Norway Hall

HistoryLink.org Essay 10201 : Printer-Friendly Format

2015 Boren Avenue

Architect: Sonke Englehart Sonnichsen, 1915.

Norway Hall was built to house the Sons of Norway and Daughters of Norway. It was the first structure in Seattle specifically constructed by and for Norwegian cultural and fraternal societies, and it served as a hub of Norwegian culture for the Cascade neighborhood's Norwegian families. Architect Sonnichsen was trained in Norway and his design for Norway Hall incorporated elements of traditional Norwegian house and church design that would have been familiar to Norwegian immigrants.

The building included turned columns and sawn balustrades, and each of the major gables supported a carved wooden dragon. After the Sons of Norway moved to a new facility in Ballard Norway Hall housed, it was occupied by several discotheques, most recently a thriving gay dance club called Timberline. In 2002/2003 Cornish College Of The Arts purchased Norway Hall and converted it into a performing arts venue, rechristened the Raisbeck Performance Hall. Cornish also purchased the 1928 Art Deco-style William Volker/Lenora Square building next door at 1000 Lenora to serve as its main campus.

By Paula Becker, September 25, 2012

< Browse to Previous Essay | Browse to Next Essay >

Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.

Norway Hall (Sonke Englehart Sonnichsen, 1915), Seattle, 1944
Courtesy MOHAI (Neg. No. W&S 1983.10.14917.1)

Sons and Daughters of Norway Hall, Seattle
Postcard