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