Waller Hall is a building on the campus of

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 ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Opened in 1867 as University Hall, it is the oldest higher-education building west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

still in use, currently housing the university's administrative offices. Built in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style of architecture, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975. The building has been gutted twice by fires with the interior rebuilt each time, and went through renovations in 1987 to 1989 and again in 2005.

History

Background

Due to a variety of factors, including the deterioration of the main campus building dating from 1844 and the need for additional space, the university considered building a new building designed specifically for the university beginning in the 1850s.Hines, Gustavus. ''Oregon and Its Institutions; Comprising a Full History of the Willamette University''. Carlton & Porter, 1868. Then on October 3, 1860, the board of trustees for the school resolved to begin the process of building a new primary hall to be used by the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. Reverend Alvin F. Waller was placed in charge of the efforts to raise the funds needed for a building. However, this was unsuccessful and on November 19, 1862, the board again passed a resolution calling for a new structure and forming a committee of Waller,

Gustavus Hines Reverend Gustavus Hines (September 6, 1809 – December 9, 1873) was an American missionary in Oregon Country. Working for the Methodist Mission in what became the state of Oregon, the New York native became involved in early attempts to form a gov ...

, Josiah Lamberson Parrish, J. Lamson, and John H. Moores to prepare plans. On December 2, the trustees authorized

subscriptions The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century. It i ...

to be solicited and paid to Waller with a goal of $20,000. On May 20, 1863, the board met again and learned that $12,800 had been pledged and the board then set up a building committee of Waller, Hines, Moores, E.N. Cook, and

Thomas Milton Gatch Thomas Milton Gatch (January 28, 1833 – April 22, 1913) was an American pioneer educator on the Pacific Coast. He served one term as mayor of Salem, Oregon, was the president of what would become Oregon State University, served as president ...

. It was mainly through the efforts of the Reverend Waller that the hall was built. Several designs were then considered for the new building, and on February 22, 1864, by a vote of 16 to 1 the board selected the final plan that called for a brick building with a stone foundation. The foundation was to rise to a level above the ground to prevent moisture from the ground seeping into the bricks.

Construction

Construction of the new building began in February 1864 with excavation of the basement. This was on the north section of Willamette's campus in downtown Salem. Then on July 24, the cornerstone of the building was laid into place in a ceremony. The President of the Board of Trustees, David Leslie, laid the cornerstone of the hall.David Leslie.
Salem Pioneer Cemetery. Retrieved on July 19, 2009. This ceremony included a time capsule and a speech by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

A. C. Gibbs. All of the

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

s used in the construction were fired on campus using clay excavated from the construction site in order to build the foundation. The builders ordered 500,000 bricks total for the construction project. Construction was completed in 1867 and the building was named University Hall.Campus Tour
. Willamette University. Retrieved on August 31, 2007. The school "marched" from the old school building to the new and began using it on October 21, 1867. Total costs for the building were $40,000 at occupation with a need for approximately an additional $17,000 to finish and furnish the building. The building was first used for classrooms, a library, parlors, recitation rooms, and some physical education in the attic. Also in the early years the structure housed the chapel services of the school, and some temporary accommodations for students.Historic Campus Architecture Project: Waller Hall.
The Council of Independent Colleges. Retrieved on October 1, 2008.

Later years

The old school building, the

Oregon Institute The Oregon Institute was an American school located in the Willamette Valley of the Oregon Country during the 19th century. Begun in 1842, it was the first school built for European Americans west of Missouri. Founded by members of the Methodist Mi ...

, burned down in December 1872 leaving University Hall as the only building on campus.Cowger, Wright. ''The First Hundred Years: 1834-1934 Willamette University from Jason Lee to Carl Doney''. Willamette University, 1981. As a result, all departments were housed in the building including the

College of Law A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

from 1884 to 1923 when it moved to Eaton Hall and the

Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

from 1867 until 1880 when it moved to Portland. University Hall remained the only permanent campus building from 1872 when the Oregon Institute building burned down until 1906 when the Medical Building (now Art Building) was built. Other school buildings such as the first

Lausanne Hall Lausanne Hall is a college Dormitory, residence hall at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, Salem, Oregon, United States. Built in 1920, the red-brick and stone-accented structure stands three stories tall along Winter Street on the western ed ...

were located off campus. On September 16, 1891, University Hall, the school's first brick building, caught on fire.1840-1990 Keepsake Edition: Willamette University. ''Statesman Journal'', October 26, 1990. As a result of the fire the top two floors of the building as well as the roof were destroyed. The building was then re-built after the 1891 fire, but unlike the original plans it was constructed with a

Mansard A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

style roof. Additionally, a square tower was also built on top in lieu of the original cupola which included a school bell. From its construction until 1987, Waller Hall was used as an academic hall and hosted classes along with housing the school's chapel and as offices for the faculty. In 1912, Willamette renamed the building in honor of the Reverend Alvan (Alvin) F. Waller who was instrumental in getting the hall built. Then on December 17, 1919, another fire swept through Waller Hall while school was on break for Christmas. This second fire completely gutted the five-story building, but the exterior walls remained intact. The Mansard roof and square tower were destroyed in the fire. The university rebuilt the hall the following year, and used the original plans that included the round cupola but omitted the Mansard style roof and the square

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

topping the structure. Architect Fred A. Legge oversaw the rebuilding and re-design of the hall.Kuhn, Cheryl. "Living up to Lausanne", ''Willamette Scene'', Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 1985, pp. 12-13. A campaign launched in 1920 by the university was set to raise $100,000 to be used for the reconstruction of Waller, plus completing the new

and adding a central heating plant. There was some discussion of demolishing the hall in the 1980s after the structure had become dilapidated. One proposal called for building a replica on the same site as the original, but school administrators opted to renovate Waller Hall. From November 1987 to November 1989 the building went through a $2.26 million

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, o ...

. This renovation addressed interior issues with the building including

seismic Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

upgrades in the event of a large magnitude earthquake.De Carbonel, Dan. Waller Hall renovation covers next 100 years. ''Statesman Journal'', August 16, 2005. These renovations also turned the attic into an office suite for the school's president. After renovations in 1988 the building was used for university administration offices. Further renovations were completed in 2005 at a cost of $1.3 million for upgrading the 100-year-old windows to newer energy efficient models, repairing the brick, fixing leaks, installing

skylights A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History O ...

, re-painting, and slightly lightening the exterior red-brick coloring.

Architecture

Waller Hall was built in the

style of architecture. This red brick building was designed in the same proportions as a

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

. Bishop Janes was responsible for proposing this use of the cross shape for the building. Each of the two wings is long and wide with

aedicule In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ''O ...

porches on the west, east, and north ends of the building. Originally, the building was tall as measured from the base of the building to the top of the dome. The distance from the eaves of the structure to the base is . The basement of the building is high and the first floor high. The foundation is made of stone and the roof has composition shingles. Both the second and third floors are tall. The hall has a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

topping the structure. Other details include

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...

s, and brick

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

ling on the exterior and circular stairways on the interior.

Currently

Waller Hall houses alumni relations, the school's business office, human resources for the university, the office of communications, university relations, the President's office, and other administrative functions. Additionally, Cone Chapel is on the building's second floor and seats 300. Cone Chapel features over a dozen stained glass windows and a classic pipe organ. The chapel is occasionally used for commencement ceremonies, lectures, and concerts at the school. Waller Hall sits in the north central part of campus directly opposite of the

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the Oregon Legislative Assembly, state legislature and the offices of the Governor of Oregon, governor, Oregon Secretary of State, secretary of state, and Oregon State Treasurer, treasurer of t ...

. The structure is the oldest university building west of the

still in use in the United States. In 1992, during the university's

sesquicentennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

, the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

issued a

postal card Postal cards are postal stationery with an imprinted stamp or indicium signifying the prepayment of postage. They are sold by postal authorities. On January 26, 1869, Dr. Emanuel Herrmann of Austria described the advantages of a ''Corre ...

that featured an image of Waller Hall. Featuring a watercolor painting by George C. Warner of

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, these 19 cent postcards were part of the Postal Service's Historic Preservation Series.Hill, Jim. Salem's Willamette University celebrates 150 years of learning. ''The Oregonian'', January 31, 1992.

Timeline

References

External links

Historic photos of Waller Hall
from Salem Public Library, including the 1891 and 1919 fires

{{good article 1867 establishments in Oregon Buildings with mansard roofs National Register of Historic Places in Salem, Oregon Renaissance Revival architecture in Oregon School buildings completed in 1867 University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Willamette University buildings