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Overview

Finished in 1921, Gerlinger Hall at the University of Oregon (U of O) contained spaces for women's physical education, and included classrooms, meeting rooms and a swimming pool. Designed in a Georgian Revival style, it was named for Irene Gerlinger who began fund-raising to build a center for women on the campus during the 1910s.

Building History

Ellis F. Lawrence (1879-1946) and William G. Holford (1878-1970) designed Gerlinger Hall in the late 1910s. Construction took place between 08/1919 and 05/1921. Being built at that time would have been a challenge as building materials were scarce in the wake of World War I. Gerlinger Hall had a massive-timber frame supporting three floors and had brick masonry walls.

Lawrence and Holford collaborated with the firm of Eugene building contractor William Orr Heckart (1860-1919), who died on 12/10/1919, at the beginning of construction.

The University of Oregon named the building in 1929 for Irene Strang Hazard Gerlinger (1876-1960), the wife of George T. Gerlinger (1878-1948), a Willamette Valley Lumber Company executive and truck manufacturing company (Gersix) founder, who became active in philanthropic and educational affairs in the State of OR. A woman of means, she had the flexibility to become active in various causes, including co-organizing the Oregon Federation of Republican Women. She also was an expert organizer, who helped spearhead the construction of several buildings at the U of O. By 1914, Irene took her place as the first female Regent om the University of Oregon Board, serving until 1929. (See "Society In and Out of Town," Oregon Statesman Journal, 08/16/1914, p. 10.)

Building Notes

Gerlinger Hall had a traditional Georgian Revival exterior appearance, an unusual choice on the campus.

Alteration

In the 1940s, the third floor of Gerlinger Hall was used a dormitory for women students.

Locker rooms were enlarged in the 1970s to meet current safety codes.

PCAD id: 25168