The Gerlinger Hall Lounge 100 Year Anniversary event was held on October 26, 2021 at the Lounge, organized in partnership between Campus Planning and the EMU. Thank you to all who attended this special event. The historic preservation presentation materials that were displayed during the event are available for download below.
History of Gerlinger Lounge
The Gerlinger Lounge (originally called Alumni Hall) in Gerlinger Hall is the most intact historic interior on campus, retaining much of the original historic fabric. Gerlinger Hall (originally called Woman’s Memorial Hall) is significant to the UO campus because of its craftsmanship in the Georgian architectural style. Significance is also found in the building’s association with important university figures, Irene Gerlinger, the first woman Regent and avid fundraiser and advocate for UO who also began a long campaign for the building in 1915, and Ellis Lawrence, the first dean of the architecture school and university architect. Lawrence and William Holford were the architects for the building, and Gerlinger was deeply involved in the design and decoration of the building. The Lounge, along with the building, is nationally recognized for its historic significance and still retains its historic Georgian details, such as French doors, Georgian columns and pilasters, and shield and scroll motifs. A 2016 renovation of the Lounge revealed additional interior architectural details that weren’t previously known, such as a glaze finish highlighting the relief along the ceiling trim, the consistency of furniture arrangements over time, and walls that were made to look like aged, Caen stone by being painted with buttermilk to give an aged appearance to the plaster. In 1992 Gerlinger Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places. As stewards of the University and in compliance with the State Historic Preservation Office’s policies, it is important to continue to retain as much of the historic fabric as possible to ensure any alterations do not detract from the room’s distinguishing features.
Gerlinger Lounge Past and Present
