Located on Tacoma's Park Avenue and South 122nd Street, the
Scandinavian Cultural Center is a 6,700 square foot facility housed on the first floor of the
University Center at Pacific Lutheran University. Completed in May
1989, the Center features a great hall, three exhibit galleries, and a
demonstration kitchen. A 25 foot high, custom carved Viking ship prow
serves as a dramatic visual statement, welcoming guests to the Center.
The vision for the SCC was to create a cultural center that
would offer everyone, not just those of Scandinavian descent, a rich,
broad and changing portrait of a living culture other than our own.
That vision has become a reality—today the SCC is a library, an art
gallery, a lecture hall, a banquet room, a performance arena, a museum,
a classroom, and a recital hall.
Tour the Center
Cultural exhibits
representing all five Nordic countries appear throughout the
year. Exhibits represent the art as well as the natural and
social history of
Scandinavians and Scandinavian-Americans. The
facility is open to members of the Center, the PLU community, school
groups, Scandinavian organizations, and visitors from around the world.
Year round programming in the multi-use Cultural Center includes
musical concerts, lectures, films, language instruction, educational
programs for school groups, and countless classes in Scandinavian folk
art and Nordic cuisine.
Several special events have become annual traditions at PLU--Swedish Sankta Lucia Fest, Norwegian Julegudsjeneste (Christmas Service), Nordic Christmas Fest (an elegant holiday banquet), Danish Fastelavn, and the Norwegian Heritage Festival,
just to name a few. In addition to serving the campus community, the Scandinavian
Cultural Center is made available to Nordic organizations for banquets,
meetings, and events.