Boliou is the home of studio art and art history at Carleton, with classrooms and offices that look out onto Lyman Lakes. The building hosts metalsmithing and woodworking shops and tools, a pottery studio and kiln, and a number of open spaces and galleries designed to spark creativity. Boliou was named after George H. Boliou, a businessman from Waltham, Minn. who bequeathed a large sum of money to the college for the construction of a building “free from all narrow and sectarian influences, restrictions, and prejudices.” The building was dedicated in 1949, with a keynote delivered by René D’Harnoncourt, curator of the New York Museum of Modern Art.
Boliou also shares a sizable patio space with the Center for Mathematics and Computing (CMC), perfect for sitting and sketching campus or simply enjoying the weather with friends in the fall or spring. And fun fact: that fountain out front of the building? It spins!