Imagined Futures, Forgotten Pasts: A History of Carleton’s Campus is a student-curated exhibition (open April 8 – June 10, 2022) and an accompanying online project which explores Carleton’s rich architectural history. Carleton College was first established in 1866, and since then, its facilities have grown from a single makeshift building to a sprawling 1,040-acre campus. To accomplish this growth, the college has undergone phases of campus expansion, renovation, and destruction over its 156-year history. Imagined Futures, Forgotten Pasts traces this evolution, displaying plans for unrealized structures, remembering demolished buildings, and examining campus spaces repurposed over time.

In partnership with the Carleton College Archives, research for the project was conducted by 20 student-curators enrolled in Professor Baird Jarman’s ‘History of Campus Planning’ course (Fall 2021) and Perlman Teaching Museum Director Sara Cluggish’s ‘Curatorial Seminar’ (Winter 2022). Visit the exhibition at the Perlman Teaching Museum through June 10^th 2022, and scroll down for a listing of accompanying gallery talks and campus walking tours. Explore the student’s research online in the interactive timeline and stories sections below.