August 24, 1891 marked the cornerstone dedication of West Hall, home of the Methodist-sponsored Portland University. West Hall, now renamed Waldschmidt Hall, was a five-story multi-purpose structure in “Richardsonian Romanesque” style designed for classrooms, offices, dining and dormitory living. The architects, McCraw, Martin and White, were influenced by the nationally-known architect, H.H. Richardson, and possibly […]
From Our Past
From Our Past
On August 8, 2001, at around 5:45 p.m., a fire broke out along the bluff that borders the University and the east side of the Willamette River. Witnesses reported seeing a passing train throwing sparks along the base of the bluff. Within a half hour the fire threatened homes along Willamette Boulevard. Tinder dry conditions, […]
From Our Past
Rev. J. Bernard Clark, C.S.C., died unexpectedly in his room in Shipstad Hall on July 29, 1989. He had come to the University only the year before to work in campus ministry and to teach medieval history. He had served as director of campus ministry at California State University, associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Parish, […]
From Our Past
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the surface of the moon, followed closely by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. The University conferred an honorary doctorate of science on Aldrin at commencement exercises on May 10, 1970. During the course of his visit, Aldrin gave a talk, shook hands, and […]
From Our Past
July 13, 1964 saw the death, at age 74, of Br. Ferdinand Moser, C.S.C., pictured. He had come to the University in 1933 and became, in addition to his teaching, the University’s first landscape architect, establishing the beginnings of a remarkable collection of varieties of camellias as well as rhododendrons, azaleas, holly, and other plantings, […]
From Our Past
July 13, 1964 saw the death, at age 74, of Br. Ferdinand Moser, C.S.C., pictured. He had come to the University in 1933 and became, in addition to his teaching, the University’s first landscape architect, establishing the beginnings of a remarkable collection of varieties of camellias as well as rhododendrons, azaleas, holly, and other plantings, […]
From Our Past
In June 1941, thirty-three University of Portland students were called to active duty by the United States Marine Corps as the U.S. prepared for the possibility that it might be pulled into the ever-deepening hostilities of World War II, according to a chapter in Jim Covert’s University of Portland history, A Point of Pride. The […]
From Our Past
June 8, 1911 saw the groundbreaking for Christie Hall, named for Archbishop Alexander Christie of the Portland Archdiocese, founder of Columbia University (renamed the University of Portland in 1935). When the campus property purchased in 1901 from the University Land Company, the terms called for the construction within ten years of a major building. A […]
From Our Past
The University dedicated a new, sorely needed multipurpose instructional and office facility—the $2.5 million, 92,000 square foot Buckley Center—on February 7, 1969. Named for the first chairman of UP’s lay board of regents, James L. Buckley (whose gift was the major source of funding), the new building became home for the College of Arts and […]
From Our Past: Fr. Joseph L. Powers
Father Joseph L. Powers, C.S.C., died on January 17, 1980, at the age of 64 after battling ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). He served at the University from 1951 until 1978, first as a faculty member in the history department and then from 1962 until 1971 as executive vice president of the University. During the next […]