Pioneer Hall (Oregon) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Pioneer Hall, Linfield College
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Pioneer Hall at Linfield College
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 Location in Oregon
Location in the United States
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| Location | Linfield College McMinnville, Oregon |
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| Built | 1882-1883 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 78002330 |
| Added to NRHP | February 23, 1978 |
Pioneer Hall is the oldest building at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, United States. It opened in 1883. This four-story building used to house the entire school! It is built from red bricks and has a bell tower on top. Pioneer Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Today, some parts of the hall are used as student homes, and other parts are classrooms.
Contents
History of Pioneer Hall
Early Days
In 1879, the school was known as McMinnville University. They started planning a new building for the whole school. A professor named W. S. White drew up the plans that year. Construction began in 1882. The first stone was placed where the Cozine family's cabin used to be. The Cozine family had given 20 acres (about 81,000 square meters) of land to the school the year before.
The building was officially opened on June 12, 1883. At that time, it was the only building and held the entire college.
Changes Over Time
In November 1907, a landscape architect named John Charles Olmsted visited the campus. He came to give advice on how to design the school grounds. Back then, Pioneer Hall was the only main building. There was also a small wooden gym. Olmsted thought Pioneer Hall looked "ugly" and the gym looked "cheap."
In 1922, the school changed its name to Linfield College. Seven years later, in 1929, the building was renamed Pioneer Hall. This was done to honor the early founders of the school.
Pioneer Hall was updated in 1946. On February 23, 1978, it was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places. For a while, the Linfield College radio station, KSLC 90.3 FM, was located in Pioneer Hall. It moved to a different building in 2007.
On January 8, 2008, a very old oak tree nearby fell down. It was thought to be about 250 years old! As of 2008, Pioneer Hall was used for many things. The upper floors were student dorms for 47 people. However, since 2018, the top two floors are no longer used for housing. Now, the lower floors are home to the Psychology, History, and Political Science departments.
What Does Pioneer Hall Look Like?
Pioneer Hall has a square bell tower on its roof. The bell tower has a dome and a spire on top. The building is made of brick. Its style is called Italian Bracketed, which is a type of Italianate architecture.
W. S. White designed the building. It has four stories in total. Three of these stories are above ground, and there is also a stone basement.
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