Johnson, SusanBurk, KathrynStoller, Melissa2023-09-062023-09-062006https://hdl.handle.net/1794/288424 pagesDesigned by Warren H. Williams, noted architect of iron front buildings from Albany to Portland, Villard Hall was the second building constructed on the University of Oregon campus due to a grant from University patron Henry Villard. It was referred to as the New College Building during construction but by the dedication ceremony it received the name Villard Hall, in honor of Henry Villard. He had assisted the university in 1881 with a donation of $7000 to erase the remaining debt from the construction of Deady Hall (he was a friend of Matthew Deady). He also donated $1000 for a library, $1000 for science equipment, established five $250 scholarships and a $50,000 endowment to UO. Henry Villard was born in Bavaria as Ferdinand Heinrich Gustav Hilgard. He changed his name when he was 18 years old and immigrated to the US. He settled in Illinois where he became an English reporter for the German newspapers and was purportedly a friend of Abraham Lincoln. He married Abolitionist Fannie Garrison. He studied finance and supervised US holdings of German businessmen. He amassed great wealth through his land holdings on New York’s Madison Avenue and through his ownership of the Northern Pacific Railroad and General Electric. McKim, Mead & White designed his house in New York.enCreative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-UShistoryarchitecturecultural resources surveyOther