Eugene is the third largest city [1] and boasts the second largest metropolitan population [2] in the state of Oregon, and is also the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, USA. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie River and the Willamette River, about 60 miles (97 km) east of the Oregon Coast. According to the 2000 census, it has a total population of 137,893. As of July 1 2003 the US Census Bureau estimated the population of Eugene to be 142,185. The city's population is expected to further grow to 228,400 within the next 10 years.
Eugene's mean annual temperature is 52.1 °F (11.2 °C) [3]; its annual rainfall is 50.9 inches (1293 mm) [4]. Interestingly, Eugene is actually colder on average than Portland, despite being located more than 160km (approx. 100 miles) south and having only a marginally higher elevation. Eugene's average July low temperature is 10.6 °C (51.1 °F) [5], while Portland's average July low is 13.6 °C (56.5 °F). [6]. Average winter temperatures (and summer high temperatures) are similar for the two cities. This disparity may be largely caused by a "heat island effect" in Portland, where the combination of black pavement and urban energy use can actually raise the temperature. A lesser heat island may also exist in downtown Eugene.
Attractions
Eugene is the home of the University of Oregon, one of Oregon's largest schools. Other institutions of higher learning include Northwest Christian College, Lane Community College, Eugene Bible College [7], and Gutenberg College, Pacific University: Eugene Campus, and Linfield College: Eugene Campus. Eugene has many private and alternative schools, including the Eugene Waldorf School, a nondenominational school serving grades K-8 that is certified by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America.
Cultural attractions in Eugene include the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, The Shedd Institute [8], resident ballet, theater, opera and symphony, Bach Festival [9], an historic district, walking tours, 23 art galleries and museums, including the The Science Factory Children's Museum & Planetarium . The Three Sisters Wilderness and the Oregon Dunes are just a short drive away. Local events include: Eugene Celebration, Lane County Fair, Asian Celebration, and the Oregon Country Fair.
The largest library in Oregon is in Eugene, the Knight Library [10], at the University. The Eugene Public Library [11] recently moved into a new, larger building downtown. It uses state-of-the-art technology such as an automated checking system, which sorts the books using RFID chips.
To the north of downtown is Skinner Butte park. Forested Hendricks Park is famous for its Rhododendron Garden. Alton Baker Park, along the Willamette river, attracts visitors to jog its running paths, bike its endless bike paths and bike bridges, swim the wild Willamette, canoe the millrace, sit at the duck ponds, and visit the Owens Rose Garden. A climb up Spencer Butte, south of the city, offers a lovely look at Eugene and the headwaters of the Willamette. Mount Pisgah Arboretum, to the east, is another large and special park, and host to the annual mushroom festival.
Eugene is a tree city, with an especially dense urban forest.
The nearest ski resort, Willamette Pass [12], is one hour by car. On the way, along highway 58, is Eugene's reservoir and lake district, the Oakridge mountain bike trails, hot springs, and the spectacular Fall Creek falls. Eugene residents also frequent Hoodoo and Mount Bachelor [13] ski resorts.
Museums
Eugene has several museums. At the airport, you will find the Oregon Air and Space Museum, downtown the Lane County Historical Museum,and West on Conger Street, the Conger Street Clock Museum. The Conger Street Museum is called a clock museum, but it has a lot more than just clocks. The clock museum is more a museum of time. They have an antique telephone display, train display, old camera display, car display and more. However, they also have clocks from as far back as the early 1700s. You can even have your picture taken by their old tower clock that was made circa 1740.
Politics
Government
In 1944 Eugene adopted a council-manager form of government, replacing the day-to-day management of city affairs by the part-time mayor and volunteer city council with a full-time professional city manager. 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.
Nine people have held the city manager position. These include 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), and Dennis Taylor (2002-present).
Recent mayors include Gus Keller (1977-84), Brian Obie (1985-88), Jeff Miller (1989-92), Ruth Bascom (1993-96), Jim Torrey (1997-2004), and Kitty Piercy (2005-present).
Recently, the liberal wing of local politics has been gaining strength, mostly on a reform platform calling for greater transparency and accountability in local government. The recent election of Kitty Piercy was widely considered to be a turning point, as previous mayoral administrations often did not reflect Eugene's progressive culture.
Development
Development is a controversial issue in Eugene, as in most growing cities. Both pro- and anti-development organizations and companies are vocal, and most public and private projects are vigorously discussed in public meetings and the letters pages of the Register-Guard and the Eugene Weekly. Developers and builders habitually complain about the decreasing supply of buildable land within the regional Urban Growth Boundary, while environmental groups object to projects which result in reduced open space and wildlife habitat.
Community
Many University students remain here after graduating. Eugene is possibly most famous for its "community inventiveness." This usually leads to community projects; many US trends in community development originated here.
The non-profit Saturday Market [14] was the first "Saturday Market" in the US, starting in 1970, and since recreated in cities around the country. It is still the most radical in the country; only the farmers and craftspeople themselves can sell there.
The annual non-profit Oregon Country Fair, which takes place in nearby Veneta, is one of the largest volunteer events in the US, and one of the most successful. Its primitive ecotopian atmosphere is stunning.
The University of Oregon's participatory planning process, known as 'The Oregon Experiment', was the result of student protests in the early 1970's. The process, now in disuse, was famous in planning and architectural circles, and the book of the same name is a major document in modern enlightenment thinking. The plan and process was created, in Eugene, by Christopher Alexander, whose works directly inspired the creation of the Wiki. Much of the research for the book A Pattern Language, which inspired the Design Patterns movement and Extreme Programming, 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.
Perhaps the single event in the US that most resembles the World Social Forum, is the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference [15], an annual gathering of environmental advocates from around the world.
In the 1970's, Eugene was packed with co-operative and community projects. It still has small natural food stores in almost every neighborhood, and alternative schools have been part of the school district for years. The Eugene Waldorf Schoolwas founded in 1980 and serves grades K-8. And the old Grower's Market, downtown near the train depot, is the only food co-operative in the US 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 Transport [16].
Culture
Performing arts
Eugene is home to numerous cultural organizations, including the Eugene Symphony [17] (Giancarlo Guerrero, Conductor), the Eugene Ballet [18] (Toni Pimble, Artistic Director), and the Eugene Opera [19].
Eugene is also home to a number of cultural events, including the world renowned Oregon Bach Festival [20] (Helmuth Rilling, artistic director) and Oregon Festival of American Music [21] ("OFAM"). Eugene has a number of performing arts venues, including the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts [22] ("The Shedd"), Beall Concert Hall on the University of Oregon campus, the McDonald Theater [23], and W.O.W. Hall [24], which is primarily a venue for alternative music - most notably home to the Cherry Poppin' Daddies who made their start here in the mid-90's and then went national with their album of swing hits "Zoot Suit Riot".
Fine arts
Eugene has over a dozen private art galleries, and is home to the recently renovated Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art [25] on the University of Oregon campus. Arts advocacy organizations include DIVA [26], Maude Kerns Art Center [27] with its non-profit summer Art and the Vinyeard festival [28], and the Lane Arts Council [29]. Eugene is also home to The Eugene Glass School [30], a art school featuring workshops with some of the most prestigous glass artists in the world in off-hand, lampworked, and fused glass.
Cinema
The film Animal House was filmed in Eugene and Cottage Grove. John Belushi had the idea for the film The Blues Brothers during filming of Animal House when he happened to meet Curtis Salgado at the then Eugene Hotel. The "Chicken Salad on Toast" scene in the Jack Nicholson movie "Five Easy Pieces" was filmed at the Denny's restaurant at the southern I-5 freeway interchange (Glenwood exit). In addition, Eugene is home to the Bijou Art Cinemas, an independent movie theater located in a building modeled after Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style by the first dean of the University of Oregon School of Architecture in 1925.
Music
Because of its status as a college town, Eugene has many music acts, especially of underground punk rock such as 2Bucks Short and original independent artists such as Nero and the Crash Engine, although the city also boasts hip hop musicians The Phormula, Undermind, and Posse of Two.
Live theatre
A surprising number of dedicated live theatres, all non-profit or governmental, are busy in Eugene: Willamette Repertory Theater [31], Lord Leebrick Theatre [32], The Very Little Theatre [33], Actors Caberet [34], LCC Theatre [35], University Theatre [36] etc.
Radio
Some of the most familiar names in Public Radio come from the local NPR affiliate KLCC [37]. The Pacifica affiliate (airing Democracy Now! and FreeSpeech Radio News) is the University of Oregon student-run radio station, KWVA [38]. Additionally, the community supports two other radio stations: KWAX [39] (classical) and KRVM [40] (alternative).
History
Eugene is named after its founder, Eugene Franklin Skinner. In 1846, Skinner erected the first cabin in the area. It was used as a trading post and was dubbed as a post office in 1850. Skinner founded Eugene in 1862 and later ran a ferry service across the Willamette River where the Ferry Street Bridge now stands.
Eugene is the home of Oregon's largest publicly owned electric utility, the Eugene Water & Electric Board, which got its start in the first decade of the last century after there was a typhoid epidemic traced to the groundwater supply. Eugene condemned the private utility and began treating river water (first the Willamette, but now the McKenzie) for domestic use. EWEB got into the electric business when power was needed for the water pumps and excess electricity was used for street lighting.
The History of the University of Oregon
Unknown to many, the University of Oregon was not Eugene's first university. It has become, however, Eugene's only successful foray into mainstream four-year higher education. Preceding the institution of the University of Oregon was Columbia College, which was also founded around the same area the UofO resides in today. That institute, however, fell victim to two different major fires over four years, and after being rebuilt twice already, it was decided to not be rebuilt again. Commonly even today, people refer to parts of Eugene's campus area as "College Hill," and this name does not come from the adjacent ___location of the University of Oregon, but rather the former ___location of Columbia College. Columbia College preceded the University of Oregon by a few years.
The town raised the initial funding to start a public University, which later became the University of Oregon, with the hope of turning the small town into a cultural center of learning. In 1872 the Legislative Assembly passed a bill ratifying the University. Interestingly, the nearby town of Albany was Eugene's biggest competitor to provide a home for this institute. 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 regents electing first faculty and naming John Wesley Johnson as president with the first students registering on 16 October 1876. It would not be until 1877, later known as Deady Hall (for the first Board of Regents President and community leader Judge Matthew P. Deady) that the first building would be completed. It is also to place specific emphasis on the fact that the University of Oregon has been a leader in diversity since its very beginning; the University of Oregon's first class included two Japanese students.
In 1878 the school held its first graduation ceremony, five members receiving diplomas. In 1881 Henry Villard gives financial aid to University, and in 1886 Villard Hall, the second campus building, was completed.
The Nike corporation had its beginnings in Eugene.
The film Animal House was filmed almost entirely on campus except for the parade in the last scene that took place in the near by town, Cottage Grove.
Steve Prefontaine was a student and athlete at the University of Oregon, and fell victim to a car accident near Hendrick's Park, east of campus.
NBC "Today" co-host Ann Curry graduated from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. Her picture is on display in the School of Journalism and Communication's Hall of Achievement, located inside Allen Hall.
Government
Eugene City Council:
- Mayor: Kitty Piercy
- Ward 1 - Bonny Bettman
- Ward 2 - Betty Taylor
- Ward 3 - David Kelly
- Ward 4 - George Poling
- Ward 5 - Gary Papé
- Ward 6 - Jennifer Solomon
- Ward 7 - Andrea Ortiz
- Ward 8 - Chris Pryor
City Manager: Dennis M. Taylor
Geography
Eugene is located at 44°3'28" North, 123°6'37" West (44.057663, -123.110345) (see Geographic references) at an elevation of 426 feet.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 105.0 km² (40.6 mi²)Template:GR. 104.9 km² (40.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi² or 0.10%) of it is water.
The Willamette and McKenzie rivers run through Eugene and its sister city Springfield.
Environment
Eugene has a striking urban forest. The town is packed with trees, and its citizens are very proud and protective of them. The University of Oregon campus is itself a world-class arboretum, with over 500 species of trees, and its own tourbook. The city operates and maintains scenic hiking trails that pass through and across the ridges of a cluster of small mountains in the southern portion of the city, on the fringe of residential neighborhoods. Some trails allow biking and others are for hikers only.
Transportation
Eugene is the headquarters of the Lane Transit District (LTD), a public transportation agency formed in 1970. LTD covers 240 square miles (620 km²) of Lane County, including Creswell, Junction City and Veneta. Operating more than 90 buses at the high activity time, LTD carries riders on 3.7 million trips every year. LTD's Eugene Station, downtown, covers nearly a city block, and is easily the busiest public plaza outside of the University.
The Amtrak depot downtown was recently restored; it's the south terminus for two daily runs of the Amtrak Cascades, and a stop along the route for the daily Coast Starlight.
The Eugene Airport, also known as Mahlon Sweet Field, is the fifth largest airport in the northwest.
Bicycles
Cycling is big in Eugene. 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.
On Earth Day, 1970, the major street bisecting the University of Oregon was closed by student protest. Consequently, an avenue where students formerly dodged log trucks became a permanent bike and pedestrian path.
Since then, Eugene has built 89 miles of on-street bike lanes, and 30 miles of dedicated bike paths, including 5 bike bridges in one of the country's most extensive and beautiful riverside bicycle systems. Eugene is a valley city, mostly flat, and apart from the northwest rain, a perfect place to bicycle.
Eugene is also home to a thriving bicycle industry, for example Burley Design Co-operative, Bike Friday, Co-motion bicycles, and Human-Powered Machines.
Oregon Cycling magazine is published in Eugene as part of the non-profit Center for Appropriate Transport.
Highways
Highways traveling within and through Eugene include:
- Interstate 5: Interstate 5 forms much of the eastern city limits, forming a boundary between Eugene and Springfield. To the north, I-5 leads to the Willamette valley and Portland. To the south, I-5 leads to Roseburg and the southwestern portion of the state.
- Interstate 105/Oregon Highway 126: Oregon Highway 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 Highway 126 is also signed Interstate 105, a spur route of Interstate 5. Oregon Highway 126 continues west, a portion shared with Oregon Highway 99, and continues west to Florence. Eastward, Oregon Highway 126 crosses the Cascades and leads to central Oregon.
- Belt Line Road: Beltline Road is a limited-access freeway which runs along the northern edge of incorporated Eugene.
- Delta Highway: The Delta Highway forms a connector of less than 2 miles (3 km) between Interstate 105 and Beltline Road.
- Oregon Highway 99: Oregon Highway 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.
Hospitals
The Eugene/Springfield area is home to two major hospitals:
- Mckenzie/Willamette
- Sacred Heart Medical Center (A branch of PeaceHealth that is located in downtown Eugene on the University of Oregon campus.)
Mckenzie/Willamette recently filed a lawsuit angainst PeaceHealth, claiming anti-trust violations on the part of the latter. PeaceHealth, who at the time was based in Eugene, lost the lawsuit. Mckenzie/Willamette, which was at the time a small hospital based in Springfield, has gained thousands from the case.
Economy
Eugene's largest industries are wood products manufacturing and recreational vehicle manufacturing. The largest employers are the University of Oregon, local government, and Sacred Heart Hospital.
Eugene currently has one of the highest unemployment rates for a city in the entire nation (6.4% as of July 2004. 257 out of 331 for all U.S. MSAs).
Eugene is the site for the corporate headquarters of employee-owned Bi-Mart. Monaco Coach Corporation has its headquarters in nearby Coburg, Oregon. Hynix Semiconductor America has a large semiconductor plant in west Eugene, producing DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) for use in computers.
Like most municipalities, Eugene solicits outside business investment. But it is also partial to locally-developed small businesses, some of whom have formed a coalition called Unique Eugene.
Many businesses were launched in Eugene. Some of the most famous include Nike, Taco Time and Broderbund Software.
Demographics
Eugene has a significant population of people in pursuit of alternative ideas, and a strong aging hippie population. Eugene's trainyard and welcoming valley climate used to be the center of this. There is also a significant population of outdoor enthusiasts and young retirees from California and elsewhere.
Demographic statistics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 137,893 people, 58,110 households, and 31,321 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,313.9/km² (3,403.2/mi²). There are 61,444 housing units at an average density of 585.5/km² (1,516.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 88.15% White, 3.57% Asian, 1.25% Black or African American, 0.93% Native American, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.18% from other races, and 3.72% from two or more races. 4.96% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 58,110 households out of which 25.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% are married couples living together, 9.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% are non-families. 31.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.27 and the average family size is 2.87.
In the city the population is spread out with 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $35,850, and the median income for a family is $48,527. Males have a median income of $35,549 versus $26,721 for females. The per capita income for the city is $21,315. 17.1% of the population and 8.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.8% of those under the age of 18 and 7.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Colleges and universities
Sports
The Track Capital
For nearly 40 years, on and off, Eugene has been the "Track Capital of the World". Jogging was introduced to the US first in Eugene, in the sixties, by Bill Bowerman, who coached the champion University of Oregon track team here. Bowerman also invented the waffle running shoe in Eugene, and with U of O alumni Phil Knight founded shoe giant Nike, Inc. The Nike Store in Eugene includes a museum of this slice of track history. Eugene's miles of running trails, through its unusually large park system, are the most extensive in the US. There are dozens of running clubs here. The climate is cool temperate, good both for jogging and record-setting. Eugene is home to the University of Oregon's Hayward Field track, which hosts numerous collegiate and amateur track and field meets throughout the year, most notably the Prefontaine Classic. It was host to the 2004 Junior Olympics, and the 1972, 1976 and 1980 US Olympic Track and Field trials, and as recently announced, will be host to the 2008 trials. A few feet from Hayward Field, the earth's oldest pairs of running shoes are on display, at the Museum of Natural History.
- University of Oregon fields a number of popular sport teams, including football, basketball, and wrestling. Autzen Stadium is the home field of the university football team.
- Eugene Emeralds, Minor-league baseball
Famous athletes
- Danny Ainge, North Eugene High School (1977), NBA player and coach, MLB player
- Joey Harrington, University of Oregon (2002), NFL quarterback
- Bill McChesney, South Eugene High School (1977), 1980 Olympian
- Chris Miller. Sheldon High School ((1983), NFL quarterback
- Steve Prefontaine, University of Oregon (1973), Olympic runner
- Quentin Mikeel, Willamette High School, NFL Cornerback
- Kailee Wong, North Eugene High School, NFL Linebacker
- Ahmad Rashad (formerly Bobby Moore), footbal player and sportscaster
- Harold Reynolds, Former MLB Player, ESPN Baseball Analyst
- Luke Jackson, Creswell High School, University of Oregon, NBA player
- Nate Jaqua, South Eugene High School (2000), Chicago Fire (MLS) forward
- Todd Christensen, Sheldon High School (1974), Los Angeles Raiders NFL tight end
Notable citizens of Eugene
- Jan Eliot, Stone Soup cartoonist
- Kate Wilhelm, author
- Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike, Inc.
- Damon Knight, author
- Richard Brautigan, author
- Ken Kesey, author
- Grace Llewellyn, author The Teenage Liberation Handbook
- John Zerzan, author and activist
- Amit Goswami, physicist, author
- Elizabeth Engstrom (Cratty), teacher, author
- Wayne Morse, U.S. Senator
- Peter DeFazio, U.S. Representative
- Tim Hardin, musician