Huge "Explosion" for Expansion

Centralization

There was a major focus on the expanding the campus map around this time. The primary purpose was to have buildings with basic subjects in the “heart” of the campus and to surround it with the more professional/technical buildings. Plans were modified to fit changing economic and political conditions. The trend of centralization, for instance, is away from the “old” campus, and the northeast section including Folwell, Burton, and Jones Hall, and include the south.

The effect of the construction of new buildings has affected on student habits as in the case of the Union building. As cited by Professor Jones,

“Before the Union was built, student traffic on the Mall was hardly a fraction of what it is now. The Union building completed the quadrangle of buildings in the Mall and thus aided greatly in the centralization of the campus.” ¹

Even though these buildings were either specialized or for general use, all of these buildings were planned and created for the needs of the University and for the educational programs in mind.²

The West Bank Campus

One of the important parts during this time was the expansion across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis and was called the "West River Area" or West Bank. This was mainly due to the federal grants that the University had received.³ This was also an attempt to merge the campus with the community and connect it with the East Bank.⁴