11 - Pattern Language 15 - Straub Hall was another building designed by Ellis
Christopher Alexander, known for his work “A Pattern Lawrence in 1928. The building was designed in the
Language”, helped UO develop their planning process in the Colonial Revival style along with Education to exemplify
1970s. This was a part of the larger “Oregon Experiment” that its secondary importance to campus. Straub was home to
brought forth innovations to campus planning, landscape the Men’s Dormitory that was self sustainable with dining
Historic Buildings &
and design. A pattern is “any general planning principle, rooms, a central kitchen and electrical and storage rooms
which states a clear problem that may occur repeatedly in in the basement. It now houses large lecture halls and the
the environment, states the range of contexts in which this Psychology Department. If possible, enter the building to see
Landscapes Tour
problem will occur, and gives the general features required by the entry lobby with its lunette paintings and the adjacent
all buildings or plans which will solve this problem”. original dining hall converted to a seating area.
Examples of Patterns, such as “Positive Outdoor Space”, can be
seen at Education, where the three buildings are connected by Mid-Century Era
positive outdoor space in the center. Positive outdoor space is Near the end of the Second World War the University of
important for building design because it embraces the outdoor Oregon’s enrollment almost tripled to 6,467 students
space that it creates. The space becomes a means of connecting between 1944-1946. The campus grew to 202 acres. Following
multiple entrances and serves as a path to other outdoor space Lawrence’s death in 1946, an assortment of architects
and is not merely leftover by buidling development. designed buildings in a range of expressions without a master
plan to follow.
12 - The University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum Throughout the 1950s new construction included dormitories East 11th Avenue
of Art was constructed in 1930 and is listed in the National and a number of academic buildings, many of which were Frank
lin Blv
Register. Designed by Ellis Lawrence, the art museum is influenced by the International Modernist movement. This
d.
classified as “Exotic” with its Romanesque, Gothic, Islamic, prevalent style of the time took advantage of a variety of
Eclectic, and Modernistic influences. The front façade is an exterior materials readily available, including steel, glass, and
outstanding example of the use of decorative brick and cast concrete as seen at McKenzie Hall, the 6th stop on this tour.
stone to achieve rich textural effects, a device Lawrence
employed to compensate for the windowless design of the
original building.
13 - Around the 1920s, the university experienced a
tremendous increase in female student enrollment. Lawrence 16 - The Erb Memorial Union, located in the heart of campus East 13th Avenue East 13th Avenue
designed new women’s dormitories, Hendricks and Susan is the physical, social, and political center of the University.
From its opening date in the 1950s, the EMU has thrived
Kincaid Street
Campbell Halls, and a physical education building, Gerlinger
Hall, all listed in the National Register, to form the Women’s in providing a place for students to grow, learn and spend
Quad. In 1930, the “Pioneer Mother” statue (removed June quality time with their peers. By the end of the 1960s the use Johnson Lane
of the EMU was beyond its capacity as the student population
University Street
2020) was sited here by Alexander Phimster Proctor. The
building, its surrounding trees and shrubs and the curvilinear had more than doubled since 1950. In 1972, the EMU went
walkways are considered to be “a fine and rare example of a under a major renovation including the updating of the heart
collegiate building group in the Georgian Style”. of the EMU, “The Fishbowl”. A fun fact about the EMU is
that it is featured in the movie National Lampoon’s Animal
Onyx St.
14 - The Women’s Memorial Hall, Gerlinger Hall was built in House (1978), where the characters get into a food fight in
1919 and, in addition to the women’s gym, the location for the the dining center, known to students as the “Fishbowl.” In East 15th Avenue
Department of Household Arts, the Infirmary, and where all the later 1990s, the ASUO initiated the project to create a
women’s organizations could meet. The hall was named after amphitheater and stage that is still there today.
Irine H. Gerlinger, who was the first woman on the UO’s Board
of Regents. She initiated a fundraiser that led to the building’s 17 - Today, 13th Avenue is a pedestrian-only street because a
development in 1915. student protest in 1971 closed the avenue to through traffic.
Before the protest, a continual flow of city traffic and logging
trucks bisected the campus, but today it serves as the main NORTH
east-west pedestrian and bike axis on campus. Street trees University of Oregon
The building is decorated with brick quions and pilasters,
are the primary historic feature associated with the 13th Self-guided Tour, Updated August 2020
soldier belt course, iron balconies with French doors and large
Avenue Axis from its days as a busy city arterial. Originally
multi-pane windows. The original Women’s Gym is now the Visit the Campus Planning website for more information on the university’s historic
boardwalks lined the Avenue and an electric streetcar ran on
home of the Dance Department. resources: https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/historic-preservation, and other campus tours:
tracks down the middle.
https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/self-guided-campus-tours. The first stop on this tour, the
If possible, don’t miss the Gerlinger Lounge on the second floor Collier House, is located at the intersection of University Street and Johnson Lane, just
of the East side of the building, as it is a historically preserved west of the Erb Memorial Union.
interior.
Tours available on the UOregon App
Inception Era (1876-1913) 4 - Another National Historic Landmark, Villard Hall, was the 7 - The Dads’ Gates Axis was to be one of Ellis F. Lawrence’s
This first era marks the establishment and early development second building constructed on the campus in 1886. Villard formal entries to the campus, connecting 11th Avenue to
of the university with the construction of the first building in was designed in the Second Empire style with a dual-pitched 13th Avenue and the Memorial Quadrangle. It was planned
1876 (University Hall). mansard roof and ornate decorative elements on the building’s to be an important entry point since the train was to stop
facade. Notice the similarity in styles between Villard Hall where the current EmX transit station is located. Dads’
and University Hall. Both buildings have benefited from Gates to the north is a rare example of quality ironwork
meticulous restoration work assisted by Historic Preservation in Eugene and is listed in the National Register of Historic
graduate students. Places.
In addition, notice the Oregon Oak, known as the Condon
1 - The Collier House was built in 1886 and served as the Oak, the last of the three original Oregon Oaks at the north Subsequent development has done little to reinforce this
home to Dr. George Haskell Collier, a physics professor at the end of the Old Campus Quadrangle. When the university axis; however, the Lillis Business Complex acknowledges
university from 1879-1895. Dr. Collier had purchased 9.5 acres was established, these three were the only trees on this once the axis through Lillis Hall’s glazed atrium providing a
on the edge of campus for his family’s residence. Soon after the barren knoll. connection to and view of the Memorial Quad beyond.
house was completed, it played a central role for community
gatherings, meetings, and parties. In 1900 the Board of
Regents voted to have it permanently house the university
president. In 1976 it was designated a Eugene City Historic
Landmark and survives as a remnant of the late-Victorian era
of Eugene’s development.
2 - The Old Campus Quadrangle was the center of the original 5 - The University Hall Walk Axis connects the Eugene 8 - Peterson and Anstett Halls were designed as twin
18-acre campus and is home to the oldest buildings on campus, community to the first university building, University Hall. “entry pylons” for the Memorial Quadrangle. Peterson Hall
such as the first dormitory, Friendly Hall (1893) to the east, Around 1896 the allée of Douglas fir trees was planted on (1916) and Anstett Hall (1921) were designed in Exotic styles
the first library, Fenton Hall (1906) to the west, and the either side of the concrete walk. Underfoot you will notice reserved for primary campus buildings, while secondary
administration building, Johnson Hall (1915) across 13th Ave. historic concrete sections with inscriptions from past annual campus buildings were designed in the colonial style.
The “Pioneer” statue (removed June 2020) was designed by University Days–a continuing tradition for students, faculty,
Alexander Phimster Proctor (1919). and staff to join together and spruce up the campus.
The Old Campus Quadrangle is illustrative of the Picturesque
Era of campus planning. Once a barren knoll, it was planted
with trees, the majority of which were coniferous, and lawns, Mid-Century Era (1947-1974) Peterson Hall, formerly the Education Building and then
providing the informal forest-like appearance seen today. 6 - McKenzie Hall was completed in 1970 to house the Law Oregon Hall, was the first of many campus buildings
The eastern sidewalk between Fenton and University Halls School, which had outgrown its previous home, Fenton Hall. designed by Ellis Lawrence during his tenure as campus
is known as “Hello Walk” because everyone was obligated to With its exposed concrete construction, it was intended to be planner and architect from 1914-1946. Anstett Hall was
say “Hello” on this once central and active walkway. As you a modernist interpretation of Fenton. McKenzie Hall is a fine formerly Commerce Hall, then Gilbert Hall.
approach the third stop, notice the Big Leaf Maple tree in front example of the Brutalist style with its over-scale geometric
of the University Hall east entrance. It is the only remaining massing and use of roughcast concrete for a textural effect.
“Dollar Tree” planted in 1884 by the university’s janitor under Currently the building houses a mix of academic departments
an agreement in which he was paid $1 for every tree planted and classrooms.
and another $1 if it survived.
3 - The first building on the university campus, University Lawrence/Cuthbert Era (1914-1946) 9 - As early as 1914 the Memorial Quadrangle was part of
Hall, was built in 1876. University Hall is a National Historic The second era of development began when Ellis F. Lawrence Ellis Lawrence’s campus plan to be a more formally designed
Landmark, the highest ranking for any historic building. It is was hired in 1914 to be the University of Oregon’s architect and campus open space. It continues to function as an active and
one of only fifteen in Oregon. University Hall was designed dean of the new school of art and architecture (now College of well-liked space within the academic core. The distinctive
with staircases at separate ends of the building–one for men Design). Lawrence developed the university’s first master plan ‘X’ and ‘O’ paths of the quad, along with the Knight Library’s
and one for women. in 1914 expanding the 100-acre campus south of 13th Avenue terrace and fountain, were designed by Frederick Cuthbert
and integrating the Gothic quadrangular plan with the axial in 1932. The Memorial Quadrangle and Knight Library are
arrangement espoused by the Beaux-Arts style. both listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The original wood floors were two feet thick and filled with This era sparked the creation of formal arrangements on 10 - Knight Library is located at the southern terminus
earth to deaden sound and provide a source of radiant heat campus. Frederick A. Cuthbert, hired in 1933 to start the of the Memorial Quad. The library, built in 1937, has
after the wood stoves cooled down. The building looks much department of landscape architecture and to serve as the been referred to as Oregon’s best example of integrated
like it did when it was originally constructed with the exception university’s landscape architect, collaborated with Lawrence art and architecture. It is the most fully executed of
of missing wooden decorative elements and the sand paint on many projects. Lawrence’s buildings, incorporating sculpture, painting,
finish applied in 1891 to match Villard Hall (to the north of and metalwork, much done by students, graduates, and
University Hall). professors. Take a walk through the library’s front section to
experience the interior metalwork and artwork.
