Oregon State University Historic District - Corvallis, OR
N 44° 33.883 W 123° 16.453
10T E 478224 N 4934634
Oregon State University has the distinction of being one of only two college campuses in the U.S. designated as a National Historic District.
Waymark Code: WMPZQX
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 11/18/2015
Views: 3
Visitors to Oregon State University will notice a placard located on a sidewalk at the NW corner of SW 15th Street and SW Jefferson Way. One side of the placard contains a map of the university as well as outlining the National Historic District within the university boundaries. The other side of the placard highlights the history of Oregon State University and includes pictures and verbiage focused on elements that helped to make OSU a National Historic District, one of only two universities in the United States to have that distinction (Cornell University is the other).
The National Register of Historic Places Registration Form says the following regarding the significance of this Historic District and reads:
...the Oregon State University Historic District exemplifies the development of public, land-grant institutions between the late nineteenth and the mid-twentieth century. Land grant institutions were established in order to make education practical and available to all social classes. The goal was to provide training in areas other than classics and professions. When the Land-Grant College Act was established, practical education entailed agriculture, mechanical arts, and military tactics. Oregon State University's development followed this lead and the historic district continues to illustrate the college's adherence to those premises from its earliest days.
The Oregon State University Historic District is an excellent example of campus planning developed first by the Olmsted Brothers firm (1909-1925) and then by A.D. Taylor (1926-1944; 1945-1964). It retains the elements recommended throughout these plans, including the creation of quadrangles, grouping of buildings, architectural harmony and unity, and campus planning. In the area of architecture, the campus includes an amazing collection of buildings designed by John V. Bennes, a noted Portland architect. Over thirty of his projects remain on the campus today, and most of these buildings are located within the historic district. His involvement with the university from 1907 through 1942 is largely the reason that the campus achieved the architectural unity recommended by the Olmsted Brothers and A.D. Taylor.
The following buildings and areas listed below make up the Historic District. As each contributing building or area is waymarked, the names below will be converted to web links to each building or area's waymark page.
My coordinates will place you directly on the NW corner of SW 15th Street and SW Jefferson Way, the heart of the historic district. You can literally walk in any direction and visit parts of the campus that are part of the National Historic District. Clicking this link will download a PDF document of the Historic District in color that you can print out and take with you as you visit the campus.
List of Contributing Structures within the OSU National Historic District
Note: The above table is a work in progress as waymarks have not yet been created for all contributing buildings and sites in the district. If you create a new "contributing" waymark in the district, let me know and I'll add the link to the table above. Thank you.