[Hist_Pres] Three Oregon Properties Listed in the National Register

[Ian Johnson]

Oregon Preservation Partners,

The Oregon SHPO is pleased to announce the latest three entries into the
National Register of Historic Places:

1. The Big ‘O’ on Skinner Butte in Eugene

The Big ‘O’ on Skinner Butte north of downtown Eugene is Oregon’s latest
entry in the National Register of Historic Places. 

Campus pride at the University of Oregon took material form when the
steel ‘O’ was constructed and dedicated at Skinner Butte on University
Day, May 17, 1958. The tradition of the ‘O’ began in 1908 when the first
‘O’ was constructed at the same spot during a period when many student
bodies in the western United States were building similar hillside
letters. School spirit and athletic rivalry has since fueled the
tradition of maintaining this symbol of campus pride. 

Activities associated with the ‘O’ included ritualized maintenance, such
as the practice of Freshmen ‘volunteers’ sliding down the letter on
their yellow-coated pant seats rather than using paintbrushes to give
the letter its distinctive color. Defacement and vandalism also became
long-standing traditions. In addition to frequently being repainted in
rival colors, more determined individuals used dynamite to blast the
letter off the hill more than once. Wooden letters constructed in the
1940s and early 50s were less likely to send debris over downtown if
blasted, but proved to be a flammable target. As a final solution, fire
and blast-resistant sheet steel was chosen as a superior alternative by
those who organized the construction of the 1958 ‘O.’ 

The new design was also sloped to allow each year’s freshmen class to
more easily slide down the letter. The monogram was planned, built, and
dedicated by Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity with support from local
business leaders. The collaborative construction of the ‘O’ demonstrated
its function as a symbol of Eugene’s connection to the University and as
a physical representation of the indomitable school spirit of the UO
student body. 

2. The David Campbell Memorial in Portland 

Located on a triangular traffic island in southwest Portland formed by
Alder Street and Southwest 18th and 19th Avenues, the David Campbell
Memorial is Portland’s latest architecturally significant property to be
recognized.

The David Campbell Memorial was dedicated in 1928 in honor of Portland
Fire Chief David Campbell who perished fighting a fire. A beloved
citizen and admired firefighter and public official, Campbell served as
the city’s fire chief between 1893 and his death in 1917 and was widely
credited with modernizing and professionalizing the City’s Fire
Department. Funded by a local trust, the memorial was created by
nationally-recognized French-born master architect Paul Cret who created
in Campbell’s honor a distinct Beaux-Arts style monument, a popular
style from 1900 through the 1920s. 

The design, suitably subdued yet grand, is constructed of limestone and
consists of a fountain, pool, and a bronze sculpture on a triangular
terrace lined with benches. The composition incorporates stylistic
elements from Greek and Roman architecture, including pilasters, a
pediment, scrolls, and an aegicranium (ram’s head). Above the fountain
is an architectural frame inset with a bronze bas-relief of Campbell
sculpted by Avard Fairbanks, noted American sculptor of the first half
of the twentieth century. Fairbanks taught sculpture at the University
of Oregon in Eugene from 1920 to 1927 and was well-known for his
realistic depictions of the human form and animals. 

3. John Yeon’s Visitors Information Center 

Located in Governor Tom McCall Park, John Yeon’s Visitor Information
Center is Portland’s latest entry in the National Register of Historic
Places.

Constructed in 1948, the Visitors Information Center is a singularly
unique example of the work of recognized master architect John Yeon. One
of Oregon’s most famous architects, Yeon is known as a pioneer of the
Northwest Regional style of only non-residential building still in existence, and was included as
one of only 43 buildings in the Museum of Modern Art’s prestigious 1953
“Built in U.S.A.: Post-War Architecture” exhibit along with works by
other know architects, Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Philip
Johnson, and Richard Neutra. 

Yeon’s deep love for the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest inspired
his multi-disciplinary style of design, where the outside views were
carefully framed in an orchestrated series of experiences. The exterior
of the low, rectangular building is composed of three-foot wide
vertically oreinted plywood panels punctuated by similarly-sized
irregularly-placed picture windows. 

The design features four enclosed “pavilions” that pinwheel around the
visually open glassed-in central area with each pavilion and a pergola
and garden wall extending beyond the glass enclosure. Views from the
building are carefully arranged to frame vistas of Mount Hood to the
North or the enclosed garden originally planted with native species. The
building exhibits aspects of both International Style and Northwest
Regional Style architecture, and is widely considered to be one of John
Yeon’s finest works.    

Oregon’s State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation recommended
nomination of these properties in June 2010. The National Register is
maintained by the National Park Service under the authority of the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. 

Full press releases for each of the three properties are attached. More
information about the National Register and recent Oregon listings is
online at www.oregonheritage.org (click on “State Historic Preservation
Office” at left of page and then National Register Program).
Downloadable PDFs of the nominations will be available by the end of the
day on October 12th.


Ian Johnson, Historian
Oregon State Historic Preservation Office
725 Summer Street NE, Suite C
Salem, Oregon  97301-1266
Ph: (503) 986-0678
Fax: (503) 986-0793
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