Then & Now Tour: Stop 8
Ytterboe, Natural Lands, Skifter
Ytterboe Hall, St. Olaf Natural Lands
You can see in front of us another residence hall, called Ytterboe Hall. This is actually the second incarnation of Ytterboe Hall. Its name was changed from Manitou Hall in 1997 after the old Ytterboe was torn down. The date stone with the college seal was moved from the old building and placed here, where it still sits on the wall today. Behind the building and down the hill are the St. Olaf Natural Lands — 350 acres of woods, prairies, wetlands, and trails adjacent to campus that the college has spent more than three decades restoring to recreate ecosystems that were once common in southern Minnesota. Through research and conservation work in the Natural Lands, faculty and students work together on sustainable practices that can be shared with the wider community.



On the way…
This building is called Skifter Hall. It has been home to St. Olaf’s radio and broadcast services since 1931. It also houses the college’s Organ and Church Music program and features seven organs for students to practice on, as well as a recital hall with yet another organ. In front of the building was a small water tower that was torn down in the 1960s after the current one off to the right was built. Today the St. Olaf lion is painted on it, but in 2003 students painted “No War” on it in protest of the invasion of Iraq.


