Skattaboe Block and the Places Below
Of all the buildings in downtown Moscow, Skattaboe Block is easily the most interesting. While you might get to visit the basement of Hodgin’s down the street (a remarkable place worth the look if you haven’t) few others can boast the lore of Skattaboe…
Skattaboe Block is a very old building. Constructed in 1892 by the Moscow Telephone and Telegraph Company, it predates the beautiful old Methodist church up the street by 12 years, and the City Hall (originally the courthouse and post office) by 19 years. It housed two other telephone companies before it was purchased by New Saint Andrews College.
Over the years, the structure received two additions: One is everything at the back of the building to the West of the pidge room stairs, particularly the commons, Machen, and some storage. The second is Tyndale itself: the library, Calvin, and everything to the South of the Beza classroom.
In 1966 a fire broke out in the building, but inflicted no permanent structural damage (evidence can still be seen in the basement!). Several years later, some major renovations added better fire prevention systems, such as the sprinklers hidden by the more recent drop ceilings. The actual ceiling in the library, which, by the way, is about five feet above the drop ceilings and boasts a beautiful paneling with intricate molding, all supported by rounded walls arching inward. It’s a sight to behold and one the head librarian dreams of returning to one day.
New Saint Andrews acquired the building in 2003. The college added several interior walls, creating the classrooms of Linnaeus, the registrar's current office, and Augustine.
But Skattaboe Block holds deeper secrets. Far, far deeper…
You see, there is an entire basement that none have ever laid eyes upon. None, that is, but the few, the brave, the work-study students… and the juniors getting Christmas decorations… and the Sophomores getting History resources… and staff, faculty, and of course, Dr. Coppenger with his basement office shrouded in mystery.
The three sections of the building can be most clearly delineated from below. Directly under Tyndale lies the rest of the library’s collection, numbering over 20,000 books.
Believe it or not, this year we’ve been able to run inventory on every book downstairs! Students and visitors are not ordinarily permitted down here, due to height regulations (the ceiling is a bit low), though exceptions exist for particular faculty-assigned projects like the Sophomores' history projects. If you need anything in the basement, please ask library staff at the front desk.
Once below, one is drawn northward, beyond the stacks, where the real secrets of Skattaboe lay…
This particular seam lies under the three-way joining of the original Skattaboe building and its two additions. The center photo faces North, and the left turn descends Westward below the Atwood Commons. Proceeding further, one might enter back up into the Sword and Shovel, or any other variety of places—we can’t show everything down here, but perhaps we’ll hint at what might be of greatest interest…
To quote the venerable Bilbo Baggins,
And whither then? I cannot say. (Tolkien 1954, 35)
A story in stone, the Skattaboe Block building has some good lessons for us over a century later. First, don’t forget it was built for a telephone company. Modernism rejects such beauty even for worship, while in the past aesthetics were a consideration for factories. Several of the buildings on main street, particularly surrounding Friendship Square, share in the original effort to elevate the town’s spirit architecturally; while many of the more recent structures do not.
So whether you're a student at New Saint Andrews College or miles away with your own people and place, dig deep in your solid foundations and let them direct you to great beauty, glorifying God in your every endeavor. Whether connecting telephone lines or offering books and coffee, do it in such a way that 100 years later it will have been worthwhile, and the glory of God will still be shining that much brighter through your dominion to the waiting world.
Happy Spring Break from the Tyndale Library!
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