Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1987)
Photo by Bobbie Lo The former Alpha lau Omega House, 1143 Oak St., was built in 1910. The two-and-a-half stor\ C raftsman style residence almost came face to face with a wrecking hall a few years ago until it was rescued and renovated. A medical of •-■---- i III I --v- -UrtMlWW-a. .- - I Photo by Bobbie Lo Iut stands where the A.W . Patterson House, also known as Animal House, us ed to. The building was demolished before the huj>enc Historic Review Hoard had an opportunity to discuss its fate. How much power the review board actually has was underscored in Oc tober of last year when the Eugene Water and Electric Board tore down the Eugene Mill and Elevator Co Building to make room for expansion Unlike the Mayflower and Animal House cases, the Elevator Building was a designated city landmark According to Daley. EWEB argued that it had to tear down the building to expand its headquarters. The Historic Review Board turned down EWEB’s request, she says, but the Planning Commission reversed the board’s deci sion on appeal Bennett says the decision to tear down the building was correct "I don't think there was the public support needed to save that building There comes the point where the com munity is not willing to do what’s need ed financially to save the building." he says. There has been some success in Eugene in recent years in renovating old buildings, although it doesn’t ap proach the accomplishments felt elsewhere in the state The Eugene Hotel was renovated for an estimated $2.6 million, the old Ax Billy Depart ment Store (Downtown Athletic Club) for $5.5 million and the old Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house for $270,()()() Some in the community, including The Register Guard, believed the man sionlike fraternity house should have been torn down and a parking lot built ‘I've worked with the Historic Review Board in Eugene about or dinance redevelopment, spoken with them, and met with people on different sides of the fence. And I’ve heard people voice the opi nion that preservation is not what Eugene needs because it’s obstructionist. And I really think that that’s a terrible mistake. Because it’s not the old buildings that are standing in the way of redevelopment.’ — Eric Eisemann in its place Bennett believed other wise, and today the building is full of tenants “We took the position that with some incentives, that we could create above average office space and preserve the building. 1 think it’s turned out to be an asset to the community,” Bennett says But for being the second largest city in the state, Eugene has not kept pace A check of the National Register of Historical Places for the Eugene area reveals only 17 buildings, four of them on the University campus And of the 110 projects undertaken statewide from 1082 through 1985, only four oc curred in Eugene Part of the reason, according to Eisemann, is that historic buildings have served as a scapegoat during bad economic times “I've worked with the Historic Review Board in Eugene about or dinance redevelopment, spoken with them, and met with people on different sides of the fence And I’ve heard peo pie voice the opinion that preservation is not what Eugene needs because it’s obstructionist. "And I really think that that’s a terri ble mistake Because it's not the old buildings that are standing in the wav of redevelopment All you have to do is look at any other community that has taken advantage of its history, and you can disprove the argument,” he says. .Jacobson on the other hand, beiieves the issue centers around sim pie economics "What happens is that it s hard sometimes to rehabilitate a historical building lor example, you have a building that is historical, but it needs a lot of work And it’s just too ex pensive sometimes to rehabilitate And it's cheaper to demolish it and build something in its place." he says. One problem Eugene has in trying to change public attitudes toward historic preservation is that there are few ex amples of how preservation works, such as the success Old [Own and the Yamhill District have enjoyed in Portland, Daly says "I don't think we've had that kind of success in Eugene, so it’s harder to convince those th.it aren’t hardcore, die in the wool preservationists, she says. According to Eisemann, "Using historic resources takes vision A way of looking at a piece of property in its rundown condition and envisioning what it will look like when you’re done ■ Save It For A Rainy Day! o A Donate Plasma Earn $100 EUGENE PLASMA 1071 Olive St. • 484-2241 (across from Klva) New Donors: Bring this ad in for $5 extra on your 1st donation Mon Thurs 7:30 6:00 Fri Sal 7:30 4 00 1_ UNDER *4,400! EVERYBODY NEEDS A YUGO SOMETIME THE GV BYYUCO ONLY $440 DOWN... bO payments. 11.99% APR, OAC $90 DUNHAM YUGO OAC l >n Pm Ut iliuttfalM CADIU AC, OLDSMOBIl I ISUZU. 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