Eugene ( ) is a city in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. It is located at the southern end of the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the

Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast is a coastal region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to its west and the Oregon Coast Range to the east, and stretches approximately from the California state border in the south to the Columbia ...

. As of the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, Eugene had a population of 176,654 and covers city area of 44.21 sq mi (114.50 sq km). Eugene is the seat of Lane County and the state's second largest city after

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. The Eugene-Springfield metropolitan statistical area is the 146th largest in the United States and the third largest in the state, behind those of Portland and Salem. In 2022, Eugene's population was estimated to have reached 179,887. Eugene is home to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, Bushnell University, and

Lane Community College Lane Community College is a public community college in Eugene, Oregon, with additional facilities in downtown Eugene, Florence, Cottage Grove, and the Lane Aviation Academy at Eugene Airport. Lane serves more than 26,000 credit and non-credit ...

. The city is noted for its natural environment, recreational opportunities (especially

bicycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

, and kayaking), and focus on the arts, along with its history of civil unrest, protests, and green activism. Eugene's official slogan is "A Great City for the Arts and Outdoors". It is also referred to as the "Emerald City" and as " Track Town, USA". The Nike corporation had its beginnings in Eugene. In July 2022, the city hosted the 18th Track and Field World Championships.

History

Indigenous presence

The first people to settle in the Eugene area were known as the

Kalapuya The Kalapuya are a Native American people, which had eight independent groups speaking three mutually intelligible dialects. The Kalapuya tribes' traditional homelands were the Willamette Valley of present-day western Oregon in the United Sta ...

ns, also written Calapooia or Calapooya. They made "seasonal rounds," moving around the countryside to collect and preserve local foods, including acorns, the bulbs of the wapato and camas plants, and berries. They stored these foods in their permanent winter village. When crop activities waned, they returned to their winter villages and took up hunting, fishing, and trading. They were known as the Chifin Kalapuyans and called the Eugene area where they lived "Chifin", sometimes recorded as "Chafin" or "Chiffin". Honey bee on camas 3

Other Kalapuyan tribes occupied villages that are also now within Eugene city limits. Pee-you or Mohawk Calapooians, Winefelly or Pleasant Hill Calapooians, and the Lungtum or Long Tom. They were close-neighbors to the Chifin, intermarried, and were political allies. Some authorities suggest the Brownsville Kalapuyans (Calapooia Kalapuyans) were related to the Pee-you. It is likely that since the Santiam had an alliance with the Brownsville Kalapuyans that the Santiam influence also went as far at Eugene. According to archeological evidence, the ancestors of the Kalapuyans may have been in Eugene for as long as 10,000 years. In the 1800s their traditional way of life faced significant changes due to devastating epidemics and settlement, first by French fur traders and later by an overwhelming number of American settlers.

Settlement and impact

French fur traders had settled seasonally in the Willamette Valley by the beginning of the 19th century. Their settlements were concentrated in the "French Prairie" community in Northern Marion County but may have extended south to the Eugene area. Having already developed relationships with Native communities through intermarriage and trade, they negotiated for land from the Kalapuyans. By 1828 to 1830 they and their Native wives began year-round occupation of the land, raising crops and tending animals. In this process, the mixed race families began to impact Native access to land, food supply, and traditional materials for trade and religious practices. In July 1830, "intermittent fever" struck the lower Columbia region and a year later, the Willamette Valley. Natives traced the arrival of the disease, then new to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

, to the ''USS Owyhee'', captained by John Dominis. "Intermittent fever" is thought by researchers now to be

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. According to Robert T. Boyd, an anthropologist at Portland State University, the first three years of the epidemic, "probably constitute the single most important epidemiological event in the recorded history of what would eventually become the state of Oregon". In his book ''The Coming of the Spirit Pestilence'' Boyd reports there was a 92% population loss for the Kalapuyans between 1830 and 1841. This catastrophic event shattered the social fabric of Kalapuyan society and altered the demographic balance in the Valley. This balance was further altered over the next few years by the arrival of Anglo-American settlers, beginning in 1840 with 13 people and growing steadily each year until within 20 years more than 11,000 American settlers, including Eugene Skinner, had arrived. As the demographic pressure from the settlers grew, the remaining Kalapuyans were forcibly removed to

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

s. Though some Natives escaped being swept into the reservation, most were moved to the Grand Ronde reservation in 1856. Strict racial segregation was enforced and mixed race people, known as Métis in French, had to make a choice between the reservation and Anglo society. Native Americans could not leave the reservation without traveling papers and white people could not enter the reservation. Skinner Cabin Plaque

Eugene Franklin Skinner Eugene Franklin Skinner (September 13, 1809 – December 15, 1864) was an early American settler in Oregon and the founder of the city of Eugene, Oregon, which is named after him. Skinner was born in Essex, New York. His father was Major John Jo ...

, after whom Eugene is named, arrived in the

in 1846 with 1,200 other settlers that year. Advised by the Kalapuyans to build on high ground to avoid flooding, he erected the first Anglo cabin on south or west slope of what the Kalapuyans called Ya-po-ah. The "isolated hill" is now known as Skinner's Butte. The cabin was used as a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

and was registered as an official post office on January 8, 1850. At this time the settlement was known by Anglos as Skinner's Mudhole. It was relocated in 1853 and named Eugene City in 1853. Formally incorporated as a city in 1862, it was named simply Eugene in 1889. Skinner ran a ferry service across the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

where the Ferry Street Bridge now stands.

Educational institutions

The first major educational institution in the area was Columbia College, founded a few years earlier than the University of Oregon. It fell victim to two major fires in four years, and after the second fire, the college decided not to rebuild again. The part of south Eugene known as College Hill was the former location of Columbia College. There is no college there today.College Hill Neighborhood and History.
College Hill Cultural Resource Survey (1988). The town raised the initial funding to start a public university, which later became the University of Oregon, with the hope of turning the small town into a center of learning. In 1872, the Legislative Assembly passed a bill creating the University of Oregon as a state institution. Eugene bested the nearby town of Albany in the competition for the state university. In 1873, community member J.H.D. Henderson donated the hilltop land for the campus, overlooking the city. The university first opened in 1876 with the regents electing the first faculty and naming John Wesley Johnson as president. The first students registered on October 16, 1876. The first building was completed in 1877; it was named Deady Hall in honor of the first Board of Regents President and community leader Judge Matthew P. Deady.Deady Hall: Architecture of the University of Oregon.
University of Oregon Libraries. Retrieved on January 21, 2008.

Twentieth century

Eugene grew rapidly throughout most of the twentieth century, with the exception being the early 1980s when a downturn in the timber industry caused high unemployment. By 1985, the industry had recovered and Eugene began to attract more high-tech industries, earning it the moniker the "Emerald Shire". In 2012, Eugene and the surrounding metro area was dubbed the

Silicon shire In 2012 the Eugene, Oregon metro area was dubbed the Silicon Shire. Like many regions that have taken on Silicon-themed names, the Silicon Shire is home to a thriving technology sector. In 2015, the region's rapid growth led to Eugene being named ...

. The first Nike shoe was used in 1972 during the US Olympic trials held in Eugene.

Activism

The 1970s saw an increase in community activism. Local activists stopped a proposed freeway and lobbied for the construction of the Washington Jefferson Park beneath the Washington-Jefferson Street Bridge. Community Councils soon began to form as a result of these efforts. A notable impact of the turn to community-organized politics came with

Eugene Local Measure 51 Eugene Local Measure 51 was a 1978 petition calling for a referendum in Eugene, Oregon, to repeal Ordinance no. 18080, which prohibited sexual orientation discrimination in the city. VOICE (Volunteer Organization in Community Enactments) created ...

, a ballot measure in 1978 that repealed a gay rights ordinance approved by the Eugene City Council in 1977 that prohibited discrimination by sexual orientation. Eugene is also home to Beyond Toxics, a nonprofit environmental justice organization founded in 2000. One hotspot for protest activity since the 1990s has been the

Whitaker Whitaker (also Whittaker) is a surname of English and Scottish origin, meaning the white acre, also spelled "Whittaker" and " Whitacre." Notable people with the surname include: People with the name * The Whitaker iron family - a family important ...

district, located in the northwest of downtown Eugene. Whitaker is primarily a working-class neighborhood that has become a vibrant cultural hub, center of community and activism and home to alternative artists. It saw an increase of activity in the 1990s after many young people drawn to Eugene's political climate relocated there. Animal rights groups have had a heavy presence in the Whiteaker, and several

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

restaurants are located there. According to David Samuels, the

Animal Liberation Front The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is an international, leaderless, decentralized political and social resistance movement that engages in and promotes non-violent direct action in protest against incidents of animal cruelty. It originated in th ...

and the

Earth Liberation Front The Earth Liberation Front (ELF), also known as "Elves" or "The Elves", is the collective name for autonomous individuals or covert cells who, according to the ELF Press Office, use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitatio ...

have had an underground presence in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is home to a number of communal apartment buildings, which are often organized by anarchist or environmentalist groups. Local activists have also produced independent films and started art galleries, community gardens, and independent media outlets.

Copwatch Copwatch (also Cop Watch or Cop-Watch) is a network of activist organizations, typically autonomous and focused in local areas, in the United States, Canada and Europe that observe and document police activity while looking for signs of police mi ...

, Food Not Bombs, and

Critical Mass In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fi ...

are also active in the neighborhood.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Eugene is at an elevation of . To the north of downtown is Skinner Butte. Northeast of the city is the

Coburg Hills The Coburg Hills are a range of foothills of the western Cascade Range of Lane and Linn counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. They are located northeast of Eugene and east of Coburg, between the Mohawk Valley and Willamette Valley. Topography ...

. Spencer Butte is a prominent landmark south of the city. Mount Pisgah is southeast of Eugene and includes

Mount Pisgah Arboretum The Mount Pisgah Arboretum (85 ha / 209 acres) is a non-profit arboretum and botanical garden located within the Howard Buford Recreation Area (930 ha / 2,300 acre), between the Coast Fork of the Willamette River and the slopes of Mount Pisgah nea ...

and

Howard Buford Recreation Area Mount Pisgah is a hill in Lane County, Oregon, United States, rising above the surrounding Willamette Valley to a maximum elevation of . It was named after the biblical Mount Pisgah. It is situated between the Coast Fork and Middle Fork of th ...

, a Lane County Park. Eugene is surrounded by foothills and forests to the south, east, and west, while to the north the land levels out into the Willamette Valley and consists of mostly farmland. The Willamette and McKenzie Rivers run through Eugene and its neighboring city, Springfield. Another important stream is Amazon Creek, whose headwaters are near Spencer Butte. The creek discharges into the Long Tom River north

Fern Ridge Reservoir Fern Ridge Reservoir (or Fern Ridge Lake) is a reservoir on the Long Tom River in the U.S. state of Oregon. The reservoir is located approximately west of Eugene on Oregon Route 126. The reservoir is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control p ...

, maintained for winter flood control by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Eugene Yacht Club hosts a sailing school and sailing regattas at Fern Ridge during summer months.

Neighborhoods

Eugene has 23 neighborhood associations: *Active Bethel Citizens *

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Neighbors Association *

Cal Young Cal Marcellus Young (June 25, 1871 – January 30, 1957), sometimes known as "Mr. Eugene," or "Mr. Lane County," was an American football coach and a pioneer of Eugene, Oregon. He was the first head football coach at the University of Oregon. E ...

Neighborhood Association *

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

Area Neighbors *Downtown Neighborhood Association * Fairmount Neighbors Association * Far West Neighborhood Association * Friendly Area Neighbors * Goodpasture Island Neighbors * Harlow *

Industrial Corridor An industrial corridor is a package of infrastructure spending allocated to a specific geographical area, with the intent to stimulate industrial development. An industrial corridor aims to create an area with a cluster of manufacturing or another ...

Community Organization * Jefferson Westside Neighbors * Laurel Hill Valley Citizens *

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

Neighbors * River Road Community * Santa Clara Community (including Irving) *

South University South University is a private university with its main campus and online operations in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1899, South University consists of its School of Pharmacy, College of Nursing and Public Health, College of Healt ...

Neighborhood Association *

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Neighbors *Southwest Hills Neighborhood Association * Trainsong Neighbors * West Eugene Community *

West University West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city was 14,955. ...

Neighbors * Whiteaker Community Council The River Road and Santa Clara sections, which make up the northwestern part of the city, are within the urban growth boundary and generally perceived as part of Eugene, but are largely outside of the city limits.

Climate

Like the rest of the

, Eugene lies in the

Marine West Coast An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

climate zone, with

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

characteristics. Under the Köppen climate classification scheme, Eugene has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Csb''). Temperatures can vary from cool to warm, with warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Spring and fall are also moist seasons, with light rain falling for long periods. The average rainfall is , with the wettest "rain year" being from July 1973 to June 1974 with and the driest from July 2000 to June 2001 with . Measurements taken by NOAA over the past four decades have indicated a significant decline in average annual precipitation. From 1981 to 2010 inclusive, the reported annual average precipitation was , but for the thirty-year period ending in 2020, the annual average had declined , to . The figures from the second half of that period, or 2006 - 2020 inclusive, pointed to a further decline of more than , down to an annual average of . Winter snowfall does occur, but it is sporadic and rarely accumulates in large amounts: the normal seasonal amount is , but the median is zero. The record snowfall was of accumulation due to a

pineapple express Pineapple Express is a non-technical term for a meteorological phenomenon characterized by a strong and persistent large-scale flow of warm moist air, and the associated heavy precipitation both in the waters immediately northeast of the Hawaii ...

on January 25–29, 1969. Ice storms, like snowfall, are rare, but occur sporadically. The hottest months are July and August, with a normal monthly mean temperature of , with an average of 16 days per year reaching . The coolest month is December, with a mean temperature of , and there are 52 mornings per year with a low at or below freezing, and 2 afternoons with highs not exceeding the freezing mark. The coldest daytime high of the year averages , reaching the freezing point. Snow in Eugene

Eugene's average annual temperature is , and annual precipitation at . Eugene is slightly cooler on average than

. Despite being located about south and at an only slightly higher elevation, Eugene has a more

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

than Portland, less subject to the maritime air that blows inland from the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River. Eugene's normal annual mean minimum is , compared to in Portland; in August, the gap in the normal mean minimum widens to and for Eugene and Portland, respectively. Eugene's warmest night annually averages a modest . Average winter temperatures (and summer high temperatures) are similar for the two cities. Extreme temperatures range from , recorded on December 8, 1972, to on June 27, 2021; the record cold daily maximum is , recorded on December 13, 1919, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is on July 22, 2006.

Air quality and allergies

Eugene is downwind of Willamette Valley grass seed farms. The combination of summer grass pollen and the confining shape of the hills around Eugene make it "the area of the highest grass pollen counts in the USA (>1,500 pollen grains/m³ of air)." These high pollen counts have led to difficulties for some track athletes who compete in Eugene. In the Olympic trials in 1972, "

Jim Ryun James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the ...

won the 1,500 after being flown in by helicopter because he was allergic to Eugene's grass seed pollen." Further, six-time Olympian

Maria Mutola Maria de Lurdes Mutola ( ; born 27 October 1972) is a retired female track and field athlete from Mozambique who specialised in the 800 metres running event. She is only the fourth female track and field athlete to compete at six Olympic Games. ...

abandoned Eugene as a training area "in part to avoid allergies".

Demographics

2010 census

According to the 2010 census, Eugene's population was 156,185. The population density was 3,572.2 people per square mile. There were 69,951 housing units at an average density of 1,600 per square mile. Those age 18 and over accounted for 81.8% of the total population. The racial makeup of the city was 85.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 4.0%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1.4%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.0% Native American, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, and 4.7% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

Hispanics The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

and

Latinos Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...

of any race accounted for 7.8% of the total population. Of the non-Hispanics, 82% were White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American, 4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.2% some other race alone, and 3.4% were of two or more races. Females represented 51.1% of the total population, and males represented 48.9%. The median age in the city was 33.8 years.

2000 census

The census of 2000 showed there were 137,893 people, 58,110 households, and 31,321 families residing in the city of Eugene. The population density was 3,404.8 people per square mile (1,314.5/km). There were 61,444 housing units at an average density of 1,516.4 per square mile (585.5/km). The racial makeup of the city was 88.15% White, down from 99.5% in 1950, 3.57% Asian, 1.25% Black or African American, 0.93% Native American, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.18% from other races, and 3.72% from two or more races. 4.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 58,110 households, of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was 20.3% under the age of 18, 17.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,850, and the median income for a family was $48,527. Males had a median income of $35,549 versus $26,721 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,315. About 8.7% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Eugene's largest employers are

PeaceHealth Medical Group PeaceHealth is a not-for-profit health care system that owns and operates ten hospitals, and numerous clinics, in the Western United States. Headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, the organization has operations in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, ...

, the University of Oregon, and the

Eugene School District Eugene School District (4J) is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of two school districts that serve the city of Eugene. Demographics Eugene School District 4J spans in the southern Willamette Valley, including th ...

. Eugene's largest industries are wood products manufacturing and recreational vehicle manufacturing.Eugene Zip
. Retrieved October 9, 2010. Luckey's Club Cigar Store is one of the oldest bars in Oregon. Tad Luckey Sr. purchased it in 1911, making it one of the oldest businesses in Eugene. The "Club Cigar", as it was called in the late 19th century, was for many years a men-only salon. It survived both the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, partly because Eugene was a "

dry town A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across the ...

" before the end of Prohibition. Corporate headquarters for the employee-owned

Bi-Mart Bi-Mart is an employee-owned chain of retailers located in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. A typical Bi-Mart houses merchandise including electronics and small appliances, housewares, hardware and power tools, sporting goods, au ...

corporation and family-owned supermarket

Market of Choice Market of Choice is a supermarket chainNine locations listed at based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The store carries conventional groceries, as well as natural and organic products. The city has over 25 breweries, offers a variety of dining options with a local focus; the city is surrounded by wineries. The most notable fungi here is the truffle; Eugene hosts the annual Oregon Truffle Festival in January. Organically Grown Company, the largest distributor of organic fruits and vegetables in the northwest, started in Eugene in 1978 as a non-profit co-op for organic farmers. Notable local food processors, many of whom manufacture

certified organic Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products, in the European Union more commonly known as ecological or biological products.Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/ ...

products, include Golden Temple (

Yogi Tea Yogi Tea is an American brand offering organic herbal, green and black tea blends. The company is privately held and operated in North America by East West Tea Company, LLC and YOGI TEA GmbH for Europe. History Yogi Tea was established in 1984 b ...

), Merry Hempsters and Springfield Creamery (Nancy's Yogurt & owned by the Kesey Family), and Mountain Rose Herbs. Until July 2008,

Hynix SK hynix Inc. is a South Korean supplier of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips and flash memory chips. Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chipmaker (after Samsung Electronics) and the world's third-largest semiconductor company. ...

Semiconductor America had operated a large semiconductor plant in west Eugene. In late September 2009, Uni-Chem of South Korea announced its intention to purchase the Hynix site for

solar cell A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.

manufacturing.Buri McDonald, Sherri (September 29, 2009)
"Quick hynix deal planned"
''The Register-Guard''. p. A1 However, this deal fell through and as of late 2012, is no longer planned.
. ''The Register-Guard''. In 2015, semiconductor manufacturer

Broadcom Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data center, networking, software, broadband, wirel ...

purchased the plant with plans to upgrade and reopen it. The company abandoned these plans and put it up for sale in November 2016. The footwear repair product

Shoe Goo Shoe Goo is a brand of adhesive and sealant intended for repairs of footwear. It is a registered trademark of Eclectic Products, based in Eugene, Oregon. Shoe Goo is a specialized type of rubber cement that contains a cleaning/degreasing solvent a ...

is manufactured by Eclectic Products, based in Eugene. Run Gum, an energy gum created for runners, also began its life in Eugene. Run Gum was created by track athlete

Nick Symmonds Nicholas Boone Symmonds (born December 30, 1983) is an American YouTube personality and retired middle-distance track athlete, from Boise, Idaho, who specialized in the 800 meters and 1500 meters distances. Symmonds signed with Brooks Running in ...

and track and field coach Sam Lapray in 2014. Burley Design LLC produces bicycle trailers and was founded in Eugene by Alan Scholz out of a Saturday Market business in 1978. Eugene is also the birthplace and home of Bike Friday bicycle manufacturer Green Gear Cycling. Many multinational businesses were launched in Eugene. Some of the most famous include

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

, Taco Time, and Brøderbund Software. In 2012, the Eugene metro region was dubbed the

Silicon Shire In 2012 the Eugene, Oregon metro area was dubbed the Silicon Shire. Like many regions that have taken on Silicon-themed names, the Silicon Shire is home to a thriving technology sector. In 2015, the region's rapid growth led to Eugene being named ...

for its growing tech industry.

Top employers

According to Eugene's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the city's top employers are: Eugene Homeless Camp

Homelessness

Eugene has a growing problem with homelessness. The problem has been referenced in popular culture, including in the episode

The 30% Iron Chef "The 30% Iron Chef" is the 22nd episode and final episode in season three of '' Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 2002. Bender aspires to be a cook for the Planet Express crew, but the meals he pro ...

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the city experienced a controversy over its continuing policy of homeless removal, despite CDC guidelines to not engage in homeless removal.

Arts and culture

Eugene has a significant population of people in pursuit of alternative ideas and a large original hippie population. Beginning in the 1960s, the

countercultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

ideas and viewpoints espoused by area native

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

became established as the seminal elements of the vibrant social tapestry that continue to define Eugene. The Merry Prankster, as Kesey was known, has arguably left the most indelible imprint of any

cultural icon A cultural icon is a person or an artifact that is identified by members of a culture as representative of that culture. The process of identification is subjective, and "icons" are judged by the extent to which they can be seen as an authentic ...

in his hometown. He is best known as the author of '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' and as the male protagonist in

Tom Wolfe Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

's ''

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test ''The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test'' is a 1968 nonfiction book by Tom Wolfe. The book is a popular example of the New Journalism literary style. Wolfe presents a firsthand account of the experiences of Ken Kesey and his band of Merry Pranksters, ...

''. In 2005, the city council unanimously approved a new slogan for the city: "World's Greatest City for the Arts & Outdoors". While Eugene has a vibrant arts community for a city its size, and is well situated near many outdoor opportunities, this slogan was frequently criticized by locals as embarrassing and ludicrous. In early 2010, the slogan was changed to "A Great City for the Arts & Outdoors." Eugene's Saturday Market, open every Saturday from April through November, was founded in 1970 as the first "Saturday Market" in the United States. It is adjacent to the Lane County Farmer's Market in downtown Eugene. All vendors must create or grow all their own products. The market reappears as the "Holiday Market" between Thanksgiving and New Year's in the Lane County Events Center at the fairgrounds.

Community

Eugene is noted for its "community inventiveness." Many U.S. trends in community development originated in Eugene. The University of Oregon's participatory planning process, known as

The Oregon Experiment ''The Oregon Experiment'' is a 1975 book by Christopher Alexander and collaborators Murray Silverstein, Shlomo Angel, Sara Ishikawa, and Denny Abrams. It describes an experimental approach to campus community planning at the University of Oreg ...

, was the result of student protests in the early 1970s. The book of the same name is a major document in modern enlightenment thinking in planning and architectural circles. The process, still used by the university in modified form, was created by Christopher Alexander, whose works also directly inspired the creation of the

Wiki A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pu ...

. Some research for the book ''

A Pattern Language ''A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction'' is a 1977 book on architecture, urban design, and community livability. It was authored by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein of the Center for Environmental Struc ...

'', which inspired the Design Patterns movement and

Extreme Programming Extreme programming (XP) is a software development methodology intended to improve software quality and responsiveness to changing customer requirements. As a type of agile software development,"Human Centred Technology Workshop 2006 ", 2006, P ...

, was done by Alexander in Eugene. Not coincidentally, those engineering movements also had origins here. Decades after its publication, ''A Pattern Language'' is still one of the best-selling books on urban design. In the 1970s, Eugene was packed with cooperative and community projects. It still has small natural food stores in many neighborhoods, some of the oldest student cooperatives in the country, and alternative schools have been part of the school district since 1971. The old Grower's Market, downtown near the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

depot, is the only food cooperative in the U.S. with no employees. It is possible to see Eugene's trend-setting non-profit tendencies in much newer projects, such as

Square One Villages In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

and the Center for Appropriate Transport. In 2006, an initiative began to create a tenant-run development process for downtown Eugene. In the fall of 2003, neighbors noticed "an unassuming two-acre remnant orchard tucked into the Friendly Area Neighborhood" had been put up for sale by its owner, a resident of New York City. Learning a prospective buyer had plans to build several houses on the property, they formed a nonprofit organization called Madison Meadow in June 2004 in order to buy the property and "preserve it as undeveloped space in perpetuity." In 2007 their effort was named Third Best Community Effort by the ''Eugene Weekly'', and by the end of 2008 they had raised enough money to purchase the property. The City of Eugene has an active Neighborhood Program. Several neighborhoods are known for their green activism. Friendly Neighborhood has a highly popular neighborhood garden established on the right of way of a street never built. There are a number of community gardens on public property. Amazon Neighborhood has a former church turned into a community center. Whiteaker hosts a housing co-op that dates from the early 1970s that has re-purposed both their parking lots into food production and play space. An unusual eco-village with natural building techniques and large shared garden can be found in Jefferson Westside neighborhood. A several block area in the River Road Neighborhood is known as a

permaculture Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...

hotspot with an increasing number of suburban homes trading grass for garden, installing rain water catchment systems, food producing landscapes and solar retrofits. Several sites have planted gardens by removing driveways. Citizen volunteers are working with the City of Eugene to restore a 65-tree filbert grove on public property. There are deepening social and economic networks in the neighborhood.

Annual cultural events

*Asian Celebration, presented by the Asian Council of Eugene and Springfield, takes place in February at the Lane County Fairgrounds. * The KLCC Microbrew Festival is held in February at the Lane County Fairgrounds. It provides participants with an introduction to a large range of microbrewery and craft beers, which play an important role in Pacific Northwest culture and the economy. *

, which resides at the base of Mount Pisgah, holds a Wildflower Festival in May and a Mushroom Festival and Plant Sale in October. * Oregon Festival of American Music, or OFAM is held annually in the early summer. * Art and the Vineyard festival, held around the Fourth of July at Alton Baker Park, is the principal fundraiser for the Maude Kerns Art Center. * The

Oregon Bach Festival Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July. About the festival The festival's programming is three-fold. It ...

is a major international festival in July, hosted by the University of Oregon. *The nonprofit

Oregon Country Fair The Oregon Country Fair (OCF) is a nonprofit organization and an annual three-day art and music fair held outside the city limits of Veneta, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, the site is about west of Eugene along the ...

takes place in July in nearby Veneta. * The

Lane County Fair Lane County Fair is a fair that is held in the middle of the summer every year, at Eugene, Oregon, and it features cuisine, entertainment, and music. Excellent family entertainment, cuisine, and artwork can be found at the Lane County Fair. A Lane ...

occurs in July at the Lane County Fairgrounds. * The Eugene/Springfield Pride Festival is held annually on the second Saturday in August from noon to 7:00 p.m. at Alton Baker Park. A part of Eugene LGBT culture since 1993, it provides a lighthearted and supportive social venue for the LGBT community, families, and friends. *

Eugene Celebration The Eugene Celebration was a 3-day annual community celebration and civic event that has been held at the end of summer since 1983 in downtown Eugene, Oregon, United States. The parade held on Saturday morning features the newly crowned Slug Quee ...

is a three-day block party that usually takes place in the downtown area in August or September. The

SLUG Queen The SLUG Queen, slug queen, or S.L.U.G. Queen (an acronym for the "Society for the Legitimization of the Ubiquitous Gastropod"), is a humorous character concept considered to be the unofficial goodwill ambassador of the City Of Eugene, Oregon, Un ...

coronation in August, a pageant with a campy spin, crowns a new SLUG Queen who "rains" over the Eugene Celebration Parade and is an unofficial ambassador of Eugene.

Museums

Eugene museums include the University of Oregon's

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art :''see also the ''Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art'', Washington State University, Pullman, Washington Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) is an art museum located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. The original building ...

and Museum of Natural and Cultural History, the Oregon Air and Space Museum,

Lane County History Museum Lane County History Museum, located on the county fairgrounds in Lane County, Oregon, Lane County in Eugene, Oregon, United States, has ongoing exhibits on the Oregon Trail, the county courthouse, historic vehicles, selections of artifacts from a ...

, Maude Kerns Art Center, Shelton McMurphey Johnson House, and the Eugene Science Center.

Performing arts

Eugene is home to numerous cultural organizations, including the

Eugene Symphony The Eugene Symphony is an American orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon. Its home venue is the Silva Concert Hall at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Approximately 27,000 people attend Eugene Symphony's classical and pops concert performan ...

(whose previous music directors include

Marin Alsop Marin Alsop ( �mɛər.ɪn ˈæːl.sɑːp born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate ...

Giancarlo Guerrero Giancarlo Guerrero (born 1969) is a Costa Rican, Nicaraguan-born, US-based music director. He is the music director of the Nashville Symphony in Nashville, Tennessee. Guerrero is also Music Director of the Wrocław Philharmonic at the National Fo ...

, and

Miguel Harth-Bedoya Miguel Alberto Harth-Bedoya (born 1968) is a Peruvian conductor. He was formerly music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2020 and chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra from 2013 to 2020. He is currently Direct ...

); the

Eugene Ballet Eugene Ballet is an American ballet company based in Eugene, Oregon. A resident company of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, it performs a repertoire of full-length classical ballets, and operates a ballet academy. For more than 20 years, ...

, a professional full-time touring company; the

Eugene Opera Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

, the

Eugene Concert Choir Eugene Concert Choir is a choral masterworks organization in Eugene, Oregon, that consists of three performing ensembles: the 100-voice Eugene Concert Choir (ECC), the 36-voice chamber choir Eugene Vocal Arts (EVA), and the associated profession ...

, the Bushnell University Community Choir, the

Oregon Mozart Players Oregon Mozart Players is a professional chamber orchestra based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The orchestra presents five concert sets in a typical season, in addition to numerous small ensemble performances and recitals by guest artists. Orc ...

, the

, the Oregon Children's Choir, the

Eugene-Springfield Youth Orchestras Eugene-Springfield Youth Orchestras are the major youth orchestras serving Eugene, Oregon, United States and surrounding areas. History The Eugene Junior Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1934, supported by the newly-formed Eugene Junior Sy ...

Ballet Fantastique Ballet Fantastique is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, chamber ballet company based in Eugene, Oregon, and co-directed by mother-daughter team Donna and Hannah Bontrager. Ballet Fantastique was founded in October 2000 and currently has three components: A p ...

and Oregon Festival of American Music. Principal performing arts venues include the

Hult Center for the Performing Arts The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. The Hult Center is located downtown on Willamette Street between 6th & 7th Avenues, adjacent to the AJ Capital Partners, Graduate Eugene (previou ...

The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts, is a performing arts company, cultural arts center, and community music school in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The institute has three performance venues, various community meeting rooms, and extensiv ...

("The Shedd"), the McDonald Theatre, and W.O.W. Hall. The

University of Oregon School of Music and Dance A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

also attracts world class performers and teaching artists throughout the year, many of whom perform at Beall Concert Hall. The University campus also frequently hosts performances at

Matthew Knight Arena The Matthew Knight Arena (MKA) is a 12,364-seat, multi-purpose arena in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is home of the University of Oregon Ducks basketball teams, replacing McArthur Court. It is located on the east side of campus at the cor ...

and the

Erb Memorial Union The Erb Memorial Union (EMU) is the student union building of the University of Oregon (UO) in Eugene, Oregon, United States. History The building was constructed in 1950. It was named for Donald M. Erb. Two subsequent additions were built in ...

ballroom. A number of live theater groups are based in Eugene, including

Free Shakespeare in the Park Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of William Shakespeare, Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater an ...

, Oregon Contemporary Theatre,

The Very Little Theatre ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

Actors Cabaret An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

, LCC Theatre, Rose Children's Theatre, and University Theatre. Each has its own performance venue.

Music

Because of its status as a college town, Eugene has been home to many music genres, musicians and bands, ranging from electronic dance music such as

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

and drum and bass to

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

, hip hop,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

and heavy metal. Eugene also has a growing

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and street-performing bluegrass and

jug band A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepi ...

scene. Multi-genre act the Cherry Poppin' Daddies became a prominent figure in Eugene's music scene and became the house band at Eugene's W.O.W. Hall. In the late 1990s, their contributions to the swing revival movement propelled them to national stardom. Rock band

Floater Floaters or eye floaters are sometimes visible deposits (e.g., the shadows of tiny structures of protein or other cell debris projected onto the retina) within the eye's vitreous humour ("the vitreous"), which is normally transparent, or betwe ...

originated in Eugene as did the Robert Cray blues band. Doom metal band YOB is among the leaders of the Eugene heavy music scene. Eugene is home to "

Classical Gas "Classical Gas" is an instrumental musical piece composed and originally performed by American guitarist Mason Williams with instrumental backing by members of the Wrecking Crew. Originally released in 1968 on the album ''The Mason Williams Ph ...

" Composer and two-time Grammy award winner

Mason Williams Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental "Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on ''The Smothers Brothers ...

who spent his years as a youth living between his parents in

Oakridge, Oregon Oakridge is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,205 as of the 2010 census. It is located east of Westfir on Oregon Route 58, about east of Eugene and southeast of Portland. Surrounded by the Willamette Nationa ...

and Oklahoma. Mason Williams puts on a yearly Christmas show at the Hult center for performing arts with a full orchestra produced by author, audio engineer and University of Oregon professor Don Latarski. Dick Hyman, noted jazz pianist and musical director for many of Woody Allen's films, designs and hosts the annual Now Hear This! jazz festival at the Oregon Festival of American Music (OFAM). OFAM and the

Hult Center The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts venue in Eugene, Oregon. The Hult Center is located downtown on Willamette Street between 6th & 7th Avenues, adjacent to the Graduate Eugene (previously Hilton Eugene) and Conference ...

routinely draw major jazz talent for concerts. Eugene is also home to a large

Zimbabwean music Zimbabwean music is heavily reliant on the use of instruments such as the mbira, Ngoma drums and hosho. Their music symbolizes much more than a simple rhythm, as the folk and pop style styled music was used as a symbol of hope for Zimbabweans ...

community. Kutsinhira Cultural Arts Center, which is "dedicated to the music and people of

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

," is based in Eugene.

Visual arts

Eugene's visual arts community is supported by over 20 private

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

and several organizations, including Maude Kerns Art Center, Lane Arts Council, DIVA (the Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts) and the

Eugene Glass School Eugene Glass School is an art school located in Eugene, Oregon featuring glass art workshops for off-hand, lampworked, and fused glass. External linksEugene Glass School Art schools in Oregon Glassmaking schools Education in Eugene, Orego ...

. In 2015 installations from a group of Eugene-based artists known as Light At Play were showcased in several events around the world as part of the

International Year of Light The International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies 2015 or International Year of Light 2015 (IYL 2015) was a United Nations observance that aimed to raise awareness of the achievements of light science and its applications, and its im ...

, including displays at the Smithsonian and the National Academy of Sciences.

Film

The Eugene area has been used as a filming location for several Hollywood films, most famously for 1978's ''

National Lampoon's Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hu ...

'', which was also filmed in nearby Cottage Grove.

John Belushi John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known for being one of the seven original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Throughout his c ...

had the idea for the film ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...

'' during filming of ''Animal House'' when he happened to meet

Curtis Salgado Curtis Salgado (born February 4, 1954, in Everett, Washington, United States) is a Portland, Oregon-based blues, blues rock, and blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist. Career Salgado b ...

at what was then the Eugene Hotel. ''

Getting Straight ''Getting Straight'' is a 1970 American comedy film motion picture directed by Richard Rush, released by Columbia Pictures. The story centered upon student politics at a university in the early 1970s, seen through the eyes of non-conformist grad ...

'', starring Elliott Gould and

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also kno ...

, was filmed at

in 1969. As the campus was still under construction at the time, the "occupation scenes" were easier to shoot. The "Chicken Salad on Toast" scene in the 1970

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

movie ''

Five Easy Pieces ''Five Easy Pieces'' is a 1970 American drama film directed by Bob Rafelson, written by Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce) and Rafelson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Lois Smith, and Ralph Waite. The film tells the s ...

'' was filmed at the

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some of the locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,700 restaurants in many countries. Description Originally opened as a coffee shop under t ...

restaurant at the southern

I-5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

freeway interchange near Glenwood. Nicholson directed the 1971 film ''

Drive, He Said ''Drive, He Said'' is a 1971 American independent film directed by Jack Nicholson, in his directorial debut, and starring William Tepper, Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Robert Towne, and Henry Jaglom. Based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Jerem ...

'' in Eugene. ''

How to Beat the High Co$t of Living ''How to Beat the High Cost of Living'' is a 1980 American comedy heist film starring Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin, and Jessica Lange. Set in the aftermath of the economic recession of the 1970s, the film follows three women in suburban Oregon ...

'', starring

Jane Curtin Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for ...

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. She is the 13th actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, along with a Screen Actors ...

and

Susan St. James Susan Saint James (born Susan Jane Miller; August 14, 1946) is an American actress and activism, activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially the detective series ''McMillan & Wife'' (1971� ...

, was filmed in Eugene in the fall of 1979. Locations visible in the film include

Valley River Center Valley River Center is a super-regional-class shopping mall located in Eugene, Oregon, U.S. It is the largest shopping center between Portland and Sacramento. The mall features over 90 local and national stores and restaurants. Anchor stores incl ...

(which is a driving force in the plot), Skinner Butte and Ya-Po-Ah Terrace, the Willamette River and River Road Hardware. Several

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

movies have used Eugene as a setting and/or a filming location. '' Personal Best'', starring

Mariel Hemingway Mariel Hadley Hemingway (born November 22, 1961) is an American actress. She began acting at age 14 with a Golden Globe-nominated breakout role in ''Lipstick'' (1976), and she received Academy and BAFTA Award nominations for her performance in W ...

, was filmed in Eugene in 1982. The film centered on a group of women who are trying to qualify for the Olympic track and field team. Two track and field movies about the life of

Steve Prefontaine Steve Roland "Pre" Prefontaine (January 25, 1951 – May 30, 1975) was an American long-distance runner who from 1973 to 1975 set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters. He competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics, a ...

, '' Prefontaine'' and ''

Without Limits ''Without Limits'' is a 1998 American biographical sports film. It is written and directed by Robert Towne and follows the relationship between record-breaking distance runner Steve Prefontaine and his coach Bill Bowerman, who later co-founded ...

'', were released within a year of each other in 1997–1998.

Kenny Moore Kenneth Clark Moore (December 1, 1943 – May 4, 2022) was an American Olympic road running athlete and journalist. He ran the marathon at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics, finishing fourth at the latter. Early life Moore was born in Portland ...

, Eugene-trained Olympic runner and co-star in ''Prefontaine'', co-wrote the screenplay for ''Without Limits''. ''Prefontaine'' was filmed in Washington because the ''Without Limits'' production bought out

Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's track and field teams since 1921, and was the on-campus ho ...

for the summer to prevent its competition from shooting there. Kenny Moore also wrote a biography of

Bill Bowerman William Jay Bowerman (February 19, 1911 – December 24, 1999) was an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc. Over his career, he trained 31 Olympic athletes, 51 All-Americans, 12 American record-holders, 22 NCAA champi ...

, played in ''Without Limits'' by

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...

back in Eugene 20 years after he had appeared in ''Animal House''. Moore had also had a role in ''Personal Best''. ''

Stealing Time ''Stealing Time'' is a 2001 drama involving the reuniting of four friends a year after college, each of them now dealing with their own problems. They ultimately come up with a solution: rob a bank The film had its national premier on June 17, 2 ...

'', a 2003 independent film, was partially filmed in Eugene. When the film premiered in June 2001 at the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

, it was titled ''Rennie's Landing'' after a popular bar near the University of Oregon campus. The title was changed for its DVD release. ''

Zerophilia ''Zerophilia'' is a 2005 romantic comedy film with speculative-fiction elements directed by Academy of Motion Pictures' Student Academy Award-winning director Martin Curland and produced by Microangelo Entertainment. It is about a young man who di ...

'' was filmed in Eugene in 2006. The 2016

Tracktown ''Tracktown'' is a 2016 American drama and Coming-of-age story, coming of age sports film directed and written by Alexi Pappas and Jeremy Teicher and starring Pappas, Chase Offerle, Rachel Dratch and Andy Buckley. Filming took place in Eugene, Oreg ...

was about a distance runner training for the Olympics in Eugene.

Religion

Religious institutions of higher learning in Eugene include Bushnell University and New Hope Christian College. Bushnell University (formerly Northwest Christian University), founded in 1895, has ties with the

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

. New Hope Christian College (formerly Eugene Bible College) originated with the Bible Standard Conference in 1915, which joined with Open Bible Evangelistic Association to create

Open Bible Standard Churches Open Bible Churches (OBC), formerly known as Open Bible Standard Churches (OBSC), is an association of Pentecostal churches with headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Open Bible is similar in doctrine and practice to the Assemblies of G ...

in 1932.

Eugene Bible College New Hope Christian College is a private Bible college in Eugene, Oregon. It has a curriculum that centers on the vocational application of Biblical training including pastoral studies, Christian counseling, Christian education, intercultural stud ...

was started from this movement by Fred Hornshuh in 1925. There are two

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

parishes in Eugene:

St John the Wonderworker Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco (russian: Иоанн Шанхайский и Сан Францисский, Ioann Shankhayskiyi i San Frantsiskyi; secular name Mikhail Borisovich Maximovitch, russian: Михаил Борисович Ма ...

Orthodox Christian Church in the Historic Whiteaker Neighborhood and

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

Greek Orthodox Church. There are six Roman Catholic parishes in Eugene as well: St. Mary Catholic Church, St. Jude Catholic Church, St. Mark Catholic Church, St. Peter Catholic Church, St. Paul Catholic Church, and St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Eugene also has a Ukrainian Catholic Church named Nativity of the Mother of God. There is a mainline Protestant contingency in the city as well—such as the largest of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Churches, Central Lutheran near the U of O Campus and the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. The Eugene area has a sizeable

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

presence, with three stakes, consisting of 23 congregations (wards and branches). The Church of Jesus Christ announced plans in April 2020 to build a temple in Eugene. The greater Eugene-Springfield area also has a Jehovah's Witnesses presence with five Kingdom Halls, several having multiple congregations in one Kingdom Hall. The Reconstructionist Temple Beth Israel is Eugene's largest Jewish congregation. It was also, for many decades, Eugene's only synagogue, Zuckerman (2003), p. 87. Reichman (2007). until

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

members broke away in 1992 and formed "Congregation Ahavas Torah". Zuckerman (2003), pp. 91–93.About Us
Congregation Ahavas Torah website. Eugene has a community of some 140 Sikhs, who have established a Sikh temple. The 340-member congregation of the

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

Church in Eugene (UUCE) purchased the former Eugene Scottish Rite Temple in May 2010, renovated it, and began services there in September 2012. Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Temple in Eugene opened in 2012 in the former site of the Unitarian Universalist Church. The First Congregational Church, UCC is a large progressive Christian Church with a long history of justice focused ministries and a very active membership. Three years ago, the congregation coordinated with the Connections Program of the St Vincent DePaul organization to provide transitional homes for two unhoused families on the church's property. Through life - skills support and training and a more stable housing situation these families are then able to make their way into independent living.

Sports

Eugene markets itself as "Track Town USA". There are close links between the University of Oregon's successful track & field program, the

Oregon Track Club The Oregon Track Club (OTC) is an American running organization based in Eugene, Oregon. History Emerald Empire Athletic Association Formed by Bill Bowerman, the Emerald Empire Athletic Association (EEAA) was the predecessor to the Oregon Track C ...

, and

Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

, who were founded by University of Oregon track athlete

Phil Knight Philip Hampson Knight (born February 24, 1938) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman ''emeritus'' of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company. As of October 3, 2022, Knight was ranke ...

and his coach,

. Eugene's miles of running trails, through its unusually large park system, are among the most extensive in the U.S. Notable trails include Pre's Trail in Alton Baker Park, Rexius Trail, the

Adidas Oregon Trail Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacture ...

, and the

Ridgeline Trail A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

. There is also an extensive network of trails along the Willamette River that reaches into neighboring Springfield, as well as along Amazon Creek in the southern and western parts of town. Jogging was introduced to the U.S. through Eugene, brought from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

by Bill Bowerman, who wrote the best-selling book "Jogging", and coached the champion University of Oregon track and cross country teams. During Bowerman's tenure, his "Men of Oregon" won 24 individual

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

titles, including titles in 15 out of the 19 events contested. During Bowerman's 24 years at Oregon, his track teams finished in the top ten at the NCAA championships 16 times, including four team titles (1962, '64, '65, '70), and two second-place trophies. His teams also posted a dual meet record of 114–20. Bowerman also invented the waffle sole for running shoes in Eugene, and with Oregon alumnus

founded shoe giant Nike. The city has dozens of running clubs. The climate is cool and temperate, good both for jogging and record-setting. Eugene is home to the University of Oregon's Hayward Field track, which hosts numerous collegiate and amateur track and field meets throughout the year, most notably the

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University ...

. Hayward Field was host to the 2004

AAU Junior Olympic Games The AAU Junior Olympic Games'' are the pinnacle competitions held annually by the US Amateur Athletic Union. Overview The AAU Junior Olympic Games are known as the largest national multi-sport event for youth in the United States. It has become t ...

, the 1989

World Masters Athletics Championships The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or o ...

, the track and field events of the 1998

World Masters Games The World Masters Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years which, in terms of competitor numbers, has developed into the largest of its kind. Governed by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the World Mas ...

, the 2006

Pacific-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

track and field championships, the 1971, 1975, 1986, 1993, 1999, 2001, 2009, and 2011

USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...

and the 1972, 1976, 1980, 2008, 2012, and 2016

U.S. Olympic trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading i ...

. Eugene is the host of the delayed

2021 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

. The city bid for the 2019 event but lost narrowly to

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

. Eugene's

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...

are part of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

(Pac-12).

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

is especially popular, with intense rivalries between the Ducks and both the

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

Beavers Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Huskies Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...

. Autzen Stadium is home to Duck football, with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 54,000 but has had over 60,000 with standing room only. The basketball arena,

McArthur Court McArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena. Also known as "The Pit" or " ...

, was built in 1926. The arena was replaced by the

in late 2010. The Nationwide Tour's golfing event Oregon Classic takes place at Shadow Hills Country Club, just north of Eugene. The event has been played every year since 1998, except in 2001 when it was slated to begin the day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The top 20 players from the Nationwide Tour are promoted to the PGA Tour for the following year. Eugene is also home to the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays thei ...

, a short-season Class A minor-league baseball team. The "Ems" play their home games in PK Park, also the home of the University of Oregon baseball team. The Eugene Jr. Generals, a Tier III Junior "A" ice hockey team belonging to the Northern Pacific Hockey League (NPHL) consisting of 8 teams throughout Oregon and Washington, plays at the Lane County Ice Center.

Lane United FC Lane United FC is an American soccer club based in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 2013, the team currently plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. History 2013 Lane United was admitted into the USL Premier Develo ...

, a soccer club that participates in the Northwest Division of

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

, was founded in 2013 and plays its home games at Civic Park. The following table lists some sports clubs in Eugene and their usual home venue:

Parks and recreation

Spencer Butte Park at the southern edge of town provides access to Spencer Butte, a dominant feature of Eugene's skyline.

Hendricks Park Hendricks Park is the oldest city park in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The park is a little over a mile away from the University of Oregon campus, and contains mature forest, a rhododendron garden, and a native plant garden. The park is lac ...

, situated on a knoll to the east of downtown, is known for its rhododendron garden and nearby memorial to Steve Prefontaine, known as Pre's Rock, where the legendary University of Oregon runner was killed in an auto accident.

Alton Baker Park Alton Baker Park is located in Eugene, Oregon, United States, near Autzen Stadium. It was named for Alton F. Baker Sr., the eleventh owner (60 years after it was founded) of Eugene's ''The Guard'' newspaper (later ''The Register-Guard''). It fe ...

, next to the Willamette River, contains Pre's Trail. Also next to the Willamette are Skinner Butte Park and the Owen Memorial Rose Garden, which contains more than 4,500 roses of over 400 varieties, as well as the 150-year-old

Black Tartarian Black Tartarian (originally ''Ronald's Large Black Heart'') is an heirloom cultivar of cherry. It was brought from Circassia to England in the 1700s by a man named Hugh Ronalds, and from England it was brought to the United States The Un ...

Cherry tree, an Oregon Heritage Tree. The city of Eugene maintains an

urban forest An urban forest is a forest, or a collection of trees, that grow within a city, town or a suburb. In a wider sense, it may include any kind of woody plant vegetation growing in and around human settlements. As opposed to a forest park, whose ec ...

. The University of Oregon campus is an arboretum, with over 500 species of trees. The city operates and maintains scenic hiking trails that pass through and across the ridges of a cluster of hills in the southern portion of the city, on the fringe of residential neighborhoods. Some trails allow biking, and others are for hikers and runners only. The nearest ski resort,

Willamette Pass Willamette Pass () is a mountain pass crossing the crest of the Cascade Range in Oregon, United States. It is less commonly known as Willamette Summit. The pass is traversed by Oregon Route 58 and by Union Pacific's (ex- Southern Pacific) Cas ...

, is one hour from Eugene by car. On the way, along

Oregon Route 58 Oregon Route 58 (OR 58), also known as the Willamette Highway No. 18 (see Oregon highways and routes), is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oregon. The route, signed east–west, runs in a southeast–northwest direction, connecting U.S. R ...

, are several reservoirs and lakes, the Oakridge mountain bike trails,

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...

s, and waterfalls within

Willamette National Forest The Willamette National Forest is a National Forest located in the central portion of the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Oregon. It comprises . Over 380,000 acres (694 mi2, 1,540 km2) are designated wilderness which include seve ...

. Eugene residents also frequent the Hoodoo and Mount Bachelor ski resorts. The

Three Sisters Wilderness The Three Sisters Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Cascade Range, within the Willamette and Deschutes National Forests in Oregon, United States. It comprises , making it the second largest wilderness area in Oregon, after the Eagle Cap Wilde ...

, the

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area The Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is located on the Oregon Coast, stretching approximately north of the Coos River in North Bend to the Siuslaw River in Florence, and adjoining Honeyman State Park on the west. It is part of Siuslaw Na ...

, and Smith Rock are just a short drive away.

Government

In 1944, Eugene adopted a council–manager form of government, replacing the day-to-day management of city affairs by the part-time mayor and volunteer

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

with a full-time professional

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

. The subsequent history of Eugene city government has largely been one of the dynamics—often contentious—between the city manager, the mayor and city council. According to statute, all Eugene and Lane County elections are officially non-partisan, with a primary containing all candidates in May. If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the primary, they win the election outright, otherwise the top two candidates face off in a November runoff. This allows candidates to win seats during the lower-turnout primary election. The mayor of Eugene is Lucy Vinis, who has been in office since winning the popular vote in May 2016, and who was re-elected in May 2020. Recent mayors include Edwin Cone (1958–69), Les Anderson (1969–77) Gus Keller (1977–84), Brian Obie (1985–88), Jeff Miller (1989–92),

Ruth Bascom Ruth Ellen Bascom (; February 4, 1926 – August 26, 2010) was an American politician who served as the first female mayor of Eugene, Oregon, from 1993 until 1996. Early life Bascom was born Ruth Ellen Fenton in Ames, Iowa, the daughter of tw ...

(1993–96), Jim Torrey (1997–2004) and Kitty Piercy (2005-2017).

Eugene City Council

Mayor: Lucy Vinis *Ward 1 – Emily Semple *Ward 2 – Matt Keating *Ward 3 – Alan Zelenka *Ward 4 – Jennifer Yeh *Ward 5 – Mike Clark *Ward 6 – Greg Evans *Ward 7 – Claire Syrett *Ward 8 – Randy Groves

Public safety

The Eugene Police Department is the city's law enforcement and public safety agency. The Lane County Sheriff's Office also has its headquarters in Eugene. The University of Oregon is served by the

University of Oregon Police Department In the U.S. state of Oregon, enforcement of local, state, and federal law on public university property is delegated to a number of security, public safety, and police agencies. Public institutions in Oregon may elect to form campus police. The Un ...

, and Eugene Police Department also has a police station in the West University District near campus. Lane Community College is served by the Lane Community College Public Safety Department. The

Oregon State Police The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OSP enforces all of Oregon's criminal laws and assists local law enforcement agencies. Terri Davie has served as Superintendent since November 1, 2020. The ...

have a presence in the rural areas and highways around the Eugene metro area. The LTD downtown station, and the EmX lines are patrolled by LTD Transit Officers. Since 1989 the mental health crisis intervention non-governmental agency CAHOOTS has responded to Eugene's mental health 911 calls. Eugene-Springfield Fire Department is the agency responsible for emergency medical services, fire suppression, HAZMAT operations and water/Confined spaces rescues in the combined Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area. Eugene used to have an ordinance which prohibited car horn usage for non-driving purposes. After several residents were cited for this offense during the anti-Gulf War demonstrations in January 1991, the city was taken to court and in 1992 the

Oregon Court of Appeals The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate Court of Appeals, appellate court in the US state of Oregon. Part of the Oregon Judicial Department, it has thirteen judges and is located in Salem, Oregon, Salem. Except for death penalty cas ...

overturned the ordinance, finding it unconstitutionally vague. Eugene City Hall was abandoned in 2012 for reasons of structural integrity, energy efficiency, and obsolete size. Various offices of city government became tenants in eight other buildings.

Politics

Being the largest city by far in Lane County, Eugene's voters almost always decide the county's partisan tilt. While Eugene has historically been a counter-culture-heavy and left-leaning college town, the county's partisan leanings have intensified in recent decades, mirroring the general polarization of Oregon voters along urban (pro-Democratic) and rural (pro-Republican) lines. Lane County voted for Bernie Sanders over eventual 2016 nominee

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

by 60.6-38.1%, and Eugene offered Sanders an even larger share it of its vote.

Education

Eugene is home to the

. Other institutions of higher learning include Bushnell University,

, New Hope Christian College,

Gutenberg College Gutenberg College is a private, four-year Great Books college in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1994, the school currently has 20 students. The college "does not participate in any government-funded financial aid programs." History The college occupi ...

, and

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. The university maintains three other campuses in Eugene, Hillsboro, and Wo ...

's Eugene campus.

Schools

The Eugene School District includes four full-service high schools (

, North Eugene,

Sheldon Sheldon may refer to: * Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name Places Australia * Sheldon, Queensland *Sheldon Forest, New South Wales United Kingdom *Sheldon, Derbyshire, England *Sheldon, Devon, England * ...

, and South Eugene) and many alternative education programs, such as

international schools An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...

and

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

s. Foreign

language immersion Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction ...

programs in the district are available in Spanish, French, Chinese, and Japanese. The Bethel School District serves children in the Bethel neighborhood on the northwest edge of Eugene. The district is home to the traditional

Willamette High School Willamette High School, or "Wil-Hi", is located in the Bethel-Danebo area of West Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Bethel School District along with Kalapuya High School. History Willamette High School firs ...

and the alternative Kalapuya High School. There are 11 schools in this district. Eugene also has several private schools, including the Eugene Waldorf School, the

Outdoor High School Outdoor High School is an alternative high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The school was created in 1997 by Northwest Youth Corps with the purpose of combining service learning field studies and outdoor recreation with a traditio ...

, Eugene Montessori, Far Horizon Montessori, Eugene Sudbury School,

Wellsprings Friends School Wellsprings Friends School is a private non-profit alternative high school in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1994 by members of the Eugene Friends Meeting, a local Quaker church. It serves a maximum of 65 students each year in gr ...

, Oak Hill School, and The Little French School.

Parochial schools A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

in Eugene include

Marist Catholic High School Marist Catholic High School is a private Roman Catholic, college preparatory school in Eugene, Oregon, United States founded by the Marist Brothers. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland. Its motto is "We are One". Academics In ...

, O'Hara Catholic Elementary School, Eugene Christian School, and St. Paul Parish School.

Libraries

The largest library in Oregon is the University of Oregon's Knight Library, with collections totaling more than 3 million volumes and over 100,000 audio and video items. The

Eugene Public Library The Eugene Public Library is a municipal public library in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It has been in four different buildings since 1898. History In 1898, a group of women founded the Fortnightly Club and opened a private reading room in ...

moved into a new, larger building downtown in 2002. The four-story library is an increase from . There are also two branches of the Eugene Public Library, the

Sheldon Branch Library Sheldon may refer to: * Sheldon (name), a given name and a surname, and a list of people with the name Places Australia *Sheldon, Queensland *Sheldon Forest, New South Wales United Kingdom *Sheldon, Derbyshire, England *Sheldon, Devon, England *S ...

in the neighborhood of Cal Young/Sheldon, and the

Bethel Branch Library Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

, in the neighborhood of Bethel. Eugene also has the Lane County

Law Library A law library is a special library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their law clerks, historians and other scholars of legal history in order to research the law. Law libraries are also used by people who draft or advocate for new la ...

Media

Print

The largest newspaper serving the area is ''

The Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene- ...

'', a daily newspaper with a circulation of about 70,000, published independently by the Baker family of Eugene until 2018, before being acquired by GateHouse Media, (now owned by Gannett Company). Other newspapers serving the area include the ''

Eugene Weekly ''Eugene Weekly'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Eugene, Oregon. The paper, published every Thursday, has a circulation of 39,850. It publishes an annual "Best of Eugene" list, a restaurant guide ("Chow!"), and special section ...

'', the ''Emerald'', the student-run independent newspaper at the University of Oregon, now published on Mondays and Thursdays;''The Torch'', the student-run newspaper at Lane Community College, the ''Ignite'', the newspaper at New Hope Christian College and ''The Beacon Bolt,'' the student-run newspaper at Bushnell University. ''Eugene Magazine'', ''Lifestyle Quarterly'', ''Eugene Living'', and ''Sustainable Home and Garden'' magazines also serve the area. ''Adelante Latino'' is a Spanish language newspaper in Eugene that serves all of Lane County.

Television

Local television stations include

KMTR KMTR (channel 16) is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Roberts Media, LLC, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of ...

(

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

), KVAL (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

KLSR-TV KLSR-TV (channel 34) is a television station in Eugene, Oregon, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside low-power, Class A MyNetworkTV affiliate KEVU-CD (channel 23). Both stations share studio ...

(

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

KEVU-CD KEVU-CD (channel 23) is a low-power, Class A television station in Eugene, Oregon, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside Fox affiliate KLSR-TV (channel 34). Both stations share studios on Chad Dr ...

KEZI Kezi may refer to: * Kezi, Iran * Kezi, Zimbabwe Khezi is a village in Matobo District, Matabeleland South province in zimbabwe,https://www.mindat.org/feature-888965.html located south of Bulawayo and from Maphisa, a small town which serves ...

(

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

), KEPB (PBS), and KTVC (independent). *

(Channel 9) (

) * KVAL (Channel 13) (

) *

(Channel 16) (

) *

(Channel 23) * KEPB (Channel 28) (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

) * KLSR (Channel 34) (

) *

KTVC KTVC (channel 36) is a religious television station in Roseburg, Oregon, United States, affiliated with the Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN). The station is owned by Better Life Television, and maintains studios on Golden Valley Boulevar ...

(Channel 36) (Independent) *

KHWB-LD KHWB-LD, virtual channel 38 (UHF digital channel 34), is a low-powered NRB TV- affiliated television station licensed to Eugene, Oregon, United States. The station is owned by His Word Broadcasting. History KHWB-LD signed on in May 1982 as W59 ...

(Channel 38) ( TBN)

Radio

The local NPR affiliates are KOPB, and KLCC. Radio station KRVM-AM is an affiliate of Jefferson Public Radio, based at

Southern Oregon University Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university in Ashland, Oregon. It was founded in 1872 as the Ashland Academy, has been in its current location since 1926, and was known by nine other names before assuming its current name in 1997.Kre ...

. The Pacifica Radio affiliate is the University of Oregon student-run radio station,

KWVA KWVA (88.1 FM) is a college radio station broadcasting from the EMU building on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Licensed to the University of Oregon, it serves the Eugene/Springfield metropolitan area and has a ...

. Additionally, the community supports two other radio stations:

KWAX KWAX (91.1 FM) is a non-commercial classical music radio station in Eugene, Oregon, broadcasting to the Eugene-Springfield, Oregon area. The station is a listener supported service of the University of Oregon. Some programming is spoken word: ...

(classical) and

KRVM-FM KRVM-FM (91.9 MHz) is a community radio station in Eugene, Oregon, United States. KRVM's primary programming is available via online streaming, with listener-supporters located around the world. The station license and studio facility are owned b ...

(alternative). AM stations * KOAC 550 Corvallis – NPR News/Talk (Oregon Public Broadcasting) *

KUGN KUGN (590 AM) is a commercial radio station, owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to the city of Eugene, Oregon, it serves the Eugene- Springfield media market. KUGN partners with local CBS television affiliate ...

590 Eugene – NEWS/TALK (Cumulus) * KXOR 660 Junction City – Spanish Religious (Zion Media) *

KKNX KKNX (840 AM) is a classic hits radio station broadcasting to the Eugene, Oregon, area on 840 AM. 840 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency, on which WHAS in Louisville, Kentucky is the dominant Class A station. KKNX must reduce ni ...

840 Eugene – Classic Hits (Mielke Broadcasting) *

KORE Kore may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Kore (comics), a comic-book series by Josh Blaylock and Tim Seeley *Kore (producer), French-Algerian music producer, also part of duo Kore & Skalp *Kore (sculpture), a type of ancient Greek sculpture dep ...

1050 Springfield – FOX Sports Radio *

KPNW KPNW (1120 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Eugene, Oregon, United States, the station serves the Eugene-Springfield area, and calls itself "Newsradio 1120 and 93.7". The station is owned by Bicoastal Media a ...

1120 Eugene – NEWS/TALK (Bicostal Media) * KRVM 1280 Eugene – NPR News/Talk (Eugene School District) (JPR affiliate) * KNND 1400 Cottage Grove – Classic Country (Reiten Communications Inc) *

KEED KEED (1450 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Eugene, Oregon, United States. The station is currently owned by Mielke Broadcasting Group. Programming For several years, the then-KLZS broadcast a Spanish language sports radio ...

1450 Eugene – Classic Country (Mielke Broadcasting) * KOPB 1600 Eugene – NPR News/Talk (Oregon Public Broadcasting) FM stations *

88.1 Eugene – Freeform (University of Oregon) * KPIJ 88.5 Junction City – Christian (Calvary Satellite Network) (Calvary Chapel) * KQFE 88.9 Springfield – Christian (Family Radio) * KLCC 89.7 Eugene – NPR News/Talk/Jazz (Lane Community College) *

91.1 Eugene – Classical (University of Oregon) * KRVM 91.9 Eugene – Adult Album Alternative (AAA) (Eugene School District) *

KKNU KKNU is a commercial country music radio station in Springfield, Oregon, broadcasting to the Eugene-Springfield, Oregon area on 93.3 FM. It is owned by Mckenzie River Broadcasting. Syndicated programming included '' After Midnite with Blair Ga ...

93.3 Springfield – Country (McKenzie River Broadcasting) *

KMGE KMGE (94.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Eugene, Oregon, United States. It is owned by McKenzie River Broadcasting and calls itself "94-5 Mix FM." KMGE broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas mus ...

94.5 Eugene – Adult Contemporary (McKenzie River Broadcasting) *

KUJZ KUJZ (95.3 MHz, "Sports Radio, 95.3 The Score") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Creswell, Oregon and broadcasting to the Eugene-Springfield, Oregon media market. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and the broadcast license is h ...

95.3 Creswell – Sports (Cumulus) * KZEL 96.1 Eugene – Classic Rock (Cumulus) * KEPW-LP 97.3 Eugene - PeaceWorks Community Radio (Eugene PeaceWorks) *

KEQB KEQB (97.7 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve Coburg, Oregon, United States. The station, which began broadcasting in 1992, is owned by John and Renate Tilson, through licensee McKenzie River Broadcasting Company, Inc. Program ...

97.7 Coburg - Regional Mexican (McKenzie River Broadcasting) *

KODZ KODZ (99.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Eugene, Oregon, broadcasting to the Eugene- Springfield radio market. The station is owned by Bicoastal Media and airs a classic hits radio format. The studios and offices are on River Valley Roa ...

99.1 Eugene – Classic Hits (Bicoastal Media) * KRKT 99.9 Albany – Country (Bicoastal Media) * KMME 100.5 Cottage Grove – Catholic Program (Catholic Radio Northwest) *

KFLY KFLY (101.5 FM) is an American commercial country music radio station in Eugene, Oregon (licensed to Corvallis) that serves the Eugene– Springfield, Corvallis– Albany–Lebanon, and Salem areas of the Willamette Valley. History KFLY b ...

101.5 Corvallis - Country (Bicoastal Media) *

KEHK KEHK (102.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Brownsville, Oregon, and serving the Eugene- Springfield radio market. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a hot adult contemporary radio format, using the moniker "Star 102.3." S ...

102.3 Brownsville – Hot Adult Contemporary (Cumulus) *

KNRQ KNRQ (103.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station, city of license, licensed to Harrisburg, Oregon, and serving the Eugene, Oregon, Eugene–Springfield, Oregon, Springfield media market, radio market. It is own ...

103.7 Harrisburg – Alternative Rock (Cumulus) *

KDUK KDUK-FM (104.7 MHz) is a commercial Top 40 (CHR) music radio station in Eugene, Oregon (licensed to Florence) that serves the Eugene– Springfield, Corvallis– Albany–Lebanon, and Salem areas of the Willamette Valley. The station focuse ...

104.7 Florence – Top 40 (CHR) (Bicoastal Media) *

KEUG KEUG (105.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Veneta, Oregon, and serving the Eugene- Springfield metropolitan area. It is owned by McKenzie River Broadcasting and airs an adult hits radio format known as ''105.5 BOB FM''. ...

105.5 Veneta – Adult Hits (McKenzie River Broadcasting) * KLOO 106.3 Corvallis – Classic Rock (Bicoastal Media) *

KLVU KLVU is a non-commercial Christian contemporary music radio station in Sweet Home, Oregon, broadcasting to the Eugene-Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Val ...

107.1 Sweet Home – Contemporary Christian Music (K-LOVE) Educational Media Foundation *

KHPE KHPE (107.9 FM, "Hope 107.9") is a Christian Contemporary radio station in Albany, Oregon, United States, broadcasting to the Albany– Corvallis–Lebanon, Salem, and Eugene– Springfield, Oregon areas, also known as the Willamette Valley ar ...

107.9 Albany – Contemporary Christian Music (Extra Mile Media)

Infrastructure

Transportation

Bus

Lane Transit District The Lane Transit District (LTD) is a public agency that provides public transportation in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The transit district serves the Eugene and Springfield metropolitan areas, including the neighboring cities of Coburg, ...

(LTD), a

public transportation Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

agency formed in 1970, covers of Lane County, including Creswell, Cottage Grove, Junction City, Veneta, and Blue River. Operating more than 90 buses during peak hours, LTD carries riders on 3.7 million trips every year. LTD also operates a bus rapid transit line that runs between Eugene and Springfield—

Emerald Express (EmX) The Emerald Express (EmX) is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in the Eugene- Springfield metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It is provided by the Lane Transit District (LTD) which is the public transit authority in Lane County, Oregon. ...

—much of which runs in its own lane, with stations providing for off-board fare payment. LTD's main terminus in Eugene is at the Eugene Station. LTD also offers

paratransit Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...

. Greyhound Lines provides service between

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

on the I-5 corridor.

Cycling

Cycling is popular in Eugene and many people commute via bicycle. Summertime events and festivals frequently have valet bicycle parking corrals that are often filled to capacity by three hundred or more bikes. Many people commute to work by bicycle every month of the year. PeaceHealth Rides, a bike share system formerly operated by Uber subsidiary JUMP, and currently operated by non-profit Cascadia Mobility, offers 300 city-owned bicycles available to the public for a small fee. Bike trails take commuting and recreational bikers along the Willamette River past a scenic rose garden, along Amazon Creek, through the downtown, and through the University of Oregon campus. Eugene is close to many popular mountain bike trails, and Disciples of Dirt is the local mountain bike club that organizes group rides and promotes trail stewardship. NorthBankTrails

In 2009, the

League of American Bicyclists The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education. A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizat ...

cited Eugene as 1 of 10 "Gold-level" cities in the U.S. because of its "remarkable commitments to bicycling." In 2010, ''

Bicycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

'' magazine named Eugene the 5th most bike-friendly city in America. The U.S. Census Bureau's annual

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

reported that Eugene had a bicycle commuting mode share of 7.3% in 2011, the fifth highest percentage nationwide among U.S. cities with 65,000 people or more, and 13 times higher than the national average of 0.56%.

Rail

The 1908 Amtrak depot downtown was restored in 2004; it is the southern terminus for two daily runs of the Amtrak '' Cascades'', and a stop along the route in each direction for the daily ''

Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, which has operated continuously since Amtrak's format ...

''.

Air travel

Air travel is served by the

Eugene Airport Eugene Airport , also known as Mahlon Sweet Field, is a public airport 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Eugene, in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Owned and operated by the city of Eugene, it is the fifth-largest airport in the Pacific Nor ...

, also known as Mahlon Sweet Field, which is the fifth largest airport in the Northwest and second largest airport in

. The Eugene Metro area also has numerous private airports. The Eugene Metro area also has several

heliport A heliport is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and some other vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. I ...

s, such as the

Sacred Heart Medical Center Heliport PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center University District is a hospital in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Originally called Sacred Heart Medical Center, its new name reflects its location near the University of Oregon and Northwest Christian ...

and Mahlon Sweet Field Heliport, and many single helipads.

Highways

Highways traveling within and through Eugene include: *

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

: Interstate 5 forms much of the eastern city limit, acting as an effective, though unofficial boundary between Eugene and Springfield. To the north, I-5 leads to the Willamette Valley and

. To the south, I-5 leads to Roseburg, Medford, and the southwestern portion of the state. In full, Interstate 5 continues north to the Canada–US border at Blaine, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia and extends south to the Mexico–US border at Tijuana and San Diego. * Officer Chris Kilcullen Memorial Highway: Oregon Route 126 is routed along the Eugene-Springfield Highway, a limited-access freeway. The Eugene portion of this highway begins at an interchange with Interstate 5 and ends two miles (3 km) west at a freeway terminus. This portion of Oregon Route 126 is also signed Interstate 105, a spur route of Interstate 5. Oregon Route 126 continues west, a portion shared with Oregon Route 99, and continues west to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. Eastward, Oregon Route 126 crosses the Cascades and leads to central and eastern Oregon. * Randy Papé Beltline: Beltline is a limited-access freeway which runs along the northern and western edges of incorporated Eugene. * Delta Highway: The Delta Highway forms a connector of less than between Interstate 105 and Beltline Highway. *

Oregon Route 99 Oregon Route 99 is a state highway that runs between the southern border of Oregon, and the city of Junction City. Oregon Route 99 was formed from parts of the former U.S. Route 99; it shares much of its route with I-5, but much of it is also ...

: Oregon Route 99 forks off Interstate 5 south of Eugene, and forms a major surface artery in Eugene. It continues north into the Willamette valley, parallel to I-5. It is sometimes called the "scenic route" since it has a great view of the Coast Range and also stretches through many scenic farmlands of the Willamette Valley.

Utilities

Eugene is the home of Oregon's largest publicly owned water and power utility, the

Eugene Water & Electric Board The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) is Oregon's largest customer-owned utility. Founded in 1911, it provides electricity and water to more than 86,000 customers in or around Eugene, Oregon. Chartered by the City of Eugene, a five-member ...

(EWEB). EWEB got its start in the first decade of the 20th century, after an epidemic of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...

found in the groundwater supply. The City of Eugene condemned Eugene's private water utility and began treating river water (first the Willamette; later the McKenzie) for domestic use. EWEB got into the electric business when power was needed for the water pumps. Excess electricity generated by the EWEB's

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, converting the Pot ...

plants was used for street lighting. Natural gas service is provided by

NW Natural NW Natural, formerly Northwest Natural Gas Company, is an American publicly traded utility headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States. Primarily a natural gas distributor, the company services residential, commercial, and industrial customers ...

. Wastewater treatment services are provided by the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission, a partnership between the Cities of Eugene and Springfield and Lane County.

Healthcare

Three hospitals serve the Eugene-Springfield area.

Sacred Heart Medical Center University District PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center University District is a hospital in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Originally called Sacred Heart Medical Center, its new name reflects its location near the University of Oregon and Northwest Christian ...

is the only one within Eugene city limits.

McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center is an acute care hospital located in Springfield, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1955, it serves the Lane County area. McKenzie-Willamette is investor-owned, and accredited by the Joint Commission. Licensed fo ...

and

Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend is a 388-bed regional medical center. The hospital is located in Springfield, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Established in 2008, it is one of two Sacred Heart facilities in the Eugene-Springf ...

are in Springfield. Oregon Medical Group, a primary care based multi-specialty group, operates several clinics in Eugene, as does PeaceHealth Medical Group. White Bird Clinic provides a broad range of health and human services, including low-cost clinics. The Volunteers in Medicine & Occupy Medical clinics provide free medical and mental care to low-income adults without health insurance. Eugene is one of the few municipalities in the US that does not fluoridate its water supply.

In popular culture

*The DC Vertigo

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series '' iZombie'' is set in Eugene. *Eugene is mentioned in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode ''

Margical History Tour "Margical History Tour" is the eleventh episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 8, 2004. This is one of several Simpsons episo ...

'' and the ''

'' episode ''

''. *Eugene is one of the many U.S. cities listed at the end of "

April 29, 1992 (Miami) "April 29, 1992 (Miami)" is a song written by American rock band Sublime in 1996 from their eponymous album '' Sublime''. The song title refers to the date of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, of which news spread throughout the United States follo ...

" by the

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hardc ...

band Sublime. *Eugene is featured as the setting for one episode of the American fantasy horror television series, '' Supernatural'', "Devil May Care".

Notable people

Sister cities

Eugene has four

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

: * Irkutsk, Russia * Jinju, South Korea *

Kakegawa is a city in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,925 in 45,519 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Kakegawa is in the coastal plains of southwest Shizuoka Prefecture. It is border ...

, Japan *

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, Nepal

Notes

References

External links

Official website

Entry for Eugene
in the ''

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and on ...

''
''Eugene Register-Guard,''
Google news archive. —PDFs for 35,126 issues, dating from 1867 through 2008. * * {{Authority control Cities in Oregon Cities in Lane County, Oregon Willamette Valley County seats in Oregon Track and field in the United States Populated places established in 1846 Hippie movement 1846 establishments in Oregon Country Populated places on the Willamette River Sundown towns in the United States

History

Indigenous presence

Settlement and impact

Educational institutions

Twentieth century

Activism

Geography

Neighborhoods

Climate

Air quality and allergies

Demographics

2010 census

2000 census

Economy

Top employers

Homelessness

Arts and culture

Community

Annual cultural events

Museums

Performing arts

Music

Visual arts

Film

Religion

Sports

Parks and recreation

Government

Eugene City Council

Public safety

Politics

Education

Schools

Libraries

Media

Print

Television

Radio

Infrastructure

Transportation

Bus

Cycling

Rail

Air travel

Highways

Utilities

Healthcare

In popular culture

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links