Dads' Gates

About this property

Dads' Gates, located on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon, are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Oregon's Dads' Gates are large wrought iron gates that are located on 11th Ave. E. between Kincaid St. and Franklin Blvd. in Eugene, Oregon at the entrance to the University of Oregon campus. At their beginning, Dads' Gates were supposed to offer one of the most spectacular entrances to a campus found anywhere in the country. The construction of Dads' Gates began in 1938 as an art project funded by the Works Progress Administration in order to help create work for skilled craftsmen due to the recent Depression. Dads' Gates historical and current functions can be described as a "work of art" and as a "landscape object." The Gates are decorated with a commemorative plaque that helps identify its significance to those curious enough to investigate them. The plaque reads, "These gates and enclosures are dedicated to the memory of the forty-seven University of Oregon men who died in the service of their country in 1917-1918" showing their dedication towards the University's former soldiers. Dads' Gates were created with a collaborative effort from Henry Abbott Lawrence and Orion Benjamin Dawson. Dad's Gates are 8 feet tall and 120 feet long with each door being 10 feet wide allowing for a 20-foot entry. Both doors are mirror images of each other and each contain the bronze University seal. Dad's Gates have a very intricate design to them that combine both linear and curvilinear elements. Design elements such as a scroll, cross, flower, lyre, and spear motifs can be seen throughout the wrought iron. Above each gate is written "Oregon Dads 1940" and on top of each pylon there are large glass lanterns similar to those outside of Knight Library on the University of Oregon campus. However, when Dad's Gates were originally dedicated in 1941 the lanterns were not in place. It is unclear as to when they were installed but photos indicate somewhere after 1946 and before the University Theater was built in 1949. Orion Benjamin Dawson produced Dads' Gates with design help from Henry Abbott Lawrence. Dawson learned the blacksmithing trade through an apprenticeship in high school and while in World War I he was in charge of shoeing horses. It was in France where he met another blacksmith that showed him how to make gates and decorative elements out of wrought iron. Many believe that Dads' Gates were a collaborative effort between Dawson and Abbot more than anything. Dawson wrote in his unpublished autobiography that he felt the design was beautiful and unlike anything he had ever see. He stated, "[T]hey are somewhat modern and yet designed in such a way that every part had to go through the fire and be forged…hen I saw Abbott's design I knew we had something, something that could make these gates the most beautiful campus entrance to be found anywhere in the country."

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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