MUSING Maybe it’s my mile-wide spooky streak, but I’ve always been enchanted by Hamline’s basements. I’ve delighted in its hospital-like floor tiles, tangled power cables, and endless locked doors. This mild obsession has prompted a couple of questions: What are behind Manor’s locked basement doors, and what have they been used for in the past? I’ve walked through the basement countless times as a resident of Manor, but last month I made several pilgrimages with a more critical eye. I walked down the marble steps into the basement and entered the west wing. Doors lined either side of the corridor with a tangle of red and white pipes and caged electrical wires running half the length of the ceiling. To my right, the hall dead-ended with a single, brown door. This leads to the underground tunnel that connects Manor to Sorin Hall, which are part of a wider system. According to Hamline’s archivist, Candace (Candy) Hart, these tunnels had been previously used for special events, like the Haunted Hallway, but are now “locked up.”1 When I placed my hand against these doors, I could feel a slight breeze from the other side. When I put my eye to the crack, I saw a pink and orange figure spray painted onto an overhanging beam.
24 | Canvas
behind locked doors by Audrey Cambell
I turned away from the tunnel entrance. The Peer the beaten path in a sunshiny room with its own fireplace. In 1991, this was slated to be a recreation room with pool tables.3 the hall, used by student orgs such as Hall Council, Programming Board, and the Fulcrum Journal.7 Across congregation of lonely furniture. I sat there for a moment, reminded of past meetings. According to the Oracle were teaming with even more student activity back then. A new floor plan had just been laid out, assigning two or more orgs for every shared a room with MPIRG (Minnesota Public Interest Research Group), and French Club shared elbow room with AsiaWatch.3
