Historic Resource Survey Form : Susan Campbell Hall

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Date

2006

Authors

Johnson, Susan
Dietzler, Karl

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Oregon

Abstract

This Georgian brick building was designed by the prominent architect Ellis Lawrence and constructed in 1921. Originally designed as a women’s dormitory, it now serves as University offices. It is very similar in appearance to adjacent Hendricks Hall, but Susan Campbell’s floor plan is reversed and there is no refectory wing. Residents of Susan Campbell Hall ate in the Hendricks refectory. The building is 2.5 stories, with a concrete foundation, wood shingled gambrel roof with shed dormers and brick parapets. Windows are wooden double hung sashes. Susan Campbell Hall is named for the wife of former University of Oregon President Prince Lucien Campbell and the mother of Walter Church, a graduate of the U of O’s architecture program under Ellis Lawrence. Built as the second women’s dormitory after Hendricks Hall, the original building consisted of three separate houses, each of which contained nine to twelve 4-women suites. Each suite was made up of a study room, wardrobe, dressing room, and sleeping porch. In 1948-49, the building was altered to house married couples and later returned to single gender dormitory space (first women and then men and then women again). In the 1960s, it became office space. A universal access ramp was added in 1980 on the east side of the building. Despite these alterations, Susan Campbell Hall retains a high level of exterior integrity and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as of October 1992 as part of the Women’s Memorial Quadrangle, which includes Susan Campbell, Gerlinger, and Hendricks Halls. The ensemble was nominated under Criterion A and C for the period 1917-1921 for Education and Architecture. Significance is statewide on the nomination. Under section 8, page 1, the Ellis Lawrence statewide survey is referenced and Susan Campbell is ranked 33rd out of 257 of Lawrence’s contributing buildings, with Hendricks and Gerlinger as 46th and 2nd, respectively. Furthermore, this ensemble is quoted as being Lawrence’s “most successful built ensemble (Shellenbarger and Lakin).” The survey also states that this “building group is among the best of the rare examples of Georgian-style campus buildings in Oregon which are still intact (National Register nomination, sec 8, p. 1).” Under Criterion A, Susan Campbell Hall represents a time when the enrollment of female students at the University of Oregon experienced a tremendous increase and it was only the second women’s dormitory constructed on campus (after Hendricks). Under Criterion C, Susan Campbell Hall qualifies due to its design by Ellis Lawrence, first Dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon (1914-1946) as well as for being a “fine and rare example of a collegiate building in Georgian-style (sec 8, p. 5).” For more information, please refer to the National Register Nomination.

Description

4 pages

Keywords

cultural resources survey, architecture, history

Citation