The Art Building is an academic hall at

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

, United States. Built in 1905 for the Willamette University College of Medicine, it is the third oldest building on campus after

Waller Hall Waller Hall is a building on the campus of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, in the United States. Opened in 1867 as University Hall, it is the oldest higher-education building west of the Mississippi River still in use, currently housing ...

and Gatke Hall. The Beaux-Arts style red-brick building stands three stories tall and contains of space.

History

In 1905, Willamette University opened the Medical Building as the first permanent home for the College of Medicine.Historic Campus Architecture Project: Art Building.
The Council of Independent Colleges. Retrieved on October 1, 2008.Cowan, Ron. "Redo in works at college", ''

Statesman Journal The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Orego ...

'', March 17, 2002, Life, p. 1D.1840-1990 Keepsake Edition: Willamette University. ''

'', October 26, 1990. The medical school, the first in the Northwest, merged with the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

's medical school (now

Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public university, public research university, research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded ...

) in Portland in 1913 and vacated the building.Gibby, Susan
Salem Online History: Willamette University.
Salem Public Library. Retrieved on April 8, 2009. That year the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

moved into the now Science Hall, which was the first regular home to the school on campus.''Celebrating 125 Years of Outstanding Legal Education and Bar Leadership''. Editor Anne Marie Becka, Willamette University College of Law, 2008. p. 19, 50. Willamette's high school department, Willamette Academy, was also located in the building from 1913 until 1920.Willamette University Historic Buildings.
''Salem Historical Quarterly''. Retrieved on October 3, 2008. The science department also occupied the building at this time. In 1938, the law school moved to Gatke Hall (built in 1903 and moved to campus in 1938), and in 1941 the science department moved to neighboring Collins Hall. In 1941, the then College of Music moved into the building, remaining until 1976. That year the building finished renovations begun the previous year after the structure had declined to the point where the top floor was declared unsafe by the

fire marshal A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a state, provincial or territorial government, but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually include ...

. The remodel prepared the building for use by the art department, who moved there in 1976 with the building renamed as the Art Building. After the art department relocated to the hall, a gallery for the school's art collection developed on the top floor and was named the Hallie Brown Ford Gallery. The collections were moved in 1998 to the new Hallie Ford Museum of Art located one block to the west. In 2002, a wing was added and the existing structure was extensively remodeled and upgraded in a $3.5 million project. The three-story and wing was added to the east with covered walkways connecting it to the existing structure on each of the three floors. Renovations on the original building included seismic retrofitting, addition of bathrooms, and reconfiguration of the basement and the top floor. Jon Weiner of Soderstrom Architects designed the new brick-faced wing, while Walsh Construction served as the general contractor.Basalyga, Stephanie. "Willamette University buys Salem property", ''

Daily Journal of Commerce The ''Daily Journal of Commerce'' (DJC) is an American newspaper published Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Portland, Oregon. It features business, construction, real estate, legal news and public notices. It is a member of American Court & Com ...

'', July 15, 2003.

Details

The original building contains spread over three stories and a full basement. It is the oldest building at Willamette after Gatke and Waller halls, though Gatke was built elsewhere and moved to campus in 1938. Originally featuring wood floors, the now carpeted hall includes a ceramics studio in the basement attached to an outdoor kiln, teaching studios, galleries, offices, and work rooms. The Beaux Arts style brick building is at the corner of State and Winter streets on the north end of the campus across from the Oregon Civic Justice Center. The hall has a concrete foundation faced with bricks with the roof made of composite shingles. The new wing includes a gallery for the display of student art, a 35-seat classroom, offices, painting and printmaking studios, and storage areas. The art history and art departments both occupy the buildings.

References

External links

Historic photograph of building
from the official City of Salem website {{Willamette University School buildings completed in 1905 Willamette University buildings 1905 establishments in Oregon University and college arts centers in the United States Beaux-Arts architecture in Oregon