Eugene/Architecture/Alphabet: F

 

This is the next in my Eugene/Architecture/Alphabet series of blog posts, the focus of each being a landmark building here in Eugene. Many of these will be familiar to most who live here but there are likely to be a few buildings that are less so. My selection criteria for each will be threefold: 

• The building must be of architectural interest, local importance, or historically significant.
• The building must be extant so you or I can visit it in person.
• Each building’s name will begin with a particular letter of the alphabet, and I must select one (and only one) for each of the twenty-six letters. This is easier said than done for some letters, whereas for other characters there is a surfeit of worthy candidates (so I’ll be discriminating and explain my choice in those instances). 

This week’s selection begins with the letter F, for which my choice is Fenton Hall.(1)

Fenton Hall circa 1906 (photo source:  Division of Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon)

Designed by prominent Eugene architect Y. D. Hensill and opened in 1906, Fenton Hall served as the first, dedicated home for the University of Oregon’s library collections (which were previously scattered between several older buildings).

Fenton Hall is the only example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style on the U of O campus. According to the University’s Historic Resource Survey Form, campus architect Ellis Lawrence recommended Renaissance and Colonial styles for use in buildings of secondary importance (though for a long time Fenton Hall was the heart of the University of Oregon), so the building seems to contribute to Lawrence’s plan even though it predates it.

The university sited Fenton on the Old Campus Quad along what became the primary campus pathway (named “Hello Walk’). Initially, the first floor housed the library, a reading room, and related spaces while the second story contained classrooms and faculty offices.

 
South Entry (Fenton Hall (photography by Len Stolfo unless noted otherwise).

The library collection quickly outgrew its original accommodations, necessitating a major expansion. Architect W. C. Knighton designed the addition that now stands to the west of the original building. Interestingly, the addition is steel-framed, whereas the older building is of load-bearing brick. The steel structure directly supports five levels of book stacks within an envelope generally matching the height of the 3-story original structure. Ultimately, its service as the University’s library would be short, as the current Knight Library supplanted Fenton Hall in 1937, after which Fenton Hall was again remodeled to become the Law School. Later, Fenton Hall would become the home of the Mathematics Department, the role it retains today.

 
Detail at main stair guardrail.

The university most recently remodeled Fenton Hall in 2014. As is sometimes the case with an ad hoc series of renovations, the previous work generated a maze of disorganized spaces over time. The ground floor included an awkwardly long and narrow lecture hall (the setting of the infamous fraternity council meeting scene in the 1978 movie Animal House). The upper floors were comprised of small, high-ceiling spaces, arrayed along narrow, meandering hallways. The interiors were dark and far from inviting.

The lecture hall in its original form (still from Animal House). 

The reconfigured lecture hall.

The 2014 project repaired the brick exterior and created a new, south-facing entrance. Gutting and reorganizing the interior provided better adjacencies and circulation systems. A new grand stair, day-lit from above, unifies the entry with the public spaces on the upper floors. The project improved the building’s earthquake resistance and provided the whole building with highly efficient mechanical and electrical systems. A newly inserted elevator gives access to a completely transformed lecture hall. 

The golden section in the detailing of the skylight opening reminds students of the ever-present application of their field of study.

A glass-covered opening at an interior load-bearing wall provides a glimpse of the reinforcing added to resist seismic forces. The renovation applied vibrant colors and math-inspired motifs to transform the old building into a bright new home for the Math Department.  

Fenton Hall serves today as a case in point on how to respectfully extend the life of a fine but aging structure. As the University of Oregon continues to grow, preserving the scale and detail of its older, historic architecture will be essential to retaining the campus’ unique character.

(1)    I could have selected any of several other buildings whose names begin with “F.” These include First Christian Church in downtown Eugene and the massive First Baptist Church on the north edge of town. I chose Fenton Hall because my firm, Robertson/Sherwood/Architects, in collaboration with the late, great Carl Oslund, was responsible for its most recent makeover.