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Overview

This two-story, wood-frame school building was named to honor Dr. Andrew W. Patterson (1814-1904), an early Euro-American settler in the Eugene area, who also worked as a physician, surveyor, politician and educator. The Patterson School operated as a public school in Eugene, OR, between 1901 and 1930.

Building History

Born in PA, Andrew WIlson Patterson made his way to the Oregon Territory by 1853. He graduated from Philadlephia's Pennsylvania College of Medicine in 1841. Patterson worked in various fields, including as an early surveyor and a physician. During his time in Eugene, he also served the community as a Lane County School superintendent and as a member of Territorial and State legislatures. His daughter Ida managed the school as principal in 1905. Patterson Elementary operated until 1930.

Discussions about closing the school began in 1929, but the Eugene School District categorically decided to shutter the facility on 08/25/1930. A newspaper story in the Eugene Registeron 08/26/1930 laid out the board's multiple reasons for closure: “At a special board meeting called for that purpose Monday evening, August 25, the board of directors of the Eugene public schools decided, definitively, to abandon the further use of the Patterson school building. This move has been contemplated for some time, the board being convinced that such action was in the interest not only of the taxpayers of the district, but of the children themselves in as much as the building is of an old and obsolete type, and the danger to them in case of fire, greater than in any school building in the city. These two reasons were the most important ones considered: the fact being indisputable, however, that a school building for elementary grades at Patterson location is not of the greatest service to the district, owing to the low elementary school population in that locality.” (See “Tuition Boosted by School Board,” Eugene Register, 08/26/1930, p. 2.)

Another reason raised was the danger to students from streetcars and automobiles at the location. According to the newspaper, “Thirteenth and Alder streets is probably the busiest street intersection, as far as traffic is concerned, outside the actual business district of Eugene.” Additionally, costs in the building were very high. “The daily average attendance at Patterson last year was the smallest of any school in the city, 118.5; while the cost per pupil $82.76, was exceeded by only one other school. This is an extremely high per capita cost, and in the opinion of the board, this factor alone makes the closing of the building justifiable, when the interests of the taxpayers are considered, which is the board’s aim at all times.” (See “Tuition Boosted by School Board,” Eugene Register, 08/26/1930, p. 2.)

Building Notes

This eclectic building had elements of the Queen Anne Revival, seen in its picturesque fenestration and portions of its massing, the Richardsonian Romanesque, with its turreted belltower, and the more up to date Colonial Revival style, in its generally simiplified form. The building was timber-framed and sat on high, coursed-ashlar foundations.

Demolition

The Patterson School occupied the northwest corner of East 13th Avenue and Alder Street. It was razed c. 1936 to provide room for an addition to Sacred Heart Hospital. In 2026, much of the site still functioned as a hospital parking lot, and the corner location was occupied by a one-story building at 791 East 13th Avenue.

PCAD id: 25956