Gatke Hall is the second-oldest building at

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. A two-story structure, it was originally built in downtown Salem in 1903 across the street from the Marion County Courthouse and served as a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

. The Beaux Arts styled building was moved to the

university 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, t ...

in 1938 and first served as the home to the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

History

In 1901, construction began on the first post office building in Salem.Bell, Sue
Salem's Post Office.
Salem Public Library. Retrieved on March 10, 2008. The Beaux Arts style structure was designed by architect James Knox Taylor. Prior postal locations were housed in privately owned buildings. The new two-story structure was erected between the Marion County Courthouse and the

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capitol, Salem. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 ...

. It had a steel and brick frame with a sandstone exterior. The sandstone came from

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population was 21,360 at the 2020 cen ...

, along with the granite used in the building, while the wood and bricks used came from Salem. On April 1, 1903, the building opened and remained as the city's post office until a new federal building (currently the State Executive Office Building) opened on October 16, 1937. In 1938, the building was moved to its present location at 12th and State Streets on

's campus.Historic Campus Architecture Project: Gatke Hall.
The Council of Independent Colleges. Retrieved on October 1, 2008. The building was moved intact on rollers down State Street in a process that took six months.Willamette University Historic Buildings.
Salem Historical Quarterly. Retrieved on January 27, 2008. Once on campus the structure served as home to Willamette’s law school.Willamette University.
Salem Online History. Retrieved on January 27, 2008. Gatke was placed at the same location as the original campus building built in the 1840s.The Methodist Parsonage, 1841. ''

Statesman Journal The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Orego ...

'', December 24, 2000. That three-story building originally housed the

Oregon Institute The Oregon Institute was an American school located in the Willamette Valley of the Oregon Country during the 19th century. Begun in 1842, it was the first school built for European Americans west of Missouri. Founded by members of the Methodist M ...

, but burned down in 1871. In 1939, the College of Law moved into its new home. Then in 1952 the building received the Lady Justice statue that had adorned the Marion County Courthouse. Gatke housed the College of Law until 1967 when it relocated across campus to its current home in the Truman Wesley Collins Legal Center. With the move, the law school also took a portion of the ornate grillwork that had been custom made for the school.Campus tour: Gatke Hall.
Willamette University. Retrieved on January 27, 2008. In 1967, Willamette's political science department took over the building and remained there until 1986. In 1984, the building was added to the City of Salem’s list of historic properties as the second oldest building on campus after

Waller Hall Waller Hall is a building on the campus of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, in the United States. Opened in 1867 as University Hall, it is the oldest higher-education building west of the Mississippi River still in use, currently housing ...

. In 1986, the political science department moved out and the facility was converted into administrative offices with the basement converted to a sculpture studio around 1990. In February 2007, 20-year-old Christopher Curry leaped out of a second story window of the building while trying to elude police. He was apprehended in a nearby building and arrested by

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 ...

Details

The building sits on the northeast section of the school's campus at the corner of 12th and State streets, with the Oregon Supreme Court Building directly across State Street to the north. The hall is named after former

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

professor Robert Moulton Gatke. Gatke was the school’s first professor in that field and taught for 53 years at the institution. The exterior of the building is constructed with sandstone and has a metal roof. Beaux-Arts style in design, the structure also has Italian palazzo elements in its architecture. Inside, Gatke features the original marble floor and intricate woodwork. The building currently is home to an integrated lab of the exercise science department, a faculty research office, and some offices of the university’s IT department.WITS: About Us.
Willamette University. Retrieved on January 27, 2008.

References

External links

Historic photography of building as post office
{{Willamette University University and college buildings completed in 1903 Willamette University buildings Former post office buildings Beaux-Arts architecture in Oregon 1903 establishments in Oregon