Eugene - University of Oregon

EUGENE - THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

While Portland is much larger, Eugene is the second largest metropolitan area in the state. And it is the home of the University of Oregon, the state's flagship university (although half the state, partisans of Oregon State University in Corvallis, might beg to differ). This walk will explore the university and some surrounding neighborhoods on a 3-mile journey, along a relatively flat route.

This walk starts at the intersection of Kincaid Street and East 11th Avenue, immediately south of Franklin Blvd. (Old U.S. 99). There is a parking area on the north side of East 11th. If you do this walk on a weekend there is generally available parking in the lot and the metered street spaces nearby don't charge on weekends - otherwise you will have to feed a meter for a street parking space in the vicinity.

Immediately to the south of the parking lot, on East 11th Avenue, is a bus rapid transit station for Eugene's EmX system. This station serves the Franklin Avenue line running from downtown Eugene east to the City of Springfield. A second line runs north-south in Springfield. An extension of the line from downtown to West Eugene has sparked much controversy. In general, bus rapid transit relies on the use of exclusive bus lanes to provide much speedier service, akin to speeds available in a grade-separated light rail system, but at much less cost (although still too expensive according to some).


From the EmX station turn right and walk along East 11th Street. In the next block the university campus begins - but it is not the University of Oregon, but rather Northwest Christian University. The school was founded in 1895 as a divinity school, with students taking religion classes on campus and walking across the street to the University of Oregon for other coursework. When this arrangement was discontinued by the larger university in 1995, Northwest Christian transitioned into a full-service liberal arts school. It currently has about 650 undergraduate students. The "Beacons" play their sports in the Cascade Collegiate Conference against a variety of small religious and public colleges such as Evergreen State, Eastern Oregon, Concordia and Warner Pacific. While the school plays men's basketball, it is doubtful that the squad will ever face off against its much larger neighbor - and there is no football team. The three-story Martha Goodrich Administration Building, shown in this photo, was constructed in 1908 of volcanic stone.

At Alder Street, turn right. Go one block, then turn right onto Franklin Blvd. After one block, turn right again onto Hilyard Street. On your right is the Gamma Phi Beta sorority house. This Tudor-style structure was built in 1926. Gamma Phi Beta was the first sorority at the University of Oregon.



Across the street on the left is the Chi Psi fraternity house, built in 1935, and also a Tudor style structure. The building was designed by noted Lake Oswego architect Richard Sundeleaf. The water feature along the side of the fraternity is a side channel of the Willamette River. The main channel of the river is less than 1/2 mile to the north.



Also on the left side of the street, as you near 12th Avenue, is the Alpha Phi sorority house. This house was built in 1925, and is described as a "Norman farmhouse" style in its nomination papers to the National Register of Historic Places.



Continue south on Hilyard Street. After crossing 12th Avenue you will be passing between two buildings of Sacred Heart Hospital. The hospital engendered some local controversy a few years back by threatening to relocate to a site in Springfield to the east, but finally ended up keeping this site as well as the new hospital facility in Springfield. Walk underneath the pedestrian skyway connecting the two hospital blocks.



Turn right on 13th Avenue, into the University commercial district. Along with many restaurants and the current location of the university bookstore, this building on the right side of the street represents a lot of new student housing developments that have sprouted up around the university campus to house the growing number of students in attendance.




Continue on 13th Avenue to the next block, which consists mainly of businesses catering to students, including the University Bookstore. Note the reservation of significant street pavement for bike lanes in this area. While Portland has become more bike friendly and known around the nation for its bicycle culture, Eugene has been accommodating bicyclists on its streets for much longer.

At the intersection of 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street you will see the formal entrance to the university campus. Continue straight ahead.

On the right is Condon Hall, home to the Department of Geography. And on the left is the Lillis Business Complex. The 2003 structure in the middle of the plaza is flanked by two older buildings constructed in 1917 and 1922. The building has one of the largest solar installations in the western U.S., and was built to demonstrate principles of sustainability.

Turn right at the open area immediately opposite the Lillis Business Complex plaza. Chapman Hall, home of the university's honors college, is on your left. After passing by Chapman Hall, turn left and you will pass by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on your right. This museum was constructed in 1937, and its collection is best known for its East Asian art. Continue past the Museum of Art. When the pathway ends at a stub roadway, follow it straight ahead. The roadway ends at University Street, and directly across from you will be the Erb Student Center.

Turn right on University Street. Past 15th Street, on the left, is McArthur Court, home of the Oregon Ducks basketball team from 1926 until the Matthew Knight Arena opened in 2011. Although the facilities were antique, it's a shame that this 9,000 seat arena, popularly known as "the Pit," is no longer in use. There's too much basketball history to easily summarize in this small space, so wiki McArthur Court or look here for more information. A book entitled "Mac Court Memories" was published in 2010, but is apparently out of print.

On the right side of University Street is the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery, established in 1872, and on the National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery is 16 acres in size and contains several thousand burial plots.

Continue south on University Street to 18th Avenue, which is the southern boundary of the University of Oregon campus. Across 18th Avenue to the left are the Prefontaine Apartments, opened in 2013. They represent a new type of student housing, essentially an off-campus privately-run student dorm. The 20 units are 3 or 4 bedrooms, housing one or two students per room, with each unit sharing a living area and kitchen. Several of these types of buildings have been built in Eugene and Corvallis over the past few years, and undoubtedly in other campus towns around the U.S.

Turn left on 18th Avenue and walk two blocks to Onyx Street, and then turn right. A couple houses down on the right is Onyx House, another kind of student housing. Onyx House is operated by the Eugene Faith Center, a large nondenominational church elsewhere in the city. It provides housing for Christian students where they "can accomplish their academic and career goals while being involved in campus ministry."



Continue on Onyx to 19th Avenue, and then turn left. On the next block to the right is Studies at 19th, another new student housing block. The units are 2 to 4 bedrooms, and it is unclear whether they are rented by the room or by the apartment to a group of students that organize themselves.

Continue another block to Agate Street. At the corner on the right is McMenamins East 19th Street Café. Outside the front door is a peace pole, reading "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in four different languages including what has been described as "animal language." The three McMenamins taverns in Eugene are the southernmost outposts of the beer empire.



Turn left on Agate Street and proceed north. After crossing 18th Avenue you will be back on campus. To the left is Hayward Field, home to the University of Oregon's vaunted track and field program. Built in 1919, until 1967 this was also the university football stadium.

On this lamppost along Agate Street is a banner celebrating the university's most famous track and field athlete, Steve Prefontaine (1951-1975). The Pre Classic is held at Hayward Field each spring in his honor. Prefontaine was born in Coos Bay, finished 4th in the 5000 meter run at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and at the time of his death held several world records as he prepared for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He died after hitting a tree with his sports car on a windy street in the hills above Eugene. Two biographical films of his life were made within a year of each other, Prefontaine (1997) starring Jared Leto, and Without Limits (1998) starring Billy Crudup. Both are pretty good movies.


Across the street from Hayward Field on the right is the School of Law, one of three law schools in Oregon. The main building shown here is the Knight Center, named for its principal donor, Nike Chairman and university alumnus Phil Knight.

At the corner of Agate St and 15th Avenue, the northern end of Hayward Field, cross 15th and head into the park area on the right side of the street. Go toward the northeast corner of the park area. The buildings at the north end of the park are the Bean Complex, originally built in 1964 and generally considered the most decrepit of the current university residential dorms.



At the northeast corner of the park continue and note the contrast with the Bean Complex. Directly ahead is the back entrance of Matthew Knight Arena, home to the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams since 2011. The complex is named for Phil Knight's son, who died at age 34 in a scuba accident. Very nice for a back entrance, don't you think?

Continue to the left toward 13th Avenue and, beyond, Franklin Avenue (old Highway 99). Turn right and behold the front entrance of the Matthew Knight Arena. The most unique aspect of the building must be seen from the inside - the basketball court's floor.



After you have seen the front of the arena, turn around and proceed west on 13th Avenue back into the campus. On your right is the John Jaqua Center, a futuristic building that houses academic services for Oregon's NCAA athletes. Built in 2010, the building was funded by a grant from Phil Knight and honors a long time university supporter as its namesake. The contrast with the decrepit Bean Hall residential complex across 13th Avenue on the left is striking.



Continue on 13th Avenue back into the heart of the campus. Among the academic buildings on both sides of the street is the Lewis Integrative Science Building, on the right, opened in 2012.



Continue on 13th Avenue. To your left is the Erb Student Union again. At Friendly Hall, follow the pathway through the open treed area to the right.

Continue across the open area and veer diagonally to the left across it. On the other side, to the left, is Deady Hall, the first and oldest building on campus. It is named for Matthew Deady, Oregon's first federal judge, who ironically opposed authorizing a state university at Oregon's constitutional convention of 1857 (the state was admitted to the Union in 1859). When it opened the university's enrollment was 177, but that number included 98 high school students since Eugene did not yet have a high school.  There were five faculty. The building now houses the mathematics department. Deady's architectural style is Italianate.



Continue beyond Deady, and the next building on the left is Villard Hall, the second building on campus, completed in 1886. It's style is described as Second Empire, named for the French Empire of Napoleon III (nephew of the original Napoleon who created the First Empire), ruler of France from 1851 to 1870. The building is named for Henry Villard, railroad magnate and owner of the Northern Pacific Railroad, who donated the money for the building. The building now houses the Theater Arts Department.


At the corner of the building, turn left back to your starting point, past the EmX bus rapid transit station.