University of Oregon - Eugene, OR - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON - The campus of the university occupies a tract of 100 acres between 11th and 18th Sts. and Alder and Agate Sts. University Street, north and south, and I3th Street, east and west, divide the campus into unequal quadrangles. The old campus between 11th and 13th Streets is planted with trees and shrubbery and well-clipped lawns, while the new campus is more open, interspersed with gardens. From north to south the story of the institution's development is seen in its architecture. On the old campus the buildings are without architectural uniformity, but to the south are more harmonious groupings.

The University of Oregon had its official beginning in 1876. The federal government in 1859 set aside a grant of seventy-two sections of land to establish a state university. No advantage was taken of the act until 1872, when the legislature fixed the site of the institution at Eugene on guaranty of the Lane County delegation that the city would provide a building and campus to cost not less than $50,000. The amount was soon raised; pledges ranged from fifty cents to fifty dollars. Farmers without cash donated wheat; one gave a fat hog. Construction of the first building, Deady Hall, began in 1873, but that year panic struck the country and there followed a struggle to keep the enterprise alive. Finally, however, in 1876, the doors opened and classes began. At first only classical and literary courses were offered. As the state developed, the college of arts and letters, the schools of architecture and allied arts, of education, of law, of journalism, of music, and of physical education, and the college of social science were established. The medical school is at Portland, the extension division is co-existent with the Oregon State System of Higher Education, and the graduate school offers courses both at the university and at Oregon State College.

The university has retained much of its campus flavor, albeit additional buildings, over the years, as described in the Guide. Most of the campus buildings mentioned in the Guide are still titled by their original names. The campus has also expanded to the east with newer buildings, both athletic and academic.

My posted coordinates place you in front of the campus Administrative Building, a good place to start your campus tour.