Old Main is a building on the campus of

Augsburg University Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminari ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. It was built in 1901 at a cost of $35,000, designed by the

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

firm of Omeyer and Thori and built by Charles F. Haglin, who built other structures such as the Lumber Exchange Building and the

Peavey–Haglin Experimental Concrete Grain Elevator The Peavey–Haglin Experimental Concrete Grain Elevator is the world's first known cylindrical concrete grain elevator. It was built from 1899 to 1900 in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, United States, as an experiment to prove the design was viable ...

. The building, originally known as "New Main", was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1983. The building is large and symmetrical, evoking a classical architectural style. When it opened, it contained a chapel, gymnasium, classrooms, library and museum. It became the center of campus activity and a point of pride for the college. It has not been altered significantly from its original design. It retains its architectural integrity, as well as its historical and educational significance. A number of renovations in 1980 aimed to improve energy efficiency while preserving architectural details from the past.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Minneapolis University and college buildings completed in 1901 University and college academic buildings in the United States University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Omeyer & Thori buildings 1901 establishments in Minnesota