights its distinguished and everlasting reputation.  Not only is the architecture itself impressive, but the architects themselves played a large part as to why Holland Hall was created.  Melby's article states that the architectures of Mount St. Michael were Normans, or Scandinavian immigrants.  With that in mind, remember that St. Olaf College was founded by early immigrants from Norway and Scandinavia.  Therefore, not only was the college building created to invoke the castle feel of Mount St. Michael, but it was also erected to honor the college's heritage as well.  Obviously, the thought process that went into the plan for the Holland Hall was well-planned.  I find it fascinating that one way the college invokes its heritage is by constructing buildings.  Thus, Holland Hall serves as a dense fact for St. Olaf College by representing its reputation and Scandinavian heritage.

Here is a links you may find interesting about Holland Hall and the St. Olaf Campus:

http://www.stolaf.edu/map/HollandHall.html

I also did some research on the architects who build Holland Hall.  Being from Nebraska, I couldn't help but notice that the same architects also created many building for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Here is a link to that information:

http://historicbuildings.unl.edu/people.php?peopleID=8&cid=15