Blind Department Building and Dow Hall, State School for the Blind

Infobox_nrhp | name =Blind Department Building and Dow Hall, State School for the Blind
nrhp_type =


caption = The Blind Department Building - originally the home of Alexander Faribault–built in 1856
location= Faribault, Minnesota
lat_degrees = 44
lat_minutes = 17
lat_seconds = 12.02
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 93
long_minutes = 15
long_seconds = 36.21
long_direction = W
locmapin = Minnesota
area =
built =1874
architect= Waite & Kingsley; Monroe & Shiere
architecture= Classical Revival, French Second Empire
added = July 25, 1990
governing_body = State
refnum=90001092cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Minnesota State Academy for the Blind, previously the State School for the Blind and the Minnesota Institute for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind was a public school administered by the state in Faribault, Minnesota, USA. The two structures, Dow Hall and the Blind Department building were significant components of a system of state-administered special education for the physically and mentally handicapped segments of the population. [cite web| title =FARIBAULT STATE SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL| publisher =Minnesota Historical Society| url =http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/80881.html| accessdate = 2007-11-15]

Blind Department building

Alexander Faribault moved into his impressive French Second Empire home on the east side of the the Straight River in 1856. In 1874, the home was sold to the state to house the State School for the Blind. [cite web| title =Alexander Faribault's French house| work =Fascinating People of Early Faribault| publisher =City of Faribault Heritage Preservation Commission| date =2003| url =http://www.faribault.org/history2/Look/FrenchHouse_MW.html| accessdate = 2007-11-15]

Dow Hall

Dow Hall (1883) was built specifically to house the School for the Blind. The building's construction was indicative not only that education was worthwhile for people with disabilities, but also that differing disabilities required programs tailored to the students' specific needs.cite book|title=The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota|last=Nord|first=Mary Ann|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|date=2003|isbn=0-87351-448-3] [cite web| title =What Stories did State School Buildings Harbor?| publisher =Faribault Heritage Preservation Commission| url =http://www.ci.faribault.mn.us/History1/Civic_stories.htm| accessdate = 2007-11-15] [cite web| title =Rice County Historical Setting and Resources| publisher =Rice County| url =http://www.co.rice.mn.us/uploadedcontent/forms/print3history.pdf| accessdate = 2007-11-15]

The building was demolished some time after 1996 due to potential safety hazards. The legislation authorizing the demolition specified that a historical marker must be placed at the site with artifacts of the historic building. The stonework of the ground floor of the foundation is visible at the site. [cite web|url=http://ros.leg.mn/bin/getpub.php?pubtype=SLAW_CHAP&year=1996&session_number=0&chapter=463|title=Minnesota Session Laws 1996, Chapter 463, Section 6, Subd. 3|publisher=Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes]

References