Historic Resource Survey Form : Collier House
| dc.contributor.author | Johnson, Susan | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mertz, Kathleen | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mendoca, Elise | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2023-09-06T18:51:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2023-09-06T18:51:26Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2006 | |
| dc.description | 5 pages | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Dr. George Haskell Collier was a Physics professor at the University of Oregon from 1879-1895 and had bought 9.5 acres of land adjacent to the school for his family’s residence. The Collier House was completed in May 1886, probably by the Collier family and based on pattern books and/or builder’s guides for the layout and style; no architect or builder is documented. Some people suggest a stylistic influence of architect Warren Haywood Williams, however, there is no documentation to verify this link. The original house had no indoor plumbing but did have a fountain. There was extensive surrounding vegetation, including an orchard. According to the Collier House Restoration Proposal, remnants of the original landscape include the false cypress, sitka spruce, big leaf maple, Japanese maple, English Holly. In addition, the memorial hedge, donated in 1925 memory of Prince Lucien Campbell, is intact. Soon after the house was completed, it began to play a central role for community gatherings, meetings and parties. In 1896, Professor Collier retired from the University and sold the house, barn and acreage to the school for $5,000. At this point, the UO President Charles Hiram Chapman moved into the upstairs with his family and the University library holdings were moved into the downstairs. From 1896-1900, the building was referred to as South Hall. In 1900, the Board of Regents voted to have it permanently house the university president and thus it became the President’s House. During the occupancy of president Prince Lucien Campbell (1902- 1925), a variety of small changes were made throughout the building. A room and bath were added to the southwest bedroom, the front stairs were remodeled, and a sleeping porch as placed above the drying porch. Ellis Lawrence redesigned the front porch and door in 1914, with the help of an architecture student Walter Church. A fireplace was added to the west wall in 1932, which involved the rearrangement of some windows. Many accounts characterize the building as a center of social activity for the university during this period. After Campbell’s death in 1925, the building was refinished prior to the next president’s occupancy. The house was referred to as the Chancellor’s House between 1932-1938 while the University was without a president. Around this same time, the barn was razed and a two-car garage was added to the south side (where the current dining room addition is located), the east porch was enclosed with glass, improved baths were added to the second story with exposed pipe work on the west side, and steam radiators replaced the wood basement furnace. In 1941, the Collier House became the Faculty Club. The associated renovations include turning the northwest parlor into a library and the southwest bedroom addition into a billiards room. The upstairs rooms were rented out to male faculty and the downstairs was used for meetings, special events and a restaurant. This use led to the demolition of the garage and bedroom on the southwest corner to make room for a large dining room addition in 1963 by Eugene architects Wilmsen, Endicott & Unthank. A billiards room was housed below the dining room, the wood porch was added to the north side, the south stairs were remodeled and other miscellaneous interior modifications were made to support the dining room facilities. This is the general state of the building today although the Faculty Club closed in 2003. It now is used for faculty offices, classrooms and small music recitals. In 1980 the University officially changed its name to the Collier House. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/28803 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | en_US |
| dc.rights | Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-US | en_US |
| dc.subject | architecture | en_US |
| dc.subject | history | en_US |
| dc.subject | cultural resources survey | en_US |
| dc.title | Historic Resource Survey Form : Collier House | en_US |
| dc.type | Other | en_US |