HUGH PRICHARD
Hope Abbey restored.
A STORY OF HOPE
A remarkable success story is unfolding in
east Eugene. Against great odds, a group of
citizens has been quietly working for more
than 10 years to save and restore a unique
landscape and a historic building. Performing
hands-on labor and raising donations has been
slow, challenging work. But this group of de-
termined volunteers is succeeding at a level
that surprises even them.
In 1913, Ellis Lawrence designed Hope
Abbey. It was the young architect’s first build-
ing in Eugene. He went on to design many
stunning buildings on the UO campus, includ-
ing the Knight Library, the art museum, Mac
Court and several other familiar campus land-
marks.
But while his university buildings became
well-loved treasures, Lawrence’s Hope
Abbey, just seven blocks from campus, be-
came dilapidated and forgotten. Over the
years, it was so badly vandalized that all 70 of
its windows had to be bricked shut. It was cov-
ered in graffiti and full of water in winter. To
make matters worse, it stood in an equally de-
teriorated setting: 10 acres of overgrown and
untended land. The surrounding neighbor-
hood had turned its back on the eyesore.
Efforts had been made over the years to
stop the decline, but the task seemed impossi-
ble until the early 1990s, when a small group of
people met to brainstorm. From that meeting,
Kay Holbo emerged to lead the transformation.
• The debate over renaming Centennial
Boulevard for Martin Luther King Jr. is
running a twisted course. We hear local
neo-Nazis are circulating anti-King hate
fliers around town, and Springfield is
balking at renaming their half of the
boulevard, preferring instead to attach
King’s name to the yet-to-be-built
PeaceHealth palace parkway. The
Eugene Planning Commission heard
compelling testimony on the subject and
voted unanimously in favor of the
Centennial name change, preferring it to
renaming Ferry Street Bridge. Local
African American historian Mark Harris
notes that the construction of the bridge
in 1949 bulldozed Tent City, forcing evac-
uation of a cohesive black Eugene neigh-
borhood. But regardless of history, con-
servatives on the City Council are
expected to dig in their heels next week.
We could see a fiery showdown when
the topic hits the council agenda at 7:30
pm Tuesday, May 27 at the council
chambers on Pearl. Be there early if you
want to be heard.
On this Memorial Day weekend, you can
see for yourself what a group of determined
citizens with a clear vision can
accomplish.
The most stunning sight will be light pour-
ing into the interior of Hope Abbey for the first
time in more than 40 years. All of the windows
have been replaced and 13 have been restored
with stained glass and the original metal work.
Laboriously reconstructed copper-clad en-
trance doors open into a space that has been
cleaned and painted. Original light fixtures
have been restored by the same company that
supplied the originals. There is still much
work to be done, but the transformation is dra-
matic.
Outside, the landscape is also being trans-
formed. Guided by a detailed plan, work pro-
ceeds to restore native plants, remove invasive
non-natives, and renovate the plots and walk-
ways. Self-guided walking tours with excel-
lent signage and information have been in-
stalled to help visitors explore the flora and
history of this 10-acre retreat. The history
plaques provide a fascinating glimpse of old
Eugene.
Hope Abbey and the surrounding Eugene
Masonic Cemetery at East 25th and University
will be open from 10 am to 4 pm this Saturday,
Sunday and Monday. Veterans’ graves will be
honored and Taps will be played at noon each
day by a veteran who lives adjacent to the
cemetery. — Hugh Prichard
• Walgreens, the 4,000-store drug chain,
has been scouting our growing metro
area for years, and word is the company
is buying up commercial property at
already congested 18th and Chambers.
The great little local hamburger joint,
coffee dive and optical shop on the
southwest side will be flattened,
replaced with a concrete box and drive-
through pharmacy within screaming dis-
tance of redundant Bi-Mart and
Albertson’s. Walgreens has 26 stores in
Oregon, and reportedly wants five stores
in Eugene/Springfield. A typical store is
14,500 sq. ft. This is a test of our city
planning goals and nodal development
(see cover story this week). We predict
Walgreens will send in a legal team to
fight any restrictions, such as requiring a
second story of apartments and offices
over the store.
• The Eugene plasma drive to support
schools is getting national play in a
MoveOn ad campaign (see www.stopbud-
getdisaster.com), but we hear Cox Cable
FOE GATHERS
Bob Stacey, new executive director of 1000
Friends of Oregon, will give the keynote
speech at the Friends of Eugene (FoE) annual
meeting in Eugene at 7 pm Thursday, May 22,
at the First United Methodist Church, 1376
Olive St. The event is free and open to all.
The 1000 Friends legal team represented
FoE and other local petitioners in their suc-
cessful challenge to the City of Eugene’s ap-
proval of the West Eugene Parkway.
FoE President Kevin Matthews will open
the public program with some highlights of
FoE efforts over the last year, and brief com-
ments on future directions for the local 1000
Friends affiliate.
Stacey will address the significant chal-
lenges facing Oregon’s land use system today,
and talk about continuing efforts to protect
Oregon’s quality of life through the conserva-
tion of farm and forestlands, protection of nat-
ural and historic resources and promotion of
more compact and livable cities, especially in
Lane County.
More information: www.FriendsofEugene.org
CORRECTIONS/
CLARIFICATIONS
Regarding last week’s cover story on
Faith in Action, it appears we were misin-
formed regarding the history of Two Rivers
Interfaith Ministry. The Rev. Dan Bryant
tells us “TRIM was actually formed in the
fall of 1994 in the office of Greg Flint at First
Congregational after the Lane Ministerial
Association, which was created the year be-
fore, ceased to function. (And LMA emerged
out of an informal group of ministers that
met monthly for lunch at Grace Lutheran
Church for many years.) As I recall, there
were four or five of us who wrote the mis-
sion statement and started the organization
on that day. It is possible we may have dis-
cussed OCA, but opposing their ballot mea-
sures was not the focus of the group. I be-
lieve it was actually the Religious Response
Network which was formed in the late ‘80s
in response to the campaigns of OCA.”
Bryant says TRIM supported some of the ef-
forts of RRN, but the two groups were sepa-
rate.
temporarily banned the Bush-bashing
ads in Arizona, saying they were in
“poor taste.” One observer notes,
“what’s really in poor taste is George
Bush pushing a millionaire tax break
which will mean cuts in education while
parents are forced to sell their plasma to
fund their public schools.”
providing a more formal way for local
scientists to weigh in (when invited) on
complex issues facing our City Council
and County Commission. We have
incredible scientific resources available
at UO and in our larger community. Let’s
put this brain power to work to improve
our decision making.
• The Federal Communications
Commission is poised June 2 to autho-
rize sweeping rule changes that could
ease restrictions on how many TV sta-
tions, newspapers, radio stations, and
cable providers can be owned by one
company. Concentration of ownership
(see our cover story on Clear Channel
April 24) is already interfering with
diversity in media content. We urge
everyone to ask Congress and the FCC
to fight media deregulation. For more
information, visit www.moveon.org
• County Commissioner Anna Morrison is
not likely to support the county joining
the city in taking a stand against the
USA PATRIOT Act. More than a dozen
citizens from all over Lane County testi-
fied before the commission May 13. After
the meeting, Morrison told EW that our
“devastating economic times” is her first
priority, and “to focus on something we
have no control over or to divert limited
staff resources is not acceptable at this
time.” During the impassioned testimony
on how local civil liberties are in peril,
Morrison reportedly did not look up
once, but instead was engrossed in a
document on forest thinning
practices.
• An Independent Science Review Board
may finally get off the ground this spring
or summer. We’ve always like the idea of
MAY 22, 2003 7