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OSU Buildings Histories in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center

Building History

A black and white image of the Industrial Building, now known as Cascade Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Completed in Spring 1947 - the first permanent building constructed as part of OSC's post-war building program - the Industrial Building measured 60 by 300 feet, and housed the Oregon Forest Products Lab (OFPL; later renamed the Forest Research Lab). At its construction, its laboratory spaces included a "modern experimental dry kiln, complete wood chemical and technology laboratories, and space for research in plywood and glues, pulp and fiberboard, wood preservation, wood hydrolysis, and destructive distillation and conditioning." It also housed chemical engineering laboratories, and functioned as a space to research large-scale problems in industrial engineering.

In 1992, a fire destroyed a significant portion of the south half of the building, including most of Printing and Mailing Services' facilities and equipment. The damaged part of the building was reconstructed by 1996, and the building was renamed Cascade Hall. This building now houses the Department of Public Safety and Oregon State Police. In 2015, renovations were made in order to accommodate INTO OSU classrooms.

General Information

Address

601 SW 17th St

Architect

Jones and Marsh Architects

Year Built

1947

Renovations

1980; 1996

Square Footage

18,000 (plus a partial second story)

Purpose/Usage

Past use: Forest Products Lab, Engineering Research

Current use: Department of Public Safety, and Oregon State Police

Previous Name(s)

None

Namesake

None

Historic District

No

Blueprints

Facilities Services Records; I. Architectural Drawings and Plans, Individual Structures (Folder 049)

Maps

Oregon State University Historical Photographs, 1868-1980

Photographs

Buildings Photographic Collection, 1880-2002
Gwil Evans Photographic Collection, 1930-1968
News and Communication Services Photograph Collection, 1949-1999
College of Liberal Arts Photographs, 1982-1991

Further Archival Information

Oregon Digital: Contains many photographs and textual materials documenting the history of the Industrial Building, including images from the 1992 fire that destroyed half the building.

SCARC: SCARC's holdings include a handful of collections documenting the history of the Industrial Building, including the OSU Memorabilia Collection, the Business Affairs Records, and the College of Engineering Records. The Facilities Services Records, in addition to blueprints, include a number of files documenting renovations or improvements to the structure, both prior to and after the fire in 1992(Boxes 13, 16, 17, 42, 61, 90, 98, 120-122).

Map