University of St. Thomas Historic Grotto Renovation

For more than a century, the Grotto has been a place of quiet reflection at the heart of the University of St. Thomas campus. Constructed by Seminarians in 1917, and the Grotto was formally dedicated on May 21, 1919. In the 1940s the Stations of the Cross were added along its wooded ravine, and a substantial renovation in 1994 carried the space forward. By the time Damon Farber was engaged, however, the passage of time had taken its toll: the 1940s stations had fallen into various stages of disrepair, and several were missing altogether.

Damon Farber led the design renovation, working with the university and PCL Construction to restore the Grotto as a place of prayer, contemplation, and campus tradition. The setting is extraordinary. Set in a deep ravine that runs perpendicular to the Mississippi River, with a mature overstory tree canopy and natural topography that combine to create a place where light filters through the leaves and lends the Grotto a luminous, cathedral-like quality. The design strategy was to reveal and strengthen that experience rather than compete with it.

Extensive monolithic Kasota limestone blocks, the same traditional stone that clads University of St. Thomas buildings, were used to retain grade along both sides of the ravine. These walls allowed an enhanced crushed stone pathway to follow the slope and navigate the challenging topography, and they allowed the new Stations of the Cross to recess into the embankments. Dimensional Kasota edging defines the path, and low bollard lighting guides visitors without intruding on the woodland setting. A new pedestrian bridge, with steel railings set between Kasota limestone piers, carries the same material language across the ravine. Visitors can walk down one side and return along the other, a sequential, circular journey with the stations marking its rhythm.

Each of the newly designed Stations of the Cross is a gabled, arched niche in cast stone, set on a base clad with thin veneer Kasota limestone and topped with a cross. An engraved stone identifies each station by number and title. Artwork has been commissioned for each station and will be installed in the summer of 2027, completing the installation. Stone benches and a landing above the stream offer places to pause and reflect between stations.

Building into a ravine this delicate demanded exceptional skill. Stone craftsmen, masons, and earthwork contractors worked in difficult conditions to limit disturbance and construct the experience into the landscape. The team strove to preserve all healthy mature trees on the site, protecting the canopy that defines the Grotto’s character, while navigating several overlapping zoning regulations, including the Mississippi River Critical Corridor Area, and stringent watershed district requirements.