The Building: Part 2
The 1954 renovation and construction of a new building was the result of a legislative appropriation of $600,000. Old McClure Hall was demolished and a new addition was built on the spot it had occupied for nearly 60 years. Named Eric W. Allen Hall at the request of the directors of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, the building was attached to the older 1923 building.
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The older building was completely remodeled on the inside to match the style of the mid-1950s. The first floor of the building was occupied by the University Press (which moved out in 1996), while the Oregon Daily Emerald occupied a good share of the third floor until its move to other quarters as an independent paper in the early 1970s.
Eric W. Allen Hall remained pretty much unchanged until the 1990s when various renovations began to add increased office space to the building. The relocation of University Printing in 1996 marked the beginning of a large-scale renovation and addition. The first step included a multi-media center and a student services office, which now occupies a portion of the old printing department area on the ground floor. Other changes included the Duniway Resource Center, a new Dean's office and a new entrance where the loading dock to the printing department used to be. Subsequent improvements added more office and classroom space, and new meeting and gathering spaces including the Hall of Achievement Room and the Willis Winter Presentation Room. The building remained in this configuration until its complete overhaul in 2013. |