Eaton Hall is an academic building on the campus of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, United States. Completed in 1909, the four-story brick and stone hall is the fourth oldest building on the campus of the school after Waller Hall (1867), Gatke Hall (1903), and the Art Building (1907).[2] Eaton is a mix of architectural styles and houses the humanities departments of the liberal arts college.
History
Eaton Hall was built from 1907 to 1908.[3] The primarily Late Gothic Revival style building was dedicated on September 21, 1909, and named in honor of Abel E. Eaton.[3][4] Eaton donated $50,000 for the construction of the hall.[3] He owned the Union Woolen Mills in Eastern Oregon.[3]
Originally constructed with round spires on the turrets, these were later removed.[5] Eaton Hall was home to Willamette’s law school from 1923 until 1938.[6] During the 1960s the structure housed the school’s office of the president, the registrar, the school’s telephone switchboard, and business offices.[7]
Willamette's administrative offices were located in Eaton from its opening until 1980.[5] In 1980, renovations began to convert administrative offices into classrooms and faculty offices and other modern improvements.[5] In 1983, the building's interior was remodeled,[2] and the following year Eaton was added to Salem's Historic Properties List.[8] In the spring of 2004, a $1.4 million renovation of the building’s fourth floor was completed.[9] The former attic space was converted into offices and classrooms for the rhetoric and anthropology departments.[5]
Four stories tall, the hall is constructed of stone and bricks with a composite shingle roof.[5] Architectural details contain elements of Victorian, Gothic Revival, and Beaux-Arts styles.[5] Gothic elements include a pointed arches on the entrances, embedded towers or turrets, a foundation of rusticated stone, and decorative stone lintels.[5]
