EUGENE, Ore. — April 12, 2024 — It’s been a long time since the two oldest buildings on the University of Oregon campus could be called state of the art.

After all, Villard and University halls are not quite 150 years old. Uncounted Ducks have passed under their Second Empire-style facades since the buildings first opened their doors in the late 1800s.

But in not much more than a year, students will ascend the front steps into buildings that, while retaining their historic exteriors, will boast modern classroom technology, air systems that don’t rely on opening a window, and welcoming spaces to work, study, relax and perform. Another plus: They won’t fall down in an earthquake.

Interior and exterior work is well underway on a $58.5 million project to bring the two brick-and-timber greybeards into the 21st century. If the project was a remodeling program on cable television, it might be called “These Old Halls.”

“We’re bringing these up to modern standards on the inside but really keeping the historic character on the outside,” said Tim Allenbaugh of Campus Planning and Facilities Management, who is the owner representative for the University Hall project. “We’re trying to make it a more welcoming and comfortable space.”

The two buildings also will be safer. Both are unreinforced masonry construction, which can quickly topple even in a moderate earthquake. The seismic upgrade will include new interior concrete walls that will act like a building within a building, supporting the structure if the earth moves beneath it.

The buildings already have a thinner coat of concrete on the exterior, but that mainly serves to protect the bricks underneath. The bricks were made nearby, but the local clay made them softer than modern bricks, said Gene Mowry, the UO’s owner rep for Villard. The exterior concrete has to be replaced entirely on University Hall, but Villard just needs some patching and repair.

“Essentially it’s serving as a waterproofing,” Mowry said.

While both buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places, only the exteriors are considered historic. Other than some stairways, not much is left to be preserved inside.

“Over the years the interiors have been chopped up and remodeled so many times there’s very little left of the original building,” Mowry said.

Inside, the two halls have been stripped to bare timbers and brick. Massive beams of old-growth fir, rough sawn more than a century and a half ago, soar into cavernous open spaces. Some of the joinery was sawn by hand, and the beams are still a perfect fit.

The work also has opened up interior walls, revealing old brick archways that were covered up by later remodels but are still seen in historic photos of the buildings. The bricks will need to be repaired and covered up again, but archways will be preserved.

It’s the same with the tall, ornately framed exterior windows. Those have been removed and taken to Portland for restoration, preserving even the old, slightly distorted original glass.

“The idea is to put the exact same windows back in their original spots,’ Allenbaugh said.

The renovation also revealed some interesting details of late 1800s construction. For example, in one area workers have found a layer of mud and straw that was sandwiched underneath some of the upper-story floors. Mowry said it was most likely used to deaden the sound, so footsteps wouldn’t disturb students in the rooms below.

Touring the gutted buildings is like a trip back in time, a chance to see how an earlier generation built to stand the test of time. It was a revelation even for those doing the work, given they knew little about what they would find once they stripped away overlapping layers of previous remodels and got into the bones.

“We don’t have any of the original blueprints, so we basically have to go with what we find,” Mowry said.

Both building projects fall into the category of deferred maintenance, given the aging infrastructure and need for updates. But to the casual eye, it will look like a full renovation and remodeling. 

In addition to the seismic upgrades and modern classroom technology, the updates will bring completely new HVAC, plumbing, electrical and computer systems; elevators and accessibility improvements; student hearths, lounges and gathering spaces; modern faculty offices and faculty commons; and better entrances and walkways.

It also will provide much-improved backstage spaces for the Miller Theatre Complex, which was built onto the back of Villard Hall in 1949. Villard will see a new pocket theater, replacing the one that was added after the addition but lacked modern amenities, as well as dressing rooms and restrooms; set, costume and furniture storage; and theater lab and rehearsal spaces. The connection where Villard is joined to the Miller Theatre also will get a seismic upgrade.

Right now, though, the buildings are something of a blank canvas, 19th century shells awaiting a 21st century coat of strong walls, new woodwork, soft carpet and all the benefits of technology. And, with luck, another 150 years of service. 

—By Greg Bolt, University Communications

About the University of Oregon 
Founded in 1876, the University of Oregon is a Carnegie R1 research university and a member of the Association of American Universities. Home to the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health, the UO offers over 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, serving nearly 25,000 students from all 50 states and over 90 countries. UO faculty includes a Nobel Prize winner, a MacArthur fellow, a pair of National Medal of Science winners and recipients of the Pulitzer Prize.