Special Edition Fall 2021: Thompson Hall

A Pivotal Part of Deaf History

The city of St. Paul is bursting with culture. From ethnic to language differences, we live in a diverse and thriving city. One of the most bustling and active is the Deaf community. With the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf (MSD) just an hour away in Faribault and the Metro Deaf School located in the heart of the city itself, it’s no wonder that Deaf families have chosen to settle in and around the Twin Cities. This is lucky for St. Catherine University, which hosts one of the few Bachelor of Arts programs in American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreting. With MSD in Faribault being open since the mid-1860s and St. Kate’s having been established in the early 1910s, both schools and communities have been coexisting for more than a century. 

With the introduction of the Interpreting Department at St. Kate’s in 1983, the two communities have started to share ties. An important component of any ASL class on campus is the Community Work and Learning (CWL) aspect which requires students to interact with the Deaf community in order to increase their fluency and understanding of ASL outside of the classroom.

I spoke with interpreting professor Gloria Nathanson on the importance of community engagement when learning ASL. “I’ve been working with the Interpreting Department here for five years, and CWL is one of the most important ways to continue learning the language,” she remarked. “There is no greater ‘classroom’ than authentic interactions and experiences from immersion in the community itself.”

One of the main gathering places of the Deaf community in the Twin Cities is Charles Thompson Memorial Hall. Located just a few blocks north of St. Kate’s on Fairview and Marshall, ASL students have the opportunity to go to Thompson Hall to volunteer for different events throughout the semester. Students are invited to join in and participate in order to gain comfort with interacting with the Deaf community.

“Thompson Hall is a unique and special place that is open to the deaf community and they welcome students and allies to go,” Nathanson said. “Because of their open doors, this place has been a great bridge for hearing students interested in learning about ASL and Deaf Culture.”

Thompson Hall is truly one of a kind. I was lucky enough to speak with Herman Fuechtmann, president of Thompson Hall, about the rich history of this monumental building.

“Charles Thompson was the son of a wealthy banker,” says Fuechtmann. “He and his wife Margaret, both Deaf, hosted countless events for the Deaf Community at their private home. Unfortunately, Charles passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack in 1915. When Charles died, widow Margaret felt that providing a place that the Deaf Community could call home was the most fitting legacy for her husband. She selflessly funded the building in honor of her late husband.”

Part of what makes Thompson Hall so unique is its design. “Margaret chose Olof Hanson, the first Deaf American architect to design the building. The building was conceived by and for the Deaf people of Minnesota,” says Fuechtmann. “Since Charles Thompson Memorial Hall opened its doors in 1916, it has been the principal social hub for Deaf people throughout Minnesota. The building is significant in both its social history and its architecture.”

The Deaf community truly cherishes Thompson Hall as a gathering place with an emphasis on Deaf unity. Nathanson has been participating in events since she was a child. “I consider it my second home,” she affectionately remembers. “My parents were leaders in the Deaf Community so this was the place we gathered to socialize and do service work.” Nathanson has also instilled the love of Thompson Hall in her family. “I bring my own children to this place for recreational activities, both for the community and specific activities tailored to their interests. For example, I have hosted Deaf Cub/Boy Scouts meetings here and we have used the facility to host ASL Eagles Wrestling practices.”

The importance of Thompson Hall has continued through its 100+ years of service to the Deaf community. “This site has endured trying times including the depression, two world wars, the pandemic, etc,” says Nathanson. “It has been a meeting place to allow Deaf people to gather to share information, to experience temporary reprieve from oppression, and to strategize action to empower and advocate for its people.”

Fuechtmann agrees with Nathanson, saying, “This building is a community gathering place not just for Deaf people, but for hearing people as well. A place for local people from St. Paul, the Twin Cities, and the state of Minnesota to come together to socialize and learn from each other. There is nothing else like this building in Minnesota!”

Sadly, Thompson Hall is an old building. Being around since the early 1900s, a lot of updates need to be made. Physical barriers prevent part of the Deaf community from participating in the events hosted by Thompson Hall.

“Around 2010, state and county government agencies that worked with and served Deaf people had to stop using and renting space at Thompson Hall due to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) law,” says Fuechtmann. “This negatively impacted the building's revenue.”

In 2015, the 100th anniversary of this one-of-a-kind gathering place, the executive board of Thompson Hall put together an improvement plan to put in an elevator, which will not only comply with the ADA but will bring members of the Deaf community together that didn’t have access before.

“By having an elevator, they can start using the building again to provide workshops and educational training to the Deaf community,” says Fuechtmann. “Renovating and building an elevator will generate income that will allow the building to have enough money to stay in operation. We have a design already approved by the state historical society and the elevator would make it possible for people in wheelchairs to go to each floor of the building.”

As members of St. Kate’s and the broader community of the Twin Cities, we have to look out for each other. If you’ve gone to class in person on our campus, it’s more than likely that you’ve journeyed through the ASL hallway in the Speech Building or passed one of the wonderful Deaf professors on the quad on your walk to class. You may have witnessed an interpreter at the opening convocation or the Sunday masses in the chapel.

One of the five main values of St. Catherine University is service. What better way to show your support for the thriving Deaf community than to donate to Thompson Hall? Accessibility has always been an issue for Deaf individuals, and the fact that their own space has physical barriers is difficult to think about. Let’s come together as a community and try to break these barriers down by contributing to Thompson Hall.

For more information and to support this project, check their website or contact Fuechtmann at hfuechtmann@charlesthompsonhall.org.