The
Weekly Spectrum, dated October 31, 1923, carried a front-page story announcing
"Lincoln Log Cabin New Addition to L. C. Theatre." In it the editor described
the rough-hewn, half-log walls, wrought iron door hinges made by Professor Haile
Chisholm, and furniture made of hickory and oak. Professor Alfred
Arvold and his students went to northern Minnesota to obtain logs for the
walls. They also collected old furniture, old books and old theater posters
for decoration.
The finished cabin consisted of two large rooms and a kitchen. In one of the rooms was a balcony used by speakers and singers for community gatherings. Productions and classes were held on the floor beneath it. The Lincoln Log Cabin was a unique place used for dinner festivals at Christmas, and a banquet on Lincoln's birthday. When Dr. Frederick Walsh took over the theater program in the early 1950s, use of the Log Cabin as a place for entertainment ended, and the space was used primarily for costuming, building sets, and graduate student offices.(Spectrum, October 2, 1969, p.8; Dedication Program, May 7, 1993)
The restoration project for the Lincoln Log Cabin is still not complete. Although the rooms are available for small groups who make arrangements through the President's Office, large groups cannot use the facility until an additional fire exit is built that will comply with today's fire codes.
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University Archives, 701-231-8914 Published by the University Archives, NDSU Last Updated: 8/27/04 |