The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Bjorklunden

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Bjorklunden Vid Sojn (main lodge), Lawrence University

Bjorklunden Vid Sojn (chapel), Lawrence University

Institution Name: Lawrence University
Original/Historic Place Name: Bjorklunden vid Sjon
Location on Campus: P.O. Box 10, Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin 54202
Date(s) of Construction:

1930	original construction Boynton, Donald & Winifred

Designer: Donald & Winifred Boynton
Type of Place: Landscape site
Style: (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, education, history
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Function:

ca. 1930	other (family retreat)
1930-present (2006)	outdoor space
1974-present (2006)	other (lodging, summer seminars, summer theater, university and local events)

Narrative:
Björklunden is a 425-acre estate located on the east side of the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin with 1-1/4 mile of the Lake Michigan lakefront. It was conceived as a family designed and built retreat, which offered sanctuary during the confusion and aggression of the mid 20th century. Björklunden was given to Lawrence University in 1962 by Donald and Winifred Boynton with the stipulation that they have use of the property until they die. Lawrence did not take control until 1974. It is used for classes, seminars, retreats, and social functions year round. The focal point of the estate is the Boynton Chapel, built and intricately hand painted and carved by the Boynton's during the summers of 1939 to 1947. It is built in the 15th-century Norwegian Stavkirke style and modeled after a church in Lillehammer, Norway. Other buildings include a lodge, studio, and caretaker's cottage, all done in Scandinavian design.

References:

Boynton, Winifred C. Faith Builds a Chapel. [New York]: Reinhold, 1953.