Constructed in 1876, Deady Hall was the University of Oregon's first building and remained the university's only building for almost ten years after its construction. In 1893, the building was named in honor of Matthew Deady, a politician in Oregon's territorial period who passed away that year. Together with Villard Hall, Deady Hall was named a National Historic Landmark in 1977 owing to their status of two of the oldest campus buildings on the West Coast.
The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon's campus in Eugene. The original building was constructed in 1930 to house a large Oriental art collection comprising of 3,700 artifacts that were donated by Gertrude Bass Warner (the museum's website states that the museum opened in 1933). It was designed by Ellis F. Lawrence, the former Dean of Architecture and Allied Arts. Its main collections are Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and American art, but art from around the world are displayed as well. It is the only academic museum in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The original part of the museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
One of the few monuments erected to a generic pioneer man in the early 20th century, this statue of a white frontiersman dressed in buckskin was dedicated on the University of Oregon campus in 1919. A companion pioneer woman was erected a decade later in the women's quad. A century later, the statue would become broiled in debate for its glorification of white settlement. Protestors removed both statues in June 2020; the statues were placed in storage.
This little-known companion to the 1919 Pioneer statue honored Oregon’s female settlers. In the 1920s and 1930s, cities throughout the western United States put up statues honoring white “pioneer mothers.” Most depicted young women striding purposely westward. In contrast, this statue depicts an elderly female settler resting from her efforts to bring Euro-American culture to the frontier. In recent years, the University of Oregon community has debated the meaning and future of both its pioneer statues. In June 2020, protesters tore down both pioneer monuments on the University of Oregon campus.
This now world-famous track and field venue opened in 1919 and is named in honor of Bill Hayward, Oregon's track and field coach from 1904-1947. Hayward Field has hosted numerous championships. and remains the home of the Oregon track team. It is also a site of remembrance in the life of Steve Prefontaine who set numerous records in the 1970s and inspired nationwide interest in distance running prior to his death at age 24.
The Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon was created in 1936. It is the state's primary repository for anthropological and paleolithic artifacts. It contains hundreds of thousands of archaeological and ethnographic objects, fossils, biological specimens from around the state, the Pacific Northwest, and the world. The museum also contains a large zoological collection but archaeology, anthropology, and paleontology remain the institution's primary focus. The museum's website has links to web galleries that show highlights from the collections.
The Maude Kerns Art Center is an art museum and educational art center near the University of Oregon campus. It is named after Maude Irvine Kerns (1876-1965), an artist and former head of the University of Oregon Arts Department. The center is dedicated towards the promotion and understanding of art. It achieves this through its exhibitions, educational programs, lectures, workshops, and other programs.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This short walking tour includes some of the historic buildings and leading museums and cultural sites on the University of Oregon campus. The tour begins at Deady Hall which was the first building on campus and was the center of a debate about the naming of campus buildings.
