The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Unter den Linden

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Unter den Linden (general view), Dana College

Institution Name: Dana College
Original/Historic Place Name: Unter den Linden
Location on Campus: Campus Oval
Date(s) of Construction:

1960	original construction

Designer:
Type of Place: Landscape site
Style: (Glossary)
Significance:
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Function:

1960-present

outdoor space

Narrative:
In 1960, Dana College received a gift from West Berlin mayor Willy Brandt of twenty-four linden trees as a symbol of the friendship between Germany and the United States. The trees were planted as a border for a large open space on campus which is now termed the "campus oval."

The trees were planted to commemorate the merger of three Lutheran church synods with Danish, German, and Norwegian backgrounds. The trees were also planted to recognize the growing number of students of German descent attending Dana College. The U.S. Air Force flew the trees to Washington, D.C., and then to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. Offutt personnel delivered them to Dana College.

Today, fifteen of the original twenty-four trees still remain and are thriving.

References:

Petersen, Peter L. A Place Called Dana: The Centennial History of Trinity Seminary and Dana College, 1884-1984. Blaire, NE: Dana College, 1984.

"A Very Brief History of Pioneer Memorial." Dana Review (Spring 2005).