WOU Repository

Name: Campbell Hall

Built: 1871

Architects & Construction:

     The Architects for the restoration project of 1993 was McBride Architects. This restoration project was finished in 1995.

     The Construction of Campbell Hall was completed in Four stages:

• The First stage started in 1871 with money raised by T.F. Campbell
• The Second stage ended in 1889 with the completion of the South Wing and the Bell Tower
• The Third Stage ended in 1898 with the North wing built which housed the first library.
• The Final Stage was in 1917 when the second floor of the south Wing was expanded for more auditorium and administrative areas.

Present Uses: Campbell Hall currently houses the Art Department with faculty offices, studios, and classrooms for art students.

History: This building was funded by T.F. Campbell who was the minister of the Christian Church. When he found that the college needed a more commodious and substantial building to start the university, he began traveling and seeking contributions to fund the project that created the brick college building that is Campbell Hall.

The center building is the oldest part of the building and was used as classroom space and for auditorium space for events such as commencement.

The South Wing was built in 1889, which contained the chapel and the model school. An auditorium was later added to the west side of this wing in 1917 which held plays, assemblies, and commencement. This wing was severely damaged from the Columbus Day storm of 1962 and was later razed.

The North wing of Campbell Hall was used as a the University's first library from 1899-1951. It contained about 20,000 volumes to read at the student's leisure. The library then moved across the street to the newly constructed building that is now called The Academic Programs and Support Center.

In the famous Columbus Day Storm on October 12, 1962, there was extensive damage to Campbell Hall. The bell tower of Campbell Hall came crashing down. Photographer, Wes Luchau was lucky enough to catch a photograph of the bell tower falling in action. The photo became a hit around the world and was featured in Life Magazine, New York Times, and the Washington Post. There also was extensive damage to the South Wing and it had to be demolished. The Humanities and Social Sciences Building now stands in its place. For the Grove, many of the trees had to be cut down.

Extra Information:

• The building was named Campbell Hall in 1936 when the administration building was built. It was called by many names prior to that; including, The Brick Building, Adminstration Building, and Main Building.
• Sometime prior to 1882, Campbell Hall caught fire. There are no official records of the event, but there are charred timbers and roof sheathing to tell the story.
• Campbell Hall is the oldest building in the Oregon public higher education system.
• This building is the first old building in Oregon to have a state-of-the-art earthquake resistant foundation.