Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). This aerial view of St. Benedict's Convent/Academy campus (1909) shows the extent of the 40-year growth of the Benedictine community and its academy from the 1863 church/convent/school complex to this impressive campus. About five years after this photograph was taken, the addition of the spacious, copper-domed chapel and the Teresa Hall addition to the academy/college, gave St. Benedict's Convent the appearance of a full-fledged monastery with the college under its wing (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
An aerial view shows Saint Benedict's Monastery's farm which had pastures, cultivated fields for crops and large gardens and shelter for cows, pigs, sheep and chickens.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery. This photo seems to point to a previous taking down of the south cloister walk which connected the chapel to Teresa Hall (See photo SBM.11b21). The pile of bricks to the right seem to have come from the dismantled cloister walk, while there is a pile of new bricks to the left. There are marks on both Teresa Hall and the chapel from which the cloister walk bricks may have been removed. Note that the pillars on which the cloister walk rested are still in place. Presumably, the cloister walks were added immediately upon the completion of construction of the chapel.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery. The brick used for the chapel and cloister walks is white sandlime with terra-cotta trimmings and the foundation is Buff Kansas Brick. Other than the Cathedral in St. Paul and the Pro-Cathedral (Basilica) in Minneapolis, there are probably no other churches in Minnesota with large domes, although many have large and costly steeples. There is no wood in the entire structure, except the floors under the pews and choir stalls (which are lying on concrete). There are 10 exits on the chapel main floor and one in the choir loft (Chronicles, pages 142-143).
First 50 years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). The College Bulletin of 1930 describes the library as follows: "A library of 16,700 volumes provides adequate supplementary reading for the departments of science, literature and the arts. . . Besides the main library, a magazine annex has been recently equipped in which there are bound volumes of the best magazines. At least fifty current magazines may be found on the desks in the reading room. The first purpose of the library is to meet the needs of the students of the various departments, but the utilitarian has not been allowed to exclude the aesthetic. The reading room is surrounded by low oak book cases and settees. A fire-place, decorated with hand-painted tiles, numerous sofa cushions, and statuary, contributes to the culture and comfort of the students who frequent the library."