Designed by Ralph Rapson and built in 1971, the structure houses four theaters—a thrust, proscenium, theater in the round, and black box—as well as the studios for Radio K. An anchor for the University's West Bank Arts Quarter, the Rarig has been praised for its boldness and functionality[1][2] but has also been described as "menacing".

[1] Erected in the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis on the campus of the University of Minnesota, Rarig was constructed to house theaters and television studios.

[3] It sits due west of Ferguson Hall (1985), across 4th Street South to the north of the Regis Center for Art (2003), and directly southeast of Wilson Library (1967).

[1] In a contemporary review of the structure, author Larry Millett noted that the Rarig is the "strongest architectural statement on the West Bank campus.

"[2] Upon venturing inside, he wrote, "you half expect to find the leaders of the Evil Empire gathered somewhere in the three-story-high atrium, plotting the demise of Luke Skywalker.