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Andy Cripe | Gazette-Times
Ward 4 City Councilor Dan Brown, left, leads a tour of the College Hill West Historic District on Sunday. Looking on, from left, are Stefan Seyb, who grew up in the neighborhood and Julia and Paul Westerberg who recently moved to Corvallis. |
By Nancy Raskauskas
Gazette-Times Reporter
Local groups host tours for Historic Preservation Month
On Sunday, Ward 4 City Councilor Dan Brown led a small group on a tour of the College Hill West Historic District. Brown lives in a historic home in the neighborhood with his wife, Lisa.
The area, which is one of two National Historic Districts in Corvallis, is called College Hill because of its higher elevation relative to the downtown area.
It’s known for the many Oregon State University administrators, faculty and staff who have lived there during the years, particularly from 1905 to 1945, which is the period of historic significance that helped the area gain recognition.
The neighborhood has properties once owned by J.A. Bexell, J.L. Fairbanks, Slats A.T. Gill, G.W. Peavy and 10 others, all of whom have buildings named in their honor on the OSU campus.
Other famous names in the neighborhood include Bernard Malamud, who authored “The Natural” and Willi Unsoeld, who was one of the first Americans to climb Mount Everest.
There are about 250 historic properties in the neighborhood, including College Hill School, formerly Harding Elementary School.
According to Brown, development started in the area in 1850, when Charles Johnson received a 320-acre grant from the U.S. government.
Six years later, Johnson sold off the northeast corner of his property. Evidence of his diagonal property line can be seen today with the orientation of Arnold Way, one of the few streets in Corvallis that doesn’t follow the north-south and east-west street grid.
In the 1870s, the original university bought the southern part of the Johnson homestead for an expansion of the campus, and the northern part was developed into what is now College Hill West.
Johnson Avenue, which runs through the neighborhood, was named for Johnson, the original homesteader, not for a former president as some might think. Nearby Orchard Avenue is named for his orchard.
During Sunday’s tour, Brown regaled his tour group with detailed stories of the neighborhood that he has collected through research.
A stop at the corner of Jackson Avenue and 30th Street was particularly special for tour-goer Stefan Seyb, who lived in the two-story historic house as a child. His father still lives there.
Fostering appreciation for personal histories, such as Seyb’s, is one of the goals of the May events sponsored by the Benton County and City of Corvallis Historic Resources Commissions and PreservationWORKS in honor of Historic Preservation Month.
“Historic preservation isn’t just grand houses where famous people lived, but the homes of ordinary people,” said B.A. Beierle, the president of PreservationWORKS, at the start of Sunday’s tour. The organizers have billed their month full of tours, lectures and workshops under the theme of “This Place Matters.”
In keeping with that idea, on Wednesday, an “Atomic Ranch” house tour will highlight homes that were built following the end of World War II, at the dawn of the atomic age, according to Beierle.
In addition to 15 historic tours throughout the month, there will also be a workshop on researching your home on May 13, a preservation awards ceremony on May 20 with a keynote speech by restoration consultant and author Jane Powell and a Memorial Day ceremony at Crystal Lake Cemetery on May 26 hosted by American Legion Post 11 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 640.
Tours this week
Tuesday: North College Hill Historic Neighborhood walking tour, 6 to 8 p.m., meet at the Starker House, 320 N.W. 23rd St.
Wednesday: Atomic Ranch homes tour, 2 to 3 p.m., meet at Dixon Creek at the corner of 15th Street and Lincoln Avenue.
Thursday: South Central Park Historic Neighborhood walking tour, 6 p.m., meet at the Arts Center, 700 S.W. Madison Ave.
Saturday: Historic barns driving tour, 10 a.m., meet at Fiechter House, 12 miles south of Corvallis, in Finley National Wildlife Refuge.
Sunday: Oregon State University walking tour, 2 to 4 p.m., meet at the east side of Benton Hall.
Full calendar of Historic Preservation Month events:
http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us/downloads/cd/historicpreservation/schedule08brochure4.pdf
Corvallis Historic maps and resources:
http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1413&Itemid=1748
State Historic Preservation Office
http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/HCD/
National Register of Historic Places:
http://www.nps.gov/history/places.htm
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