Oregon daily emerald., November 01, 1972, Page 13, Image 13

The Mall
1972
Photo by Nick Lacy
Mall: Keeps downtown Eugene ‘in businessf
Editor's note: The following is
the first of a two-part series on
the Eugene downtown mall. The
stories below deal with the
history of the mall and city of
ficials'reactions to the success or
lack thereof of it.
The sequel, which will appear
in Thursday's Emerald, will deal
with general community reaction
to the mall.
By DOUG SOUTHGATE
SCOTTA CALLISTER
and
WARREN B. CHEN SHUI
Of the Emerald
The Eugene Urban Renewal
Project, of which the downtown
pedestrian mall is the most
prominent feature, was approved
at the City Council meeting of
Dec. 19, 1968 with an apparently
broad-based show of
unaninimity.
At that time there was indeed
justifiable concern for the future
of the then rapidly decaying
central business district. The
Eugene Fire Chief stated at the
same meeting that “downtown
Eugene is a serious fire hazard”
and that the city had forbade the
use of the upper floors in many of
the area’s buildings.
In addition Valley River Center
along with other more convenient
shopping centers was siphoning
off a good deal of business from
the downtown area.
Saves business district
The $18 million plan developed
from 1966 to 1968 by the Eugene
Renewal Agency (ERA) was
considered to be the solution to
the demise of the central business
district. Despite the cost of the
project and the qualms of many
citizens over federal government
funding of two-thirds of the fi
nancing, there seemed to be no
other way to keep downtown
Eugene “in business.”
However, the attitude of the
community during the winter of
1968-69 wa^> one of optimism, for
there was undeniably an in
novative approach to be taken in
the future planned development
of Eugene.
The spirit of progress was
somewhat dampened by the
realization that many of the
decaying edifices slated for
destruction constituted an in
tegral part ot the history of
Eugene. One building, the Smeed
Hotel, was symbolic of the
controversy over the historical
value of the old buildings.
First buildings
Originally the Baker’s Hotel, it
was constructed in 1884. The
Lane County Historical Society
made a valiant effort to save the
building by making it the Lane
County Pioneer Museum, but a
lack of funds thwarted the at
temDt
Another historical building, the
Titus Building, was built around
1890 and it served originally as a
livery and later as a Western
Union telgraph office.
The businesses located in these
old buildings were relocated,
many with the help of the ERA, to
make way for the new pedestrian
mall.
The Eugene Register-Guard
assured its readers in a Dec. 22,
1968 editorial that the project was
“no boondoggle,” and that
benefits would result “for
practically all the city’s
residents.”
Aside from the concrete
benefits of insurance savings for
homeowners living close to an
area that had not been allowed to
deteriorate was the additional
parking facilities planned for
downtown shoppers.
The paper argued that there
were to be the amenities of the
mall and its landscaping, along
with the new civic center and
auditorium. The citizens of
Eugene were asked to look to
their northern neighbor of
Portland for the obvious evidence
of the benefits from a thorough
urban renewal progect.
The editorial continued, saying
that such a comprehensive plan
was a better approach to
the development of Eugene than
the piecemeal method which had
created the problems in the ifrst
place. The Register-Guard was
I{ead
the ODE
confident that Eugene could be
proud that it had now focused its
attention on its future.
Groundbreaking ceremony in in
1970
In May of 1970, a ground
breaking ceremony marked the
beginning of construction and
months of rubble, disarray and
confusion in the downtown area.
The hazards of shopping amid the
construction were as bad for
business as the traffic and
congestion had been earlier.
The main sections of the mall
were finished and dedicated on
Feb. 13, 1971. A three-day
celebration following the
dedication ceremony featuring
performances of a band, several
dance troupes and the New
Oregon Singers. There was a
fireworks display from atop
Skinners Butte as a tribute to the
new mall.
Dedication and anti-war protest
same day
Ironically the day of dedication
was also the day of the first anti
war protest in the mall. Though
there were only about 20
protestors and their actions
didn’t seem to detract from the
enthusiasm of the crowds, the
demonstration was somewhat
prophetic of the problems in store
for the mall.
In all, the celebration was a
success. The businessmen were
faced once again with crowds of
shoppers and the mall was no
longer a plan but a reality.
Still under construction, the
mall is being extended in coor
dination with the redevelopment
of buildings downtown, according
to Don Hulbert, community
relations advisor to the ERA.
The completed mall will cover
SCARBOROUGH FAIHE
136 E«* ll>
eight blocks with Olive closed to
10th, Broadway closed to Oak,
and Willamette closed to 8th.
To be continued in Thursday’s
Emerald.
mmm
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$ Afganistan Dresses $25
100 per cent cotton
^ Hand embroidery front and cuffs
*
Specify small, medium, large; Red, Blue, and Green
♦ Include one dollar postage and handling; Allow 3-4 weeks
^ delivery
^ Make checks payable to:
*
R. M. Lawrence
755 w 10th
Eugene, Oregon 97402
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