Normanna Hall History

Parker Hall was the first meeting place for the members of Norden Lodge. The lodge moved several times afterwards to the Danish Brotherhood Hall in 1909, Liberty Hall for part of 1911, Fraternity Hall from 1911 to 1916, and the Eagles Hall from 1916 until they moved into the new Normanna Hall building on February 1, 1923.

Back in 1912, with Carl Berg as president of Norden Lodge, they discussed buying
property in or near downtown Tacoma. A year or two earlier Norden No. 2 had
purchased 10 acres on Vashon Island for $10 dollars. It was sold 16 months later for
$100.00. Four contiguous lots were finally purchased on the corner of South 15th and K
Streets (since renamed to MLK) for $8,500. Construction of the Normanna Hall building
was completed in 1922 and it is still standing strong today. To finance the construction,
bonds for $25,000 were sold in increments of $10.00 each. On May 18, 1929, a
celebration was held at Normanna Hall to burn the mortgage. The bills were all paid and
the building was free of debt. Dr. Tinglestad of Pacific Lutheran College (now University)
gave a speech of congratulations on the achievement.