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Community Hall (Oregon State University)

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Coordinates: 44°33′58″N 123°16′27″W / 44.5662°N 123.2743°W / 44.5662; -123.2743
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Community Hall
Front view of the building's exterior showing all three floors and the dense landscaping surrounding it
Community Hall exterior in 2017
Map
Map
Map
Location of Community Hall
Former namesAdministration Bldg. (1888–1947)
Benton Hall (1947–2017)
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeSchool
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
LocationCollege Hill
Address1650 SW Pioneer Place
Town or cityCorvallis, Oregon
CountryUnited States
Coordinates44°33′58″N 123°16′27″W / 44.5662°N 123.2743°W / 44.5662; -123.2743
Elevation240 ft (73 m)
Current tenantsUniversity music department
Named for
GroundbreakingAugust 17, 1887 (137 years ago) (1887-08-17)
CompletedJuly 1888 (1888-07)
OpenedSeptember 1889 (1889-09)
Cost$25,000
OwnerOregon State University
Technical details
Structural systemHeavy timber-framed
MaterialWood
Floor count3
Floor area25,806 sq ft (2,397 m2)
Lifts/elevators1
Design and construction
Architect(s)Wilbur R. Boothby[1]
Other designersEdgar M. Lazarus (1899 changes)[1]
Other information
Parking25 standard + 4 disabled spaces
Website
events.oregonstate.edu/community_hall
Community Hall (Oregon State University)
Monochrome etching of building from era shortly after completion
Etching of Community Hall used in class catalogs in this format in 1889-90 and 1890-91
Aerial view of Oregon State University campus taken in 1915
1915 aerial view of campus with Community Hall shown in the foreground, slightly left of center
LocationSW Campus Way and SW Pioneer Place, Corvallis
Coordinates44°33′58″N 123°16′27″W / 44.5662°N 123.2743°W / 44.5662; -123.2743
Part ofOregon State University Historic District (ID08000546[2])
Designated CPJune 25, 2008 (2008-06-25)

Community Hall (formerly the Administration Building, then Benton Hall) was the first building constructed on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, Oregon and the oldest structure on its campus today. Its original name was simply the "Administration Building" while the university itself was using the name under which it was first organized: Oregon State Agricultural College. It is situated on a gentle slope called "College Hill," just west of the city's commercial center on the west bank of the Willamette River, there anchoring what remains of the school's original buildings on the "Lower Campus" (given with current names and years built): Apperson Hall (1899), Benton Annex (1892), Education Hall (1902) and Gladys Valley Gymnastics Center (1898).

History

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In 1860 a lien was placed on the first building to occupy the site, by a carpenter who had not been paid for his work. The ensuing sheriff's sale resulted in ownership of the building, the land and the school operating there (Corvallis College) transferring to Rev. Orceneth Fisher on behalf of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, where he served as pastor. By 1885, calls from local leaders were growing loud to convert it to a state institution which would be eligible for federal funds under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts and the church agreed to relinquish control.[3] In response, the Oregon State Legislature passed an act that reorganized the school as the state's agricultural college, but skeptical of the actual awarding of land-grant status it decided to require the citizens of Benton County to bear the full costs for the construction of a suitable building to house its offices, which the act required to be no less than $25,000 (equivalent to $675,000 in 2020), and if successful the building would become de jure property of the state upon completion through eminent domain.

The 1880 census had reported only 1,400 households within the entire county, but less than two years later the sum had been raised, permits secured and construction began on the building still standing today, largely unchanged, as Community Hall.[4] The cornerstone was laid by the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Oregon on August 17, 1887[5] and it officially opened in September 1889 at the start of the school's final academic year as the State Agricultural College of Oregon; it opened for the 1890 term as simply the Oregon Agricultural College.[6][7]

On October 28, 1987, Governor Neil Goldschmidt signed a proclamation declaring the day as "Benton Hall Day".[5]

Benton Hall was renamed Community Hall in November 2017.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ a b Fernandez, Natalia (January 28, 2022). "OSU Buildings Histories in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center: Community Hall". LibGuides at Oregon State University. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System – Oregon State University Historic District (#08000546)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  3. ^ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Oregon State University Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  4. ^ Rimel, Anthony (July 30, 2018). "OSU report details building of Benton Hall with local funds". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  5. ^ a b DeWitt, Joce (August 18, 2012). "Happy Birthday, Benton Hall". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  6. ^ "50 Objects of Corvallis: Music, charm are hallmarks of Benton Hall". Corvallis Gazette-Times. August 10, 2014. Archived from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  7. ^ Beach, Gary L.; Nielsen, Elizabeth; Landis, Lawrence A. (eds.). "Chronological History of Oregon State University - 1890 to 1899". Oregon State University Libraries - Special Collections and Archives Research Center. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Schrock, Lillian (July 31, 2018). "OSU president announces new building names". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  9. ^ Rimel, Anthony (November 27, 2017). "OSU to change names of Avery Lodge, Benton Hall". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Archived from the original on November 27, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
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