Eugene is the second largest city in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and the
seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of
Lane County-National protected areas:*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siuslaw National Forest *Umpqua National Forest *Willamette National Forest -Government:...
. It is located at the south end of the
Willamette ValleyThe Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
, at the confluence of the
McKenzieThe McKenzie River is a tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range east of Eugene and flows into the southernmost end of the Willamette Valley. It is named for Donald MacKenzie, a Scottish Canadian fur trader...
and
WillametteThe Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
rivers, about 50 miles (80.5 km) east of the
Oregon CoastThe Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
.
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Eugene has a population of 156,185, and Lane County (co-located with the Eugene-
SpringfieldSpringfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area...
Metropolitan Statistical Areathumb|An enlargeable map of the 942 [[Core Based Statistical Area]]s of the [[United States]]. The 367 [[Metropolitan Statistical Area]]s are shown in red....
) (MSA) has a population of 351,715. While Eugene has long been the second largest city in Oregon, it was briefly surpassed by
SalemSalem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
between 2005 and 2007. The Eugene-Springfield, Oregon MSA is the 144th largest metropolitan statistical area of the U.S, and the third largest in the state, behind the Portland Metropolitan Area and the
Salem Metropolitan AreaThe Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area , as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in western Oregon, Marion and Polk. The principal city is Salem, the state capital, which has a population of 154,637. As of the 2010 census, there were 390,738 people...
.
Eugene is home to the
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. The city is also noted for its natural beauty, recreational opportunities (especially
bicyclingCycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, running/jogging,
raftingRafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
,
kayakA kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
ing), focus on the arts, activist political leanings, and residents with "alternative" lifestyles. Eugene's slogan is "A Great City for the Arts and Outdoors." It is also referred to as the "Emerald City", and as "Track Town, USA." The
NikeNike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
corporation had its beginnings in Eugene.
History
Eugene is named after its founder,
Eugene Franklin SkinnerEugene Franklin Skinner was an early American settler in Oregon and founder of the city of Eugene, Oregon, which is named for him....
. In 1846, Skinner erected the first cabin in the area. It was used as a
trading postA trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
and was registered as an official
post officeA post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
on January 8, 1850. At this time the location was known as Skinner's Mudhole. Skinner founded Eugene in 1862 and later ran a ferry service across the Willamette River where the
Ferry Street BridgeThe Ferry Street Bridge is a bridge that spans the Willamette River in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is located near downtown Eugene, where the city's founder Eugene Skinner once operated a ferry service. The bridge is at Willamette river mile 182.2, and is a block west of the north terminus...
now stands.
The first major educational institution in the area was
Columbia CollegeColumbia College was a college in Eugene in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1856, the school was part of a system of churches established by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The school's building burned down twice before the school closed in 1860...
, founded a few years earlier than the
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. It fell victim to two major fires in four years, and after the second fire the college decided not to rebuild again. The part of south Eugene known as College Hill was the former location of Columbia College. There is no college there today.
The town raised the initial funding to start a public university, which later became the
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
, with the hope of turning the small town into a center of learning. In 1872, the
Legislative AssemblyThe Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
passed a bill creating the University of Oregon as a state institution. Eugene bested the nearby town of
AlbanyAlbany is the eleventh largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon, and is the county seat of Linn County. It is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, just east of Corvallis and south of Salem. It is...
in the competition for the state university. In 1873, community member J. H. D. Henderson donated the hilltop land for the campus, overlooking the city.
The University first opened in 1876 with the regents electing the first faculty and naming John Wesley Johnson as president. The first students registered on October 16, 1876. The first building was completed in 1877; it was named Deady Hall in honor of the first Board of Regents President and community leader Judge
Matthew P. DeadyMatthew Paul Deady was a politician and jurist in the Oregon Territory and the state of Oregon of the United States. He served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1853 to 1859, at which time he was appointed to the newly created federal court of the state...
.
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 40.54 square miles (105 km²), with 40.5 square miles (104.89 km²) of it being land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) (0.10%) of it is water. Eugene is located at an elevation of 426 feet (130 m).
To the north of downtown is
Skinner ButteSkinner Butte is a prominent hill on the north edge of downtown Eugene, Oregon, United States, near the Willamette River. Skinner Butte is a local landmark and the location of Skinner Butte Park, a municipal park. It is named for Eugene Skinner, the founder of Eugene...
. Northeast of the city are the
Coburg HillsThe Coburg Hills are a range of foothills of the western Cascade Range of Lane and Linn counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. They are located northeast of Eugene and east of Coburg, between the Mohawk Valley and Willamette Valley.-Topography:...
.
Spencer ButteSpencer Butte is a prominent landmark in Lane County, Oregon, United States, on the southern edge of Eugene, with an elevation of 2055 feet . Spencer Butte is accessible from Spencer Butte Park and has several hiking trails to the summit. The tree cover on the butte is predominantly Douglas-fir,...
is a prominent landmark south of the city.
Mount PisgahMount Pisgah is a hill in Lane County, Oregon, United States, rising above the surrounding Willamette Valley to a maximum elevation of . It was named after the biblical Mount Pisgah. It is situated between the Coast Fork and Middle Fork of the Willamette River, two miles southeast of their...
is southeast of Eugene and includes
Mount Pisgah ArboretumThe Mount Pisgah Arboretum is a non-profit arboretum and botanical garden located within the Howard Buford Recreation Area , between the Coast Fork of the Willamette River and the slopes of Mount Pisgah near Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, United States...
and Howard Buford Recreation Area, a Lane County Park.
The
WillametteThe Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
and
McKenzieThe McKenzie River is a tributary of the Willamette River in western Oregon in the United States. It drains part of the Cascade Range east of Eugene and flows into the southernmost end of the Willamette Valley. It is named for Donald MacKenzie, a Scottish Canadian fur trader...
rivers run through Eugene and neighboring city,
SpringfieldSpringfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area...
. Another important stream is
Amazon CreekAmazon Creek is a stream that runs through parts of Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is a tributary of the Long Tom River and is Eugene's second-largest waterway after the Willamette River.-Background:...
, whose headwaters are near Spencer Butte. The creek discharges into
Fern Ridge ReservoirFern Ridge Reservoir is a reservoir on the Long Tom River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The reservoir is located approximately west of Eugene on Oregon Route 126. The reservoir is a U.S...
west of the city.
Neighborhoods
Eugene has 21 neighborhood associations:
- Amazon
- Bethel
Bethel-Danebo, most commonly referred to as Bethel, is a neighborhood of west Eugene, Oregon, United States. The neighborhood boundaries are Oregon Route 99 on the east, the former Southern Pacific Coos Bay Line on the south, Green Hill Road on the west and Clear Lake Road on the north.The...
- Cal Young
- Churchill
- Crest Drive
- Downtown
- Fairmount
|
Far West
Friendly Friendly is a neighborhood in south central Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is represented by the neighborhood association Friendly Area Neighbors....
Harlow
Industrial Corridor
Jefferson Westside
Laurel Hill Valley
River Road |
Santa ClaraSanta Clara is a community in Lane County, Oregon, United States, part of which is a neighborhood of the city of Eugene, but most of which is an unincorporated area. Prior to a number of partial annexations by the city between 1990 and 2005, Santa Clara was an unincorporated census-designated...
(including IrvingIrving was an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States, and now within the Eugene city limits. Irving Depot was a station on the Southern Pacific Railroad's Valley Line between Eugene and Junction City, first named "Halletts" when the line was built in 1872. J. L...
)
South University
SoutheastSoutheast is the southernmost neighborhood of Eugene, Oregon, United States.It is home to more than 13,000 residents, and includes "most of the remaining upland wildlife habitat" in Eugene....
Trainsong
West Eugene
West UniversityThe West University Neighborhood is a neighborhood in Eugene, Oregon, United States, west of the University of Oregon. The neighborhood encompasses the area west from Kincaid Street to Willamette Street, and north from East 19th Avenue to Franklin Boulevard. 97% of the residences in the...
WhiteakerWhiteaker is a neighborhood in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is located to the Northwest of downtown Eugene, and is home to primarily working class residents. Though it has served as an agricultural and commercial district in the past, it has become a primarily residential area...
|
Climate
Like the rest of the
Willamette ValleyThe Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
, Eugene lies in the Marine West Coast climate zone (
KoppenThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfb), with some
MediterraneanA Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
characteristics. Temperatures are mild year round, with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Spring and fall are also moist seasons, with light rain falling for long periods. Winter snowfall does occur, but it is sporadic and rarely accumulates in large amounts: the average seasonal amount is 5 inches (12.7 cm), and the median is 0. The hottest months are July and August, with average highs of around 82 °F (28 °C), with an average of 15 days per year above 90 °F (32.2 °C). The coolest month is December, with the average daytime high in the mid 40s °F (7-8 °C), and nights averaging just above freezing. There are 54 nights per year with a low below freezing, and about 3 days with highs not exceeding freezing.
Eugene's
averageIn mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....
annual temperature is 52.1 °F (11.2 °C), and annual precipitation at 50.9 inches (1,292.9 mm). Eugene is slightly cooler on average than
PortlandPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. Despite being located about 100 miles (160.9 km) south and having only a slightly higher elevation, Eugene has a more continental climate, less subject to the maritime air that blows inland from the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River. Eugene's average August low is 50.8 °F (10.4 °C), while Portland's average August low is 56.5 °F (13.6 °C). Average winter temperatures (and summer high temperatures) are similar for the two cities. This disparity may be additionally caused by Portland's
urban heat islandAn urban heat island is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas. The phenomenon was first investigated and described by Luke Howard in the 1810s, although he was not the one to name the phenomenon. The temperature difference usually is larger at night...
, where the combination of black pavement and urban energy use raises nighttime temperatures. A lesser heat island may also exist in the immediate
downtownDowntown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
of Eugene.
Environmental issues
The combination of being in the downwind end of the Willamette Valley, the undisputed "grass-seed capital of the world" and the confining shape of the hills has led to Eugene being “the area of the highest grass pollen counts in the USA (> 1,500 pollen grains/m 3 of air).” These high pollen counts have led to difficulties for some of the track athletes who compete in Eugene. In the Olympic trials in 1972, “Jim Ryun won the 1,500 after being flown in by helicopter because he was allergic to Eugene's grass seed pollen.” Further, six-time Olympian Maria Mutola abandoned Eugene as a training area “in part to avoid allergies”.
Demographics
2010 Census data
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Eugene's population was 156,185. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 3,572.2 people per square mile. There were 69,951 housing units at an average density of 1,600 per square mile. Those age 18 and over accounted for 81.8% of the total population.
The racial makeup of the city was 90.2% White, 5.7%
AsianAsian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 2.4% Black or
African AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 2.8% Native American, 0.6% Pacific Islander, and 3.4% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
.
Hispanics and Latinos of any race accounted for 7.8% of the total population. Of the non-Hispanics, 82% were White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race alone, and 3.4% were of two or more races.
Females represented 51.1% of the total population, and males represented 48.9%. The median age in the city was 33.8 years.
2000 Census data
The
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000 showed that there were 137,893 people, 58,110 households, and 31,321 families residing in the city of Eugene. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 3,404.8 people per square mile (1,314.5/km²). There were 61,444 housing units at an average density of 1,516.4 per square mile (585.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.15% White, 3.57%
AsianAsian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 1.25% Black or
African AmericanRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.93% Native American, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.18% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 3.72% from two or more races. 4.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 58,110 households, of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was 20.3% under the age of 18, 17.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,850, and the median income for a family was $48,527. Males had a median income of $35,549 versus $26,721 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $21,315. About 8.7% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
Religion
Religious institutions of higher learning in Eugene include Northwest Christian University and New Hope Christian College. Northwest Christian University (formerly Northwest Christian College), founded in 1895, has ties with the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
. New Hope Christian College (formerly Eugene Bible College) originated with the Bible Standard Conference in 1919, which joined with Open Bible Evangelistic Association to create
Open Bible Standard Churchesright|thumb | OBSC Pacific Office in [[Eugene, Oregon]]The Open Bible Standard Churches or Open Bible Churches is an association of Pentecostal churches with headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Open Bible Churches is affiliated with , an accredited Bible college in Eugene, Oregon...
in 1932.
Eugene Bible CollegeNew Hope Christian College, formerly known as Eugene Bible College, is a private, four-year Bible college located on a campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States...
was started from this movement by Fred Hornshuh in 1925.
The Eugene area has a sizeable Mormon presence. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has three stakes, consisting of 23 congregations (wards and branches). The
Portland Oregon TempleThe Portland Oregon Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on near the intersection of Highway 217 and I-5 in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The temple's architecture features six white spires and a white marble exterior accented with green marble trim and topped...
is the nearest temple.
The
ReconstructionistReconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. It originated as a branch of Conservative Judaism, before it splintered...
Temple Beth IsraelTemple Beth Israel is a Reconstructionist synagogue located at 1175 East 29th Avenue in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in the early 1930s as a Conservative congregation, Beth Israel was for many decades the only synagogue in Eugene....
is Eugene's largest
JewishJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
congregation. It was also, for many decades, Eugene's only
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
, until
OrthodoxOrthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
members broke away in 1992 and formed "Congregation Ahavas Torah".
Eugene has a community of some 140 Sikhs, who have established a Sikh temple.
The 340 member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Eugene (UUCE) purchased the former Eugene Scottish Rite Temple in May 2010.
Community
Eugene is noted for its "community inventiveness." Many U.S. trends in community development originated here. The
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
's participatory
planningPlanning in organizations and public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan; and the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired goal on some scale. As such, it is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior...
process, known as
The Oregon ExperimentThe Oregon Experiment is a 1975 book by Christopher Alexander and collaborators Murray Silverstein, Shlomo Angel, Sara Ishikawa, and Denny Abrams...
, was the result of student protests in the early 1970s. The book of the same name is a major document in modern enlightenment thinking in planning and architectural circles. The process, still used by the University in modified form, was created by
Christopher AlexanderChristopher Wolfgang Alexander is a registered architect noted for his theories about design, and for more than 200 building projects in California, Japan, Mexico and around the world...
, whose works also directly inspired the creation of the
WikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
. Some of the research for the book
A Pattern LanguageA Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction is a 1977 book on architecture, urban design, and community livability. It was authored by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein of the Center for Environmental Structure of Berkeley, California, with writing credits also to...
, which inspired the
Design PatternsDesign Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software is a software engineering book describing recurring solutions to common problems in software design. The book's authors are Erich Gamma, Richard Helm, Ralph Johnson and John Vlissides with a foreword by Grady Booch. The authors are...
movement and
Extreme ProgrammingExtreme programming is a software development methodology which is intended to improve software quality and responsiveness to changing customer requirements...
, was done by Alexander in Eugene. Not coincidentally, those engineering movements also had origins here.
A Pattern Language is the best-selling book on architecture and planning of all time.
In the 1970s, Eugene was packed with cooperative and community projects. It still has small natural food stores in many neighborhoods, some of the oldest student cooperatives in the country, and alternative schools have been part of the school district since 1971. The old Grower's Market, downtown near the
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
depot, is the only food cooperative in the U.S. with no employees. It is possible to see Eugene's trend-setting non-profit tendencies in much newer projects, such as the Tango Center and the
Center for Appropriate TransportThe Center for Appropriate Transport is an innovative non-profit community center, dedicated to bicycles and alternative transport. It is near the most extensive river bike trail in the United States, at 1st and Washington streets in Eugene, Oregon....
. In 2006, an initiative began to create a tenant-run development process for Downtown Eugene.
In the fall of 2003, neighbors noticed that "an unassuming two-acre remnant orchard tucked into the Friendly Area Neighborhood" had been put up for sale by its owner, a resident of
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Learning that a prospective buyer had plans to build several houses on the property, they formed a non-profit organization called
Madison Meadow in June 2004 in order to buy the property and "preserve it as undeveloped space in perpetuity." In 2007 their effort was named Third Best Community Effort by the
Eugene Weekly, and by the end of 2008 they had raised enough money to purchase the property.
Anarchy
During the late 1990s and early first decade of the 21st century Eugene contained a community of
anarchistAnarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
s situated in the
Whiteaker neighborhoodWhiteaker is a neighborhood in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is located to the Northwest of downtown Eugene, and is home to primarily working class residents. Though it has served as an agricultural and commercial district in the past, it has become a primarily residential area...
of west Eugene. This community gained international notoriety in 1999, due to its perceived role in the protests at the
WTO ConferenceProtest activity surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, which was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations, occurred on November 30, 1999 , when the World Trade Organization convened at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington,...
in Seattle that year. Following those protests, then-mayor
Jim TorreyJim Torrey is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served eight years as mayor of Eugene. Torrey was a Republican candidate for the 2006 Oregon State Senate. He was defeated by incumbent Vicki Walker...
described the city as "the anarchist capital of the United States."
The Eugene anarchist movement grew out of the
treesitTree sitting is a form of environmentalist civil disobedience in which a protester sits in a tree, usually on a small platform built for the purpose, to protect it from being cut down...
s and forest defense camps of the 1990s. Demonstrations and riots in Eugene have since occurred notably during a
Reclaim the StreetsReclaim The Streets is a collective with a shared ideal of community ownership of public spaces. Participants characterize the collective as a resistance movement opposed to the dominance of corporate forces in globalization, and to the car as the dominant mode of transport.-Protests:Reclaim The...
event on June 18, 1999, when protesters blocked downtown streets and smashed the windows of three stores. Some rioters threw stones and bottles at police.
One notable set of events in Eugene's anarchist community's history was the "mud people's" protest. On that day, the participants noticed two blocks of trees, in a parking lot near the downtown area, were slated for removal the following Sunday. The ensuing tree sitting protest on June 1, 1997 was reported widely, as it lasted several hours before the crowd became violent and the police responded with
pepper sprayPepper spray, also known as OC spray , OC gas, and capsicum spray, is a lachrymatory agent that is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears...
. A lawsuit by protesters against police response was settled five years later.
The ongoing trials of accused "eco-terrorists" continue to keep Eugene in the same spotlight.
Historically, Eugene has fostered the
anarcho-primitivistAnarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, and alienation...
movement.
John ZerzanJohn Zerzan is an American anarchist and primitivist philosopher and author. His works criticize agricultural civilization as inherently oppressive, and advocate drawing upon the ways of life of prehistoric humans as an inspiration for what a free society should look like...
, a Eugene resident, is a editor of the
Green AnarchyGreen Anarchy was a magazine published by a collective located in Eugene, Oregon. The magazine's focus was primitivism, post-left anarchy, radical environmentalism, African American struggles, anarchist resistance, indigenous resistance, earth and animal liberation, anti-capitalism and supporting...
magazine. This author has been associated with the growth of the green anarchist movement and associated with the philosophy behind
black blocA black bloc is a tactic for protests and marches, whereby individuals wear black clothing, scarves, ski masks, motorcycle helmets with padding, or other face-concealing items...
tactics that were later found in the Seattle riots; links which he himself denies.
Economy
Eugene's largest employers are PeaceHealth Medical Group, the
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
and the
Eugene School DistrictEugene School District is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of two school districts that serve the city of Eugene.-Demographics:...
. Eugene's largest industries are wood products manufacturing and recreational vehicle manufacturing.
The oldest retail business in downtown Eugene and one of the oldest bars in Oregon is
Luckey's Club Cigar StoreLuckey’s Club Cigar Store was purchased in 1911 by Tad Luckey, Sr., the son of Irish immigrants and an early Eugene pioneer. It is the oldest retail business in downtown Eugene, and one of the oldest bars in Oregon. In its 95 year history, it has survived both the Great Depression and...
. It was purchased in 1911 by Tad Luckey, Sr. The “Club Cigar,” as it was called in the late 19th century, was for many years a men-only salon. It survived both the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and
ProhibitionProhibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
, partly because Eugene was a dry town before the end of Prohibition.
Emporium Department Stores, which was founded in
North BendNorth Bend is a city in Coos County, Oregon, in the United States with a population of 9,695 as of the 2010 census. North Bend is surrounded on three sides by Coos Bay, an S-shaped water inlet and estuary where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean, and borders the city of Coos Bay,...
, Oregon, had its headquarters in Eugene, but closed all stores in 2002. Corporate headquarters for the employee-owned
Bi-Mart- External links :**, a December 2004 article from The Oregonian...
corporation and
family-ownedA family business is a business in which one or more members of one or more families have a significant ownership interest and significant commitments toward the business’ overall well-being....
Market of ChoiceMarket of Choice is a supermarket chain based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The store carries conventional groceries, as well as natural and organic products.-History:...
remain located in Eugene.
Organically Grown CompanyThe Organically Grown Company is a wholesale distributor of organic produce located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The Organically Grown Company was started in 1982 as a cooperative wholesaler of organic fruits, vegetables and herbs in the Pacific Northwest...
, the largest distributor of organic fruits and vegetables in the northwest, started in Eugene in 1978 as a non-profit co-op for organic farmers. Notable local
food processorsFood processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
, many of whom manufacture
certified organicOrganic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, [food] processors, retailers and restaurants.Requirements vary...
products, include Golden Temple (
Yogi TeaYogi Tea creates and manufactures a wide variety of premium teas, including green, herbal, black and red tea. Yogi Tea is part of Golden Temple of Oregon, LLC...
) and
Merry HempstersThe Merry Hempsters is a manufacturer of certified organic and vegan hemp seed oil-based products located in Eugene, Oregon, United States.-History:...
.
Until July, 2008,
HynixHynix Semiconductor Inc. chips and flash memory chips. Founded in 1983, Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, the largest being Samsung Electronics. Formerly known as Hyundai Electronics, the company has manufacturing sites in Korea, the U.S., China and Taiwan...
Semiconductor America had operated a large semiconductor plant in west Eugene. In late September, 2009, Uni-Chem of South Korea announced its intention to purchase the Hynix site for
solar cellA solar cell is a solid state electrical device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect....
manufacturing.
The footwear repair product
Shoe GooShoe Goo is a polyurethane-based adhesive intended for repairs of athletic footwear and rollerskates.-Origins:Shoe Goo was created in 1972 by Lyman Van Vliet, a 45-year old senior executive at Hughes Aircraft Co. with a degree in physics from Wayne State University...
is manufactured by Eclectic Products, based in Eugene.
Eugene is the birthplace and home of
Bike FridayBike Friday is a brand of folding bicycle made by Green Gear Cycling of Eugene, Oregon, United States. Cyclists often refer informally to the company as Bike Friday.-Hardware:...
bicycle manufacturer, Green Gear Cycling.
Many multinational businesses were launched in Eugene. Some of the most famous include
NikeNike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
,
Taco TimeTaco Time is a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in a limited menu of Mexican foods. The chain offers dine-in, take away, and drive through at about 300 locations....
, and
BrøderbundBrøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
Software.
Top employers
According to Eugene's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's top employers are:
| # |
Employer |
Number of employees |
| 1 |
PeaceHealth Medical Group |
4,893 |
| 2 |
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
|
4,038 |
| 3 |
Eugene School District Eugene School District is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of two school districts that serve the city of Eugene.-Demographics:...
|
2,794 |
| 4 |
State of Oregon The government of the U.S. state of Oregon, as prescribed by the Oregon Constitution, is composed of three government branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial...
|
2,205 |
| 5 |
Lane County-National protected areas:*Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge *Siuslaw National Forest *Umpqua National Forest *Willamette National Forest -Government:...
|
2,000 |
| 6 |
U.S. GovernmentThe federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
|
1,777 |
| 7 |
Springfield School District Springfield School District, also called Springfield Public Schools, is a public school district in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It serves students in Springfield and outlying areas, including Goshen, Mohawk, and Walterville.-Schools:...
|
1,500 |
| 8 |
City of Eugene |
1,404 |
| 9 |
Lane Community CollegeLane Community College is a two-year college located in Eugene, Oregon. Its slogan is "Transforming Lives Through Learning."-Education:Lane Community College offers a variety of Associate's Degrees, such as:...
|
1,118 |
| 10 |
Walmart |
1,100 |
Arts and culture
Eugene has a significant population of people in pursuit of alternative ideas, and a large original
hippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
population. Beginning in the 1960s, the
counterculturalCounterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
ideas and viewpoints espoused by
Ken KeseyKenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
became established as the seminal elements of the vibrant social tapestry that continue to define Eugene. The Merry Prankster, as Kesey was known, has arguably left the most indelible imprint of any
cultural iconA cultural icon can be a symbol, logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group...
in his hometown. He is best known as the author of
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey. Set in an Oregon asylum, the narrative serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind, as well as a critique of Behaviorism and a celebration of humanistic principles. Written in 1959, the novel was adapted into a...
and as the male protagonist in
Tom WolfeThomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
's
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid TestThe Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a work of literary journalism by Tom Wolfe, published in 1968. Using techniques from the genre of hysterical realism and pioneering new journalism, the "nonfiction novel" tells the story of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters...
.
In 2005, the city council unanimously approved a new slogan for the city, "World's Greatest City for the Arts & Outdoors." While Eugene has a vibrant arts community for a city its size, and is well situated near many outdoor opportunities, this slogan was frequently criticized by locals as embarrassing and ludicrous. In early 2010, the slogan was changed to "A Great City for the Arts & Outdoors."
Annual cultural events
- The annual non-profit Oregon Country Fair
The Oregon Country Fair is an annual three-day fair held in Veneta, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, the site is about west of Eugene along the Long Tom River. Annual attendance is approximately 45,000, and the fair has around 350 booths each year...
, which takes place in nearby VenetaVeneta is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,561.-History:Veneta was established in 1912 by Edmund Eugene Hunter, who named the settlement after his five-year-old daughter. Veneta post office was established in 1914. Veneta Orilla Hunter...
.
- The annual Eugene Celebration
The Eugene Celebration is an annual community celebration and civic event held in downtown Eugene, Oregon, United States. Featuring bands and performers from throughout the Pacific Northwest, the three-day festival is held in early September and attracts more than 40,000 attendees each year...
is a three-day block party that takes place in the downtown area. The SLUG (Society for the Legitimization of the Ubiquitous Gastropod) Queen coronation happens the month prior to the celebration at the coronation contest and ceremony. The SLUG QueenThe SLUG Queen, slug queen, or S.L.U.G. Queen , is a humorous concept and popular event, an alternative festival, which takes place annually in Eugene, Oregon, United States...
is the reigning monarch of the celebration festivities and the unofficial ambassador of Eugene. The annual coronation process takes place in August and is a little like a formal pageant but with a campy spin. The new SLUG Queen presides over the parade at the Eugene Celebration in September.
- Art & the Vineyard festival held around the Fourth of July at Alton Baker Park attracts 25,000 annually, and is the principal fundraiser for the Maude Kerns Art Center
Maude Kerns Art Center is a non-profit community center for the visual arts located in Eugene, Oregon. The center was founded in 1950 by a group of local artists including Maude Kerns. The center currently hosts art installations, classes in the creative arts, and public and private events...
- The Lane County Fair
The Lane County Fair is an annual celebration held in Eugene, Oregon every August featuring food, music and other entertainment. It is held at the Lane County Fairgrounds....
and Asian Celebration are two annual events taking place at the Lane County Fairgrounds.
- Eugene's Saturday Market
The Eugene Saturday Market is an outdoor craft market in Eugene, Oregon. It is the oldest weekly open-air crafts market in the United States. It has a festival atmosphere that includes live performers as well craft booths and food vendors. Between 3,000 and 5,000 people visit the market every...
, founded in 1970 and open every Saturday from April through November, was the first "Saturday Market" in the United States. All vendors must create or grow all of their own products.
- The Oregon Bach Festival
The Oregon Bach Festival is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July. The artistic director is German organist and conductor Helmuth Rilling and the Executive Director is John Evans,...
is a major international festival. It is hosted by the University of Oregon.
- The Oregon Festival of American Music
Oregon Festival of American Music is an eclectic, thematically-based two-week summer music festival that has been held annually in Eugene, Oregon since 1992. Produced by The John G...
, or OFAM is held annually in the early summer.
- Eugene's Mount Pisgah Arboretum
The Mount Pisgah Arboretum is a non-profit arboretum and botanical garden located within the Howard Buford Recreation Area , between the Coast Fork of the Willamette River and the slopes of Mount Pisgah near Eugene-Springfield, Oregon, United States...
, which resides at the base of Mount PisgahMount Pisgah is a hill in Lane County, Oregon, United States, rising above the surrounding Willamette Valley to a maximum elevation of . It was named after the biblical Mount Pisgah. It is situated between the Coast Fork and Middle Fork of the Willamette River, two miles southeast of their...
, holds an annual Mushroom FestivalThere are numerous mushroom food festivals held annually in: Telluride, Colorado; Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; Morel Mushroom Festival held in Harrison, Michigan and Boyne City, Michigan, and the Mushroom Mardi Gras Festival held in Morgan Hill, California....
and Plant Sale and an annual Wildflower Show.
- The KLCC
KLCC 89.7 FM is a National Public Radio affiliate for Eugene, Oregon and the southern Willamette Valley. It also operates on various other repeater frequencies at other cities in West Central Oregon....
Microbrew Festival is held annually at the Lane County Fairgrounds. It provides participants with an introduction to a large range of microbrewery and craft beers which play an important role in Pacific Northwest culture and the economy.
Museums
Eugene museums include the University of Oregon's
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of ArtJordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is an art museum located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. The original building was designed by Ellis F. Lawrence as part of his "main university quadrangle," now known as the Memorial Quadrangle...
and
Museum of Natural and Cultural HistoryThe University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History, commonly known as the UO Natural History Museum, is an American natural history museum at the University of Oregon in Eugene...
, the
Oregon Air and Space MuseumThe Oregon Air and Space Museum holds a collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft.-History:The museum opened in 1991. The museum expanded its facilities in 1999 with a 6300 square foot addition.-Exhibits:...
, Conger Street Clock Museum, Lane County Historical Museum,
Maude Kerns Art CenterMaude Kerns Art Center is a non-profit community center for the visual arts located in Eugene, Oregon. The center was founded in 1950 by a group of local artists including Maude Kerns. The center currently hosts art installations, classes in the creative arts, and public and private events...
,
Shelton McMurphey HouseThe Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House, or Castle on the Hill in Eugene, Oregon, United States is a Victorian-era residence that is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. It is named for the three families who called it home over the years...
, and the
Science Factory Children's Museum & PlanetariumThe Science Factory Children's Museum & Planetarium, located in Alton Baker Park in Eugene, Oregon, United States, is a science and technology center for children, families, and school groups. The museum near Autzen Stadium features changing interactive exhibits, planetarium shows, camp programs,...
.
Libraries
The largest library in Oregon is the University of Oregon's
Knight LibraryKnight Library is the main facility of the University of Oregon's library system. It is located on the university's campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The library design is emblematic of the architecture of the university's older buildings, and it serves as a hub of student activity. As of...
, with collections totaling more than 3 million volumes and over 100,000 audio and video items. The
Eugene Public LibraryThe Eugene Public Library is a municipal public library in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It has been in three different buildings since 1898.-History:...
moved into a new, larger building downtown in 2002. The four-story library is an increase from 38000 square feet (3,530.3 m²) to 130000 square feet (12,077.4 m²). There are also two branches of the Eugene
Public LibraryA public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
, the Sheldon Branch Library in the neighborhood of Cal Young/Sheldon, and the Bethel Branch Library, in the neighborhood of Bethel. Eugene also has the
Lane CountyLane County is the name of two counties in the United States:* Lane County, Kansas* Lane County, Oregon...
Law LibraryA law library is a library designed to assist law students, attorneys, judges, and their law clerks and anyone else who finds it necessary to correctly determine the state of the law....
.
Performing arts
Eugene is home to numerous cultural organizations, including the
Eugene SymphonyThe Eugene Symphony is an American orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon. Its home venue is the Silva Concert Hall at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts.Approximately 27,000 people attend Eugene Symphony's classical and pops concert performances each year....
, the
Eugene BalletThe Eugene Ballet Company is a ballet company based in Eugene, Oregon. It is a resident company of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts....
, the Eugene Opera, the
Eugene Concert ChoirEugene Concert Choir is a 501 non-profit choral organization based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It consists of two mixed-voice choruses: the 100-member Eugene Concert Choir , and the semi-professional chamber group Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble...
, the Northwest Christian University Community Choir, the
Oregon Mozart PlayersOregon Mozart Players is a professional chamber orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The orchestra presents five concert sets in a typical season, in addition to numerous small ensemble performances and recitals by guest artists. Orchestral repertoire ranges from the Baroque period to...
, the
Oregon Bach FestivalThe Oregon Bach Festival is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July. The artistic director is German organist and conductor Helmuth Rilling and the Executive Director is John Evans,...
, the Oregon Children's Choir, the Oregon Festival Choirs, the
Eugene Youth SymphonyThe Eugene Youth Symphony is the major youth orchestra serving Eugene, Oregon, United States and its outlying areas. Founded in 1934, the Eugene Youth Symphony is the second-oldest youth orchestra west of the Mississippi. The Eugene Youth Symphony is funded by Arts Umbrella, a Eugene-based...
,
Ballet FantastiqueBallet Fantastique is a 5013 nonprofit chamber ballet company based in Eugene, Oregon, and co-directed by mother-daughter team Donna and Hannah Bontrager...
and
Oregon Festival of American MusicOregon Festival of American Music is an eclectic, thematically-based two-week summer music festival that has been held annually in Eugene, Oregon since 1992. Produced by The John G...
. Principal performing arts venues include the
Hult Center for the Performing ArtsThe Hult Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts facility in Eugene, Oregon, that opened in 1982.It is located adjacent to the Eugene Hilton and the Eugene Community Conference Center, which were also completed in 1982, as part of the same urban renewal project.The Hult Center and the...
, The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts ("The Shedd"), Matthew Knight Arena, Beall Concert Hall and the Erb Memorial Union ballroom on the University of Oregon campus, the
McDonald TheatreMcDonald Theatre is a theater and music venue in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1925 as a movie house, the building was converted to a theater for performing arts, and is still in business...
, and
W.O.W. HallThe W.O.W. Hall is a performing arts venue in Eugene, Oregon, United States.It was formerly a Woodmen of the World lodge.The W.O.W. Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996....
.
A number of live theater groups are based in Eugene, including Free Shakespeare in the Park, Lord Leebrick Theatre, The Very Little Theatre, Actors Cabaret, LCC Theatre, and University Theatre. Each has its own performance venue.
Music
Because of its status as a
college townA college town or university town is a community which is dominated by its university population...
, Eugene has been home to many musicians and bands, ranging from mainstream
garage rockGarage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
, to
hip hopHip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
,
folkFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. Eugene also has a growing
reggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and street-performing
bluegrassBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and
jug bandA Jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. These home-made instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making of sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe and comb & tissue paper...
scene. Multi-genre act the
Cherry Poppin' DaddiesThe Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by Steve Perry and Dan Schmid , the band has experienced many membership changes over the years, with only Perry, Schmid and Dana Heitman currently remaining from the original line-up.The Daddies' music...
became a prominent figure in Eugene's music scene and became the
house bandFor the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
at Eugene's
W.O.W. HallThe W.O.W. Hall is a performing arts venue in Eugene, Oregon, United States.It was formerly a Woodmen of the World lodge.The W.O.W. Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996....
. In the late 1990s, their contributions to the
swing revivalThe Swing Revival was a late 1990s and early 2000s period of renewed popular interest in swing and jump blues music and dance from the 1930s and 1940s as exemplified by Louis Prima, often mixed with a more contemporary rock, rockabilly or ska sound, known also as neo-swing or retro...
movement propelled them to national stardom. Rock band
FloaterFloater is an American rock band currently based in Portland, Oregon. The band was started in 1993 by Robert Wynia, Peter Cornett and David Amador. They are known for their progressive concept albums, stylized storytelling, intense live performances, and devoted fanbase...
originated in Eugene. Doom metal band
YOBYob may refer to:* Yobbo or Yob, an uncouth individual or thug* Yob , a doom metal band from Eugene, Oregon* "Yob" , a song by TISM...
is among the leaders of the Eugene heavy music scene.
Dick HymanRichard “Dick” Hyman is an American jazz pianist/keyboardist and composer, best-known for his versatility with jazz piano styles. Over a 50 year career, he has functioned as pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and, increasingly, as composer...
, noted jazz pianist and musical director for many of Woody Allen's films, designs and hosts the annual Now Hear This! jazz festival at the
Oregon Festival of American MusicOregon Festival of American Music is an eclectic, thematically-based two-week summer music festival that has been held annually in Eugene, Oregon since 1992. Produced by The John G...
(OFAM). OFAM and the Hult Center routinely draw major jazz talent for concerts.
Eugene is also home to a large Zimbabwean music community.
Kutsinhira Cultural Arts CenterKutsinhira Cultural Arts Center is a music center located in Eugene, Oregon, United States, dedicated to the music and people of Zimbabwe. Kutsinhira offers classes in Zimbabwean marimba, mbira, drumming, singing, and dancing. The center also tries to bring Zimbabwean teachers to Oregon...
, which is "dedicated to the music and people of
ZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
," is based in Eugene.
Visual arts
Eugene's visual arts community is supported by over 20 private
art galleriesAn art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
and several organizations, including
Maude Kerns Art CenterMaude Kerns Art Center is a non-profit community center for the visual arts located in Eugene, Oregon. The center was founded in 1950 by a group of local artists including Maude Kerns. The center currently hosts art installations, classes in the creative arts, and public and private events...
, Lane Arts Council, DIVA (the Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts), the Hult Center's Jacobs Gallery, and the Eugene Glass School.
Annual visual arts events include the Mayor's Art Show and Art and the Vineyard.
Film
The Eugene area has been used as a filming location for several Hollywood films, most famously for 1978's
National Lampoon's Animal HouseNational Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The film was a direct spin-off of National Lampoon magazine...
, which was also filmed in nearby
Cottage GroveCottage Grove is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It received its name from its first postmaster, G. C. Pierce, in September 1861. Pierce's home at the time was in an oak grove. The population was 9,686 at the 2010 census.-History:...
.
John BelushiJohn Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
had the idea for the film
The Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...
during filming of
Animal House when he happened to meet
Curtis SalgadoCurtis Salgado is a Portland, Oregon based blues, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist.-Career:...
at what was then the Eugene Hotel.
Getting StraightGetting Straight is a 1970 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Richard Rush, released by Columbia Pictures.The story centered upon student politics at a university in the early 1970s, seen through the eyes of non-conformist graduate student Harry Bailey...
, starring
Elliott GouldElliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination...
and
Candice BergenCandice Patricia Bergen is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for starring in two TV series, as the title character on the situation comedy Murphy Brown , for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal...
, was filmed at
Lane Community CollegeLane Community College is a two-year college located in Eugene, Oregon. Its slogan is "Transforming Lives Through Learning."-Education:Lane Community College offers a variety of Associate's Degrees, such as:...
in 1969. As the campus was still under construction at the time, the "occupation scenes" were easier to shoot.
The "Chicken Salad on Toast" scene in the 1970
Jack NicholsonJohn Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
movie
Five Easy PiecesFive Easy Pieces is a 1970 American drama film written by Carole Eastman and Bob Rafelson, and directed by Rafelson. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, and Susan Anspach. The cast also includes Billy 'Green' Bush, Fannie Flagg, Ralph Waite, Sally Struthers, Lois Smith, Toni Basil, and...
was filmed at the
Denny'sDenny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...
restaurant at the southern I-5 freeway interchange near
GlenwoodGlenwood, Lane County, Oregon is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located between the cities of Springfield and Eugene, on the route of the former Pacific Highway, which is now named Franklin Boulevard...
. Nicholson directed the 1971 film
Drive, He SaidDrive, He Said is an American motion picture released by Columbia Pictures, based upon the 1964 novel of the same title by Jeremy Larner...
in Eugene.
How to Beat the High Co$t of LivingHow to Beat the High Co$t of Living is a 1980 comedy film, starring Jane Curtin, Susan Saint James and Jessica Lange. Also in the cast are Dabney Coleman, Fred Willard, Richard Benjamin, Eddie Albert, Cathryn Damon, and a cameo by Jane Curtin's fellow Saturday Night Live co-star Garrett Morris...
, starring
Jane CurtinJane Therese Curtin is an American actress and comedienne. She is commonly referred to as Queen of the Deadpan.First coming to prominence as an original cast member on Saturday Night Live in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series on the 1980s...
,
Jessica LangeJessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. The recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Emmy, Lange is regarded as one of the première female actors of her generation.Lange was discovered by producer...
and Susan St. James, was filmed in Eugene in the fall of 1979. Locations included
Valley River CenterValley River Center is a super-regional-class shopping mall located in Eugene, Oregon, U.S. It is the largest shopping center between the Portland and San Francisco area with over 130 local and national stores and restaurants....
,
Skinner ButteSkinner Butte is a prominent hill on the north edge of downtown Eugene, Oregon, United States, near the Willamette River. Skinner Butte is a local landmark and the location of Skinner Butte Park, a municipal park. It is named for Eugene Skinner, the founder of Eugene...
, the
Willamette RiverThe Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
and River Road Hardware.
Several track and field movies have used Eugene as a setting and/or a filming location.
Personal Best, starring
Mariel Hemingway- Early life :Hemingway was born in Mill Valley, California, the third daughter of Byra Louise Hemingway and Jack Hemingway, a writer. Her sisters are Joan Hemingway and Margaux Hemingway...
, was filmed in Eugene in 1982. The film centered on a group of women who are trying to qualify for the Olympic track and field team. Two track and field movies about the life of
Steve PrefontaineSteve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...
,
Prefontaine and
Without LimitsWithout Limits is a 1998 biographical film about the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine and his coach Bill Bowerman, who later co-founded Nike, Inc....
were released within a year of each other in 1997-1998.
Kenny MooreKenneth Clark "Kenny" Moore is an American athlete and journalist. At the University of Oregon, Moore was one of Bill Bowerman's finest distance runners. After college, Moore ran in the Olympic marathon at both Mexico City and Munich, finishing fourth in 1972...
, Eugene-trained Olympic runner and co-star in
Prefontaine, co-wrote the screenplay for
Without Limits.
Prefontaine was filmed in Washington because the
Without Limits production bought out
Hayward FieldHayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, is one of the best-known historic track and field stadiums in the United States. Nearly a century in age, it was the home of the University of Oregon's football team from 1919 through 1966, and has been the home to the Ducks' track and field teams since 1921...
for the summer to prevent its competition from shooting there. Kenny Moore also wrote a biography of
Bill BowermanWilliam Jay "Bill" Bowerman was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers...
, played in
Without Limits by
Donald SutherlandDonald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
.
Stealing TimeStealing Time is a 2001 drama involving the uniting of four friends reuniting a year after college, each of them now dealing with their own problems...
, a 2003 independent film, was partially filmed in Eugene. When the film premiered in June 2001 at the
Seattle International Film FestivalThe Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
, it was titled
Rennie's Landing after a popular bar near the University of Oregon campus. The title was changed for its DVD release.
ZerophiliaZerophilia is a 2006 romantic comedy with speculative-fiction elements directed by Academy of Motion Pictures' Student Academy Award winning director Martin Curland and produced by Microangelo Entertainment...
was filmed in Eugene in 2006.
Sports
Eugene's
Oregon DucksThe Oregon Ducks refers to the sports teams of the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon. The Oregon Ducks are part of the Pacific-12 Conference in the Division 1 of the NCAA. With seventeen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their football team and Track and Field...
are part of the Pacific-12 Conference (Pac 12).
American footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
is especially popular, with intense rivalries between the Ducks and both the
Oregon State UniversityOregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
BeaversThe Oregon State Beavers is a name shared by all sports teams at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers are part of the Pacific-12 Conference . Oregon State's mascot is Benny the Beaver...
and the
University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
HuskiesWashington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The athletic program is made up of 9 men's sports and 10 women's sports Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The...
.
Autzen StadiumAutzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pacific-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions...
is home to Duck football, with a
seating capacitySeating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 54,000.
The basketball arena,
McArthur CourtMcArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena....
, was built in 1926. The arena was replaced by the Matthew Knight Arena in late 2010.
For nearly 40 years, Eugene has been the "Track and Field Capital of the World." After the
Mexico City OlympicsThe 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
, the benefits of high altitude training helped propel
Boulder, ColoradoBoulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
to prominence in the track world. Oregon's most famous track icon is the late world-class distance runner
Steve PrefontaineSteve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...
, who was killed in a car crash in 1975.
Eugene's jogging trails include
Pre's TrailPre's Trail, located on the north side of the Willamette River in Eugene, Oregon, United States, popularly referred to as "Track Town USA", is a four-mile-long running and walking trail named after heralded University of Oregon athlete Steve Prefontaine...
in Alton Baker Park, Rexius Trail, the Adidas Oregon Trail, and the Ridgeline Trail. Jogging was introduced to the U.S. through Eugene, brought from New Zealand by
Bill BowermanWilliam Jay "Bill" Bowerman was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 24 NCAA champions and 16 sub-4 minute milers...
, who wrote the best-selling book "Jogging", and coached the champion University of Oregon track and cross country teams. During Bowerman's tenure, his "Men of Oregon" won 24 individual NCAA titles, including titles in 15 out of the 19 events contested. During Bowerman's 24 years at Oregon, his track teams finished in the top ten at the NCAA championships 16 times, including four team titles (1962, '64, '65, '70), and two second-place trophies. His teams also posted a dual meet record of 114-20.
Bowerman also invented the waffle sole for running shoes in Eugene, and with Oregon alumnus
Phil KnightPhilip Hampson "Phil" Knight is an American business magnate. He is the co-founder and Chairman of Nike, Inc. He resigned as the company's chief executive officer in 2004, while retaining the position of chairman of the board...
founded shoe giant
Nike, Inc.Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
Eugene's miles of running trails, through its unusually large park system, are the most extensive in the US. The city has dozens of running clubs. The climate is cool and temperate, good both for jogging and record-setting. Eugene is home to the University of Oregon's
Hayward FieldHayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, is one of the best-known historic track and field stadiums in the United States. Nearly a century in age, it was the home of the University of Oregon's football team from 1919 through 1966, and has been the home to the Ducks' track and field teams since 1921...
track, which hosts numerous collegiate and amateur track and field meets throughout the year, most notably the
Prefontaine ClassicThe Prefontaine Classic is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.-History:...
. Hayward Field was host to the 2004
AAU Junior Olympic GamesThe AAU Junior Olympic Games are the pinnacle competition held annually by the US Amateur Athletic Union.-Sports currently held:The following is a list of sports that currently take place at the Junior Olympic Games.* Aquatics - Diving and Swimming...
, the 2006 Pacific-10 track and field championships, and the 1972, 1976, 1980, and 2008 US Olympic track and field trials, and will host the latter again in 2012.
Eugene is also home to the
Eugene EmeraldsThe Eugene Emeralds is a minor league baseball team in Eugene, Oregon, United States. They are a short-season Class A team in the Northwest League, and have been a farm team of the San Diego Padres since 2001....
, a short-season Class A minor-league baseball team. The "Ems" play their home games in PK Park, also the home of the University of Oregon baseball team.
The
Nationwide TourThe Nationwide Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either failed to score well enough at that level's Qualifying School to earn their PGA Tour card, or who have done so but then failed to win enough money to stay at that level...
's golfing event
Oregon ClassicThe Oregon Classic was a golf tournament on the Nationwide Tour from 1998 to 2008. It was played at the Shadow Hills Country Club in Junction City, Oregon, USA.The 2008 purse was $500,000, with $99,000 going to the winner.-Winners:...
takes place at Shadow Hills Country Club, just north of Eugene. The event has been played every year since 1998, except in 2001 when it was slated to begin the day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The top 20 players from the Nationwide Tour are promoted to the PGA Tour for the following year.
The following table lists some of the sports clubs in Eugene and their usual home venue:
| Club |
Sport |
Founded |
League |
Venue |
Oregon DucksThe Oregon Ducks refers to the sports teams of the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon. The Oregon Ducks are part of the Pacific-12 Conference in the Division 1 of the NCAA. With seventeen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their football team and Track and Field...
FootballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Track and FieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, SoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, VolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, GolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, TennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, BaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, UltimateUltimate is a sport played with a 175 gram flying disc. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, similar to an end zone in American football or rugby...
, LacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, HockeyHockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, Soccer |
1876 |
National Collegiate Athletic AssociationThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
: Pacific-10 Conference |
Autzen StadiumAutzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Pacific-12 Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone several expansions...
, McArthur CourtMcArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena....
, PK Park, Hayward FieldHayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, is one of the best-known historic track and field stadiums in the United States. Nearly a century in age, it was the home of the University of Oregon's football team from 1919 through 1966, and has been the home to the Ducks' track and field teams since 1921...
|
Northwest Christian University Beacons
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Cross CountryCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, Distance TrackLong-distance track event races require runners to balance their energy. These types of races are predominantly aerobic in nature and at the highest level, exceptional levels of aerobic endurance is required more than anything else...
, GolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, Soccer, VolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
|
1895 |
National Association of Intercollegiate AthleticsThe National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
, Cascade Collegiate Conference |
Morse Event Center |
New Hope Christian College DeaconsDeacons
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Soccer, VolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
|
1925 |
|
Rexius Event Center |
Eugene EmeraldsThe Eugene Emeralds is a minor league baseball team in Eugene, Oregon, United States. They are a short-season Class A team in the Northwest League, and have been a farm team of the San Diego Padres since 2001....
BaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
|
1955 |
Northwest League The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...
|
PK Park |
Lane Community CollegeLane Community College is a two-year college located in Eugene, Oregon. Its slogan is "Transforming Lives Through Learning."-Education:Lane Community College offers a variety of Associate's Degrees, such as:...
Titans
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Cross CountryCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, Track and FieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, Soccer, BaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
|
1965 |
Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges The Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges, commonly called the NWAACC , is a sports association for community colleges in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington, and the Canadian province of British Columbia....
|
Lane Community College |
Eugene Gentlemen
| Rugby Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
|
1973 |
Pacific Northwest Rugby Football Union |
|
Eugene ChargersThe Eugene Chargers are a team in the International Basketball League based in Eugene, Oregon. The team is coached by Kenya Wilkins and plays home games at Northwest Christian University's Morse Events Center.-2006 Season:...
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
|
2006 |
International Basketball League The International Basketball League was a short lived professional basketball league in the United States. The IBL was headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The league started in 1999 and ended in 2001.-History:...
|
Morse Event Center |
Eugene GeneralsThe Eugene Generals are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey team playing in the Pacific Division of the Northern Pacific Hockey League . The team plays their home games at 2,700-seat Lane Events Center in Eugene, Oregon USA....
Ice hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
|
2005 |
Junior A Tier III-League Hockey: Northern Pacific Hockey League The Northern Pacific Hockey League is an American Tier III Junior A ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. Its championship trophy is the Cascade Cup.-Current teams:-Suspended teams:...
|
Lane County Ice Center |
Parks and recreation
Hendricks ParkHendricks Park is the oldest city park in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The park is a little over a mile away from the University of Oregon campus, and contains mature forest, a world-renowned rhododendron garden, and a native plant garden...
, situated on a knoll to the east of downtown, is known for its
rhododendronRhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
garden and nearby memorial to
Steve PrefontaineSteve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...
, known as Pre's Rock, where the legendary University of Oregon runner was killed in an auto accident.
Alton Baker ParkAlton Baker Park is located in Eugene, Oregon, United States, near Autzen Stadium. It was named for Register-Guard founder Alton F. Baker, Sr...
, next to the Willamette River, contains
Pre's TrailPre's Trail, located on the north side of the Willamette River in Eugene, Oregon, United States, popularly referred to as "Track Town USA", is a four-mile-long running and walking trail named after heralded University of Oregon athlete Steve Prefontaine...
. Also located next to the Willamette is the Owen Memorial Rose Garden, which is home to more than 4,500 roses of over 400 varieties, and the 150-year-old Black Tartarian Cherry tree, an Oregon Heritage Tree.
The city of Eugene maintains an
urban forestAn urban forest is a forest or a collection of trees that grow within a city, town or a suburb. In a wider sense it may include any kind of woody plant vegetation growing in and around human settlements. In a narrower sense it describes areas whose ecosystems are inherited from wilderness...
. The
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
campus is an
arboretumAn arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
, with over 500 species of trees. The city operates and maintains scenic hiking trails that pass through and across the ridges of a cluster of hills in the southern portion of the city, on the fringe of residential neighborhoods. Some trails allow biking and others are for hikers and runners only.
The nearest ski resort,
Willamette PassWillamette Pass Resort is a ski area located in Klamath County, Oregon. It operates on federal land under special use permit on the Willamette and Deschutes National Forests. It is situated in the Cascade Range, between Oakridge, Oregon and La Pine, Oregon...
, is one hour from Eugene by car. On the way, along Oregon Route 58, are several reservoirs and lakes, the
OakridgeOakridge is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The population was estimated at 3,205 in 2010. It is located east of Westfir on Oregon Route 58, about east of Eugene, and southeast of Portland...
mountain bikeMountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
trails,
hot springA hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s, and waterfalls within
Willamette National ForestThe Willamette National Forest is a National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of US state of Oregon.It comprises 1,675,407 acres making it one of the largest national forests. Over 380,000 acres are designated wilderness which include seven major mountain peaks...
. Eugene residents also frequent
HoodooHoodoo Ski Area is a ski resort operated near the summit of Santiam Pass on U.S. Route 20, in the Cascade Range. Hoodoo is operated on federal land through agreement with the Willamette National Forests McKenzie River ranger district...
and
Mount BachelorMount Bachelor ski area is a ski resort located in central Oregon, approximately west of Bend,at the end of Century Drive Highway. The ski runs are on the northern face of Mount Bachelor, a stratovolcano built atop a volcanic shield in the Cascade Range. Mount Bachelor is owned by Powdr...
ski resorts. The
Three Sisters WildernessThe Three Sisters Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Cascade Range, within the Willamette and Deschutes National Forests in Oregon. It comprises 286,708 acres , making it the second largest Wilderness area in Oregon...
, the
Oregon Dunes National Recreation AreaThe Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is located on the Oregon Coast, stretching approximately 40 miles north from the Coos River in North Bend, to the Siuslaw River, in Florence. The NRA is part of Siuslaw National Forest and is administered by the United States Forest Service...
and Smith Rock are just a short drive away.
Government
In 1944, Eugene adopted a
council-managerThe council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...
form of government, replacing the day-to-day management of city affairs by the part-time mayor and volunteer
city councilA city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
with a full-time professional
city managerA city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
. The subsequent history of Eugene city government has largely been one of the dynamics—often contentious—between the city manager, the mayor and city council.
The current mayor of Eugene is
Kitty PiercyKitty Piercy is an American politician. She is the current mayor of Eugene, Oregon, sworn in January 2005 and re-elected to a second term in 2008. During the 1990s, she was Minority Leader of the Oregon House of Representatives....
, who has been in office since 2005. Recent mayors include Edwin Cone (1958–69), Les Anderson (1969–77) Gus Keller (1977–84), Brian Obie (1985–88), Jeff Miller (1989–92),
Ruth BascomRuth Bascom was an American politician who served as the first female Mayor of Eugene, Oregon from 1993 until 1996.As Mayor, Bascom worked to revitalize downtown Eugene...
(1993–96), and
Jim TorreyJim Torrey is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served eight years as mayor of Eugene. Torrey was a Republican candidate for the 2006 Oregon State Senate. He was defeated by incumbent Vicki Walker...
(1997–2004).
Jon Ruiz has been the city manager since April, 2008. Ten other people have held the city manager position. They were: Deane Seeger (1945–49), Oren King (1949–53), Robert Finlayson (1953–59), Hugh McKinley (1959–75), Charles Henry (1975–80), Mike Gleason (1981–96), Vicki Elmer (1996–98), Jim Johnson (1998–2002), Dennis Taylor (2002–2007), Angel Jones (2007–2008).
Eugene City Council
Mayor: Kitty Piercy
- Ward 1 - George Brown
- Ward 2 - Betty Taylor
- Ward 3 - Alan Zelenka
- Ward 4 - George Poling
- Ward 5 - Mike Clark
- Ward 6 - Jennifer Solomon
- Ward 7 - Andrea Ortiz
- Ward 8 - Chris Pryor
Public safety
The
Eugene Police DepartmentThe Eugene Police Department serves the residents of Eugene, Oregon, United States, the second largest city in the state. The Eugene Police Department is a city law enforcement agency that handles 9-1-1 calls within the city of Eugene. The current Chief of Police is Chief Pete Kerns.-Patrol:The...
(EPD) serves residents of Eugene. Eugene is also home of the head quarters for the Lane County Sheriff's Office.
At the
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
,
the University of Oregon Department of Public SafetyIn the U.S. state of Oregon, enforcement of local, state, and federal law on public university property is delegated to a number of security, public safety, and police agencies.Public universities in Oregon may form campus police departments if they so choose...
(UODPS) ensures safety on campus. EPD has a police station in the West University District.
Lane Community CollegeLane Community College is a two-year college located in Eugene, Oregon. Its slogan is "Transforming Lives Through Learning."-Education:Lane Community College offers a variety of Associate's Degrees, such as:...
also has a public safety department called the Lane Community College Public Safety Department. The
Oregon State Police DepartmentThe Oregon State Police is the main state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. They have been charged to enforce all of Oregon's criminal laws and to help local law enforcement agencies with their duties...
has presence in the
ruralRural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
areas around the Eugene
Metro AreaMetro Area is a Brooklyn-based dance music production team composed of Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani.- History :Geist grew up in Wayne, New Jersey, while Jesrani is from upstate New York...
, and highways.
The Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene is a
Humane SocietyA humane society may be a group that aims to stop human or animal suffering due to cruelty or other reasons, although in many countries, it is now used mostly for societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals...
serving the area. The Lane Couny Animal Services, also serves the Eugene
metroMetro Area is a Brooklyn-based dance music production team composed of Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani.- History :Geist grew up in Wayne, New Jersey, while Jesrani is from upstate New York...
.
Education
Eugene is home to the
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. Other institutions of higher learning include Northwest Christian University,
Lane Community CollegeLane Community College is a two-year college located in Eugene, Oregon. Its slogan is "Transforming Lives Through Learning."-Education:Lane Community College offers a variety of Associate's Degrees, such as:...
, New Hope Christian College,
Gutenberg CollegeGutenberg College is a private, four-year Great Books college in Eugene, Oregon. The curriculum centers on the most influential primary texts of Western Civilization, which students study with “tutors” in round-table discussions...
, and
Pacific UniversityPacific University is a private university located in Oregon, United States. The first campus began more than 160 years ago and is located about 38 km west of Portland in Forest Grove...
's Eugene campus.
Public schools
The
Eugene School DistrictEugene School District is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of two school districts that serve the city of Eugene.-Demographics:...
includes four full-service high schools (Churchill,
North EugeneNorth Eugene High School is a public high school in the Santa Clara neighborhood of Eugene, Oregon, United States.-History:North Eugene High School was open to students on October 21, 1957...
, Sheldon, and
South EugeneSouth Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States.-History:It was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that later served as Eugene's city hall. In 1915, Eugene High moved to a...
) and many alternative education programs, such as
international schoolsThe International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
and
charter schoolCharter schools are primary or secondary schools that receive public money but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter...
s. Foreign
language immersionLanguage immersion is a method of teaching a second language in which the target language is used as the means of instruction. Unlike more traditional language courses, where the target language is simply the subject material, language immersion uses the target language as a teaching tool,...
programs in the district are available in Spanish, French, and Japanese.
The
Bethel School DistrictBethel School District is a school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It serves the Bethel neighborhood of Eugene. As of 2007 Bethel School District serves 5,700 students annually making it the third largest school district in Lane County....
serves children in the Bethel neighborhood on the northwest edge of Eugene. The district is home to the traditional
Willamette High SchoolWillamette High School, or "Wil-Hi", is located in the Bethel-Danebo area of West Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Bethel School District along with Kalapuya High School.-History:...
and the alternative
Kalapuya High SchoolKalapuya High School is a public alternative high school in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was established in an innovative model to provide an alternative to students who were already not succeeding in the traditional high school environment, usually drawing from Willamette High...
. There are 11 schools in this district.
Eugene also has several private schools, including the Eugene Waldorf School, two private
MontessoriMontessori education is an educational approach developed by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori. Montessori education is practiced in an estimated 20,000 schools worldwide, serving children from birth to eighteen years old.-Overview:...
schools: Eugene Montessori and Far Horizon Montessori, Eugene
Sudbury SchoolA Sudbury school is a school that practices a form of democratic education in which students individually decide what to do with their time, and learn as a by-product of ordinary experience rather than adopting a descriptive educational syllabus or standardized instruction by classes following a...
,
Wellsprings Friends SchoolWellsprings Friends School is a private non-profit alternative high school in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Wellsprings was founded in 1994 by members of the Eugene Friends Meeting, a local Quaker church. It serves a maximum of 60 students each year in grades 9 - 12....
,
Oak Hill SchoolOak Hill School is a K-12 independent school in Eugene, Oregon, United States.Oak Hill School provides a rigorous college preparatory program for motivated students, challenging each student to develop his or her intellectual and creative abilities...
, and The Little French School.
Parochial schoolA parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
s in Eugene include Marist Catholic High School, O'Hara Catholic Elementary School, and St. Paul Parish School.
Media
Print
The largest newspaper serving the area is
The Register-GuardThe Register-Guard is a daily newspaper published in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the Eugene Daily Guard and the Morning Register. The paper serves the Eugene-Springfield area, as well as the Oregon Coast, Umpqua River Valley, and surrounding...
, a daily newspaper with a circulation of about 70,000, published independently by the Baker family of Eugene. Other newspapers serving the area include the
Eugene WeeklyThe Eugene Weekly is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Eugene, Oregon. The paper, published every Thursday, has a circulation of 39,850. It publishes an annual "Best of Eugene" list, a restaurant guide , and special sections on festivals, music, wine, health, and travel....
, the
Oregon Daily EmeraldThe Oregon Daily Emerald is an independent daily newspaper published at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The paper, which has been published for more than 100 years, has trained many now-prominent writers and journalists and has made important contributions to journalism...
, the student-run independent newspaper at the University of Oregon;
The Torch, the student-run newspaper at Lane Community College, the
Ignite, the newspaper at New Hope Christian College and
The Mishpat, the student-run newspaper at Northwest Christian University.
Eugene Magazine, Lane County's Lifestyle Quarterly and
Eugene Living, Sustainable Home and Garden magazine also serves the area.
Adelante Latino is a Spanish Newspaper in Eugene, it serves all of Lane County.
Television
Local television stations include
KMTRKMTR is the NBC and The CW affiliate television station serving the Eugene/Springfield, Oregon designated market area. Owned by Newport Television, the station reaches additional viewers in central and western Oregon via co-owned full-powered satellite stations KMCB digital channel 22 and KTCW...
(
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
),
KVALKVAL-TV, channel 13, is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, USA. It is an affiliate of the CBS network. The station began broadcasting on April 15, 1954...
(
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
),
KLSR-TVKLSR-TV, a U.S. television station serving Eugene, Oregon, is an affiliate of the Fox network. Its transmitter is located in Eugene. It was Eugene's second UHF station to sign on the air. It is owned by California Oregon Broadcasting of Medford, Oregon....
(
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
),
KEVUKEVU-CD is a low-powered MyNetworkTV affiliate in Eugene, Oregon, USA. It was formerly independent of any broadcast network, but is associated with KLSR-TV...
,
KEZIKEZI is a digital broadcast television station operating in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is the ABC affiliate for Eugene and produces more than 24 hours of newscasts a week...
(
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
), KEPB (PBS), and KTVC (independent).
- KMTR
KMTR is the NBC and The CW affiliate television station serving the Eugene/Springfield, Oregon designated market area. Owned by Newport Television, the station reaches additional viewers in central and western Oregon via co-owned full-powered satellite stations KMCB digital channel 22 and KTCW...
(NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
)
- KVAL
KVAL-TV, channel 13, is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, USA. It is an affiliate of the CBS network. The station began broadcasting on April 15, 1954...
(CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
)
- KLSR
KLSR-TV, a U.S. television station serving Eugene, Oregon, is an affiliate of the Fox network. Its transmitter is located in Eugene. It was Eugene's second UHF station to sign on the air. It is owned by California Oregon Broadcasting of Medford, Oregon....
(FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
)
- KEVU
KEVU-CD is a low-powered MyNetworkTV affiliate in Eugene, Oregon, USA. It was formerly independent of any broadcast network, but is associated with KLSR-TV...
- KEZI
KEZI is a digital broadcast television station operating in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is the ABC affiliate for Eugene and produces more than 24 hours of newscasts a week...
(ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
)
- KEPB (PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
)
- KTVC (Independent)
Radio
The local NPR affiliates are KOPB, and
KLCCKLCC 89.7 FM is a National Public Radio affiliate for Eugene, Oregon and the southern Willamette Valley. It also operates on various other repeater frequencies at other cities in West Central Oregon....
. Radio station
KRVM-AMKRVM is an NPR-member radio station broadcasting a news and information format. Licensed to Eugene, Oregon, USA, the station is currently owned by the Lane County School District, and is affiliated with Jefferson Public Radio....
is an affiliate of Jefferson Public Radio, based at Southern Oregon University. The
Pacifica RadioPacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
affiliate is the University of Oregon student-run radio station,
KWVAKWVA is a college radio station broadcasting from the EMU building on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Licensed to the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, it serves the Eugene metropolitan area...
. Additionally, the community supports two other radio stations:
KWAXKWAX is a non-commercial classical music radio station in Eugene, Oregon, broadcasting to the Eugene-Springfield, Oregon area. The station is a listener supported service of the University of Oregon...
(classical) and
KRVMKRVM-FM is a non-commercial radio station based in Eugene, Oregon, broadcasting to the Eugene-Springfield area on 91.9 FM.KRVM-FM airs a variety of music which include adult album alternative music during the weekdays and specialty programming during other times encompassing almost every genre of...
(alternative).
Infrastructure
Mass transit
Lane Transit DistrictThe Lane Transit District is a public agency that provides public transportation in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The transit district serves the Eugene metropolitan area, including the neighboring cities of Springfield, Junction City, Creswell, Cottage Grove, Veneta, and Lowell...
(LTD), a public transportation agency formed in 1970, covers 240 square miles (621.6 km²) of Lane County, including
CreswellCreswell is a city in the Willamette Valley of Lane County, Oregon, United States. The population at the 2010 census was 5,031.- Geography :According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 2.42%, is water....
,
Cottage GroveCottage Grove is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It received its name from its first postmaster, G. C. Pierce, in September 1861. Pierce's home at the time was in an oak grove. The population was 9,686 at the 2010 census.-History:...
,
Junction CityJunction City is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The population was 5,392 at the 2010 census.- History :In the 1870s, Junction City was named by railroad magnate Ben Holladay, who decided this would be where the rail line on the east side of the Willamette Valley would meet the rail...
,
VenetaVeneta is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,561.-History:Veneta was established in 1912 by Edmund Eugene Hunter, who named the settlement after his five-year-old daughter. Veneta post office was established in 1914. Veneta Orilla Hunter...
, and
Blue RiverBlue River is an unincorporated community in Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located on Oregon Route 126 along the McKenzie River, between the communities of Finn Rock and Rainbow. It is in the Willamette National Forest, where the Blue River empties into the McKenzie...
. Operating more than 90 buses during peak hours, LTD carries riders on 3.7 million trips every year. LTD also operates a
bus rapid transitBus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
line that runs between Eugene and Springfield—
Emerald Express (EmX)The Emerald Express is a bus rapid transit system in the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It is provided by the Lane Transit District which is the public transit authority in Lane County, Oregon....
—much of which runs in its own lane. LTD's main terminus in Eugene is at the
Eugene StationEugene Station is the primary bus station and terminus in Eugene, Oregon, United States, serving the buses of the Lane Transit District . Construction began with the official groundbreaking in 1996 and the station opened in April, 1998...
.
LTDThe Lane Transit District is a public agency that provides public transportation in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The transit district serves the Eugene metropolitan area, including the neighboring cities of Springfield, Junction City, Creswell, Cottage Grove, Veneta, and Lowell...
also offers
paratransitParatransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....
.
Cycling
CyclingCycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
is popular in Eugene and many people commute via bicycle. Summertime events and festivals frequently have bike parking "corrals" that many times are filled to capacity by three hundred or more bikes. Many people commute to work by bicycle every month of the year. Numerous bike shops provide the finest rain gear products, running lights and everything a biker needs to ride and stay comfortable in heavy rain. Bike trails take commuting and recreational bikers along the Willamette River past a scenic rose garden, along Amazon Creek, through the downtown, and through the University of Oregon campus. In 2009, the
League of American BicyclistsThe League of American Bicyclists is a non-profit membership organization which promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education....
cited Eugene as 1 of 10 "Gold-level" cities because of its "remarkable commitments to bicycling." In 2010,
BicyclingBicycling is a cycling magazine published by Rodale, Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. It features bikes, bike gear, equipment reviews, training plans, bike maintenance how-tos, and more for cyclists of all levels.-Origin:...
magazine named Eugene the 5th most bike-friendly city in America.
Passenger train
The 1908
Amtrak depotThe Eugene Depot is an Amtrak train station in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is served by the Coast Starlight passenger train and is the southern terminus of the Amtrak Cascades.-History:...
downtown was restored in 2004; it is the southern terminus for two daily runs of the Amtrak
CascadesThe Amtrak Cascades is a passenger train route operated by Amtrak in partnership with the states of Washington and Oregon in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and the province of British Columbia in Canada...
, and a stop along the route in each direction for the daily
Coast StarlightThe Coast Starlight is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States. It runs from King Street Station in Seattle, Washington, to Union Station in Los Angeles, California. The train's name was formed as a merging of two of Southern Pacific's train names, the Coast...
.
Air travel
Air travel is served by the
Eugene AirportEugene Airport , also known as Mahlon Sweet Field, is a public airport located 7 miles northwest of Eugene, in Lane County, Oregon. Owned and operated by the City of Eugene, it is the fifth-largest airport in the Pacific Northwest, providing commercial air service to a six-county region in...
, also known as Mahlon Sweet Field, which is the fifth largest airport in the Northwest and second largest airport in
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The Eugene Metro area also has numerous private
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
s. The Eugene Metro area also has several
heliportA heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...
s, such as the
Sacred Heart Medical Center HeliportSacred Heart Medical Center Heliport is a private heliport located at the Sacred Heart Medical Center near the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, United States....
and
Mahlon Sweet Field HeliportMahlon Sweet Field Heliport is a private heliport located 7 miles southeast of Eugene in Lane County, Oregon, USA....
, and many single
helipadHelipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
s.
Highways
Highways traveling within and through Eugene include:
- Interstate 5: Interstate 5 forms much of the eastern city limit, acting as an effective, though unofficial boundary between Eugene and Springfield. To the north, I-5 leads to the Willamette Valley and Portland
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. To the south, I-5 leads to RoseburgRoseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the county seat of Douglas County. The population was 21,181 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, MedfordMedford is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 US Census, the city had a total population of 74,907 and a metropolitan area population of 207,010, making the Medford MSA the 4th largest metro area in Oregon...
, and the southwestern portion of the state. In full, Interstate 5 continues north to the Canadian Border at Blaine, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia and extends south to the Mexican border at Tijuana and San Diego.
- Interstate 105/Oregon Route 126: Oregon Route 126 is routed along the Eugene-Springfield Highway, a limited-access freeway. The Eugene portion of this highway begins at an interchange with Interstate 5 and ends two miles (3 km) west at a freeway terminus. This portion of Oregon Route 126 is also signed Interstate 105, a spur route of Interstate 5. Oregon Route 126 continues west, a portion shared with Oregon Route 99, and continues west to Florence
Florence is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,466.-History:The Florence area was originally inhabited by the Siuslaw tribe of Native Americans. Some state that the city was named for state senator A. B...
. Eastward, Oregon Route 126 crosses the Cascades and leads to central and eastern Oregon.
- Belt Line Highway
Oregon Route 569 is an Oregon state highway serving as an outer quarter-loop in Eugene and Springfield. OR 569 comprises part of the Beltline Highway No. 69 . It is long and runs east–west...
: Beltline Road is a limited-access freeway which runs along the northern and western edges of incorporated Eugene.
- Delta Highway: The Delta Highway forms a connector of less than 2 miles (3.2 km) between Interstate 105 and Beltline Highway.
- Oregon Route 99: Oregon Route 99 forks off Interstate 5 south of Eugene, and forms a major surface artery in Eugene. It continues north into the Willamette valley, parallel to I-5. It is sometimes called the "scenic route" since it has a great view of the Coast Range and also stretches through many scenic farmlands of the Willamette Valley.
Utilities
Eugene is the home of Oregon's largest publicly owned
water and power utilityAn electric utility is a company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments,...
, the
Eugene Water & Electric BoardThe Eugene Water & Electric Board is the customer-owned electricity, water, and steam public utility provider for the city of Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is Oregon's largest customer-owned utility....
(EWEB). EWEB got its start in the first decade of the 20th century, after an epidemic of typhoid found in the groundwater supply. The City of Eugene condemned Eugene's private water utility and began treating river water (first the Willamette; later the McKenzie) for domestic use. EWEB got into the electric business when power was needed for the water pumps. Excess electricity generated by the EWEB's
hydropowerHydropower, hydraulic power, hydrokinetic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of falling water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. Since ancient times, hydropower has been used for irrigation and the operation of various mechanical devices, such as...
plants was used for street lighting.
Natural gas service is provided by
NW NaturalNW Natural is a publicly traded utility headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States. Primarily a natural gas distributor, the company services residential, industrial, and commercial customers in Western Oregon and Southwest Washington in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1859, the company...
.
Healthcare
Three hospitals serve the Eugene-Springfield area.
Sacred Heart Medical Center University DistrictSacred Heart Medical Center University District is a hospital in Eugene, Oregon. Originally called Sacred Heart Medical Center, its new name reflects its location near the University of Oregon. It is one of two Sacred Heart facilities in the Eugene-Springfield area owned by PeaceHealth...
is the only one within Eugene city limits.
McKenzie-Willamette Medical CenterMcKenzie-Willamette Medical Center is an acute care hospital located in Springfield, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1955, it serves the Lane County area. McKenzie-Willamette is investor-owned, and accredited by The Joint Commission...
and
Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBendSacred Heart Medical Center RiverBend is a hospital in Springfield, Oregon, United States. It is one of two Sacred Heart facilities in the Eugene-Springfield area owned by PeaceHealth. The other facility, Sacred Heart Medical Center University District, is in Eugene. The new facility is home to a...
are in Springfield. Oregon Medical Group, a primary care based multi-specialty group, operates several clinics in Eugene, as does PeaceHealth Medical Group. White Bird Clinic provides a broad range of health and human services, including low-cost clinics. The Volunteers in Medicine Clinic provides free medical and mental care to low-income adults without health insurance.
Notable people
Notable athletes from Eugene include football players such as
Todd ChristensenTodd Jay Christensen is a former professional American football player and a current sports broadcaster for the MountainWest Sports Network.-Early life:...
,
Quintin MikellQuintin Perry Mikell is an American football safety for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Boise State....
,
Kailee WongKailee Wong is a former linebacker in the National Football League. Wong was recruited by Bill Walsh, and subsequently played collegiately as an All-American at Stanford University. He attended North Eugene High School...
,
Alex BrinkAlex Brink is a professional Canadian football quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League...
,and Chris Miller. Basketball players have included
Danny AingeDaniel Ray "Danny" Ainge is an American basketball manager and retired professional basketball and baseball player, currently serving as President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics....
and Luke Jackson, while runners include
Mary DeckerMary Slaney is an American former track athlete. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships, and set 17 official and unofficial world records and 36 US national records.-Biography:Mary Decker was born in Bunnvale, Hunterdon County, New...
,
Marla RunyanMarla Runyan , is an American track and field athlete, road runner and marathon runner who is legally blind. She is a three-time national champion in the women's 5000 metres.Runyan was born in Santa Maria, California...
,
Alberto SalazarAlberto Salazar is an American marathon runner of the 1980s. Born in Cuba, Salazar emigrated to the United States with his family. They ultimately moved to Wayland, Massachusetts, where Salazar competed in track and field in high school...
, and
Steve PrefontaineSteve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine was an American middle and long-distance runner. Prefontaine once held the American record in the seven distance track events from the 2,000 meters to the 10,000 meters...
.
Politicians from Eugene include U.S. Senators
Wayne MorseWayne Lyman Morse was a politician and attorney from Oregon, United States, known for his proclivity for opposing his parties' leadership, and specifically for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds....
and Paul Martin Simon, as well as Congressmen Jim Weaver and
Peter DeFazioPeter Anthony DeFazio is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1987. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes Eugene, Springfield, Roseburg and part of Corvallis. As Oregon's most senior member of Congress, he is the dean of Oregon's House of Representatives delegation...
. Actors of note include
Howard HessemanHoward Hesseman is an American actor best known for playing disc jockey Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati and schoolteacher Charlie Moore on Head of the Class.-Early life:...
and
David Ogden StiersDavid Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
, while
Bryce ZabelBryce H. Zabel is an American television producer, director, writer, and occasional actor. He is known as the chairman/CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences who was forced to twice postpone the Emmy Awards following the September 11 attacks...
chaired the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Author
Ken KeseyKenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
also called the city home, as did Nike co-founder
Phil KnightPhilip Hampson "Phil" Knight is an American business magnate. He is the co-founder and Chairman of Nike, Inc. He resigned as the company's chief executive officer in 2004, while retaining the position of chairman of the board...
. Other past residents include
Eugene LazowskiDr. Eugene Lazowski born Eugeniusz Sławomir Łazowski was a Polish medical doctor who saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust by creating a fake epidemic which played on racist German phobias about hygiene...
who saved 8,000 during World War II,
New Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
general manager
Mickey LoomisMickey Loomis is the General Manager of the NFL's New Orleans Saints. He was awarded the NFL executive of the year for 2006.He attended Northwest Christian University in Eugene, Oregon, where he played basketball...
, and astronaut
Stanley G. LoveDr. Stanley G. Love, PH.D. is an American scientist and a NASA astronaut.-Early Life:Stanley G. Love was born on June 8, 1965 to Glen A. Love and Rhoda M. Love in San Diego, California. However, Love has stated he considers Eugene, Oregon to be his hometown. Love graduated from Winston Churchill...
, among others.
Sister cities
Eugene has four sister cities:
Kathmandu,
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
IrkutskIrkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
,
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Kakegawais a city in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 117,858 and a population density of 444 persons per km². The total area was 265.63 km².-Geography:...
,
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
JinjuJinju is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was the location of the first and second Sieges of Jinju by Japanese forces during the Imjin War...
,
South KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
External links