In 1937, new men’s dorm (Mac Hall) ‘moving rapidly to completion’
As reported in the June 27, 2021, McMinnville N-R/News-Register, the July 29, 1937, edition of the
newspaper included a photo (posted here). Cutline for photo says, “The new
men’s dormitory at Linfield College is moving rapidly to completion and will be
ready to house 80 men when the fall term opens.” The dorm is Mac Hall.
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Mac Hall comes down to make way for a new science
building
By Starla Pointer,
McMinnville N-R/News-Register, June 24, 2021
Crews
are dismantling Linfield University’s Mac Hall, all in the name of science — so
they can expand Linfield’s science facilities and meet the need for increasing
cross-disciplinary interaction and research.
Starting
Monday morning, Walsh Construction workers started taking apart the 1937
structure, sections of brick at a time, in an effort to save as much material
as possible for reuse, said Joseph Hunter, advancement director.
With
the careful dismantling, some parts of the former dorm, which had been used for
technology offices since 2007, may become part of the new science complex.
Working from the east end of the building, crews have spent the week pulling
off the brick and exterior siding and gradually razing the three-story
structure.
“We’re
pulling metal off, and we will palletize some of the brick for a monument,”
said Richard Stephenson, superintendent of Walsh Construction. University
officials said the monument design will be determined by a committee, as a way
to commemorate Mac Hall as a student residence over the years.
A
project electrician whose father had lived in the dorm asked for a brick. In
addition, bricks were given to three members of News-Register news staff who
graduated from Linfield, then College.
“Everything
in there is clean, as we call it; it can be demolished and taken off site,”
Stephenson said. He said asbestos was removed from around pipe insulation two
weeks ago.
“It’s
one small piece at a time, no implosion or pushing the whole building over,”
Stephenson said. “We need to keep dust down and protect Graf Hall; it will be a
slow process, and we’ll put it in piles and sort the metal, brick and concrete,
for recycling.”
Mac
Hall was listed on the McMinnville Historic Resources Inventory. Earlier this
year, the university won city approval to tear it down after arguing that a new
science facility is necessary to ensure Linfield has competitive academic
offerings.
Architect
Brian Jackson added that the old building could not be renovated into the type
of facility the university needs. The new building will benefit both the school
and the city, he said.
Set
to open in fall 2022, the science complex will connect with remodeled Graf Hall
next door and Murdock Hall farther west on Linfield Avenue. It will house the
wine studies program, as well as classrooms, labs and other research facilities
and offices for science faculty and students.
“New
spaces for collaboration and learning” will inspire new projects and cross-disiplinary
work, said Ariel Miyama, biology major who plans to work in health care,
possibly as a doctor or physician’s assistant.
Miyama,
from Hillsboro, will be a senior in the fall. She is spending the summer doing
research with Linfield Professor Sreerupa Ray on DNA repair pathology, which
may play a role in cancer treatment or prevention.
They
were working in Graf Hall, but moved to Murdock because of the upcoming
renovations.
Although
she will have graduated by the time the new science complex opens, Miyama said
she is excited for the opportunities it will bring to students and staff.
“It
will be bigger, with modern equipment, better and with dedicated space, so we
won’t have to move things,” said Miyama, who plans to return to see the new
complex in action.
Biology
professor Catherine Reinke said she and her colleagues also are excited about
the new space, which will “blend and integrate wine studies and all the STEM
subjects,” within the array of sciences, technology, engineering and math.
One
of the greatest opportunities Linfield offers undergraduates is a chance to
participate in research such as Miyama is doing with her professor and Reinke’s
students are doing with her, she said.
“Experiential
learning and research” also happens in collaboration with peers at schools
across the country, Reinke said. For instance, Reinke’s classes are involved in
the Tiny Earth project, in which students around the world look for antibiotics
residue in local soils.
The
professor said she also is looking forward to “pulling in more disciplines.”
She expects students in all sorts of Linfield programs to connect science with
their majors, and inspire science majors to expand their thinking, as well.
The
new science building will comprise 35,000 square feet on two stories and a
basement. Another 29,000 square feet in Linfield’s existing science buildings
will be remodeled.
Graf
Hall was built in the 1960s. Construction on Murdock started in 1982.
As
it planned the new science complex, Linfield has quietly been raising money
from major donors, foundations and alumni for several years. The public part of
the campaign started in May.
“Every
gift makes an incredible impact on students,” said Hunter, who is leading the
effort to raise $37 million for the project.
The
capital campaign is called “Spark,” and is intended to encourage curiosity,
ambition and capability, Hunter said. “It’s an investment in the future,” he
said.
The
science complex will help Linfield attract and retain students, Hunter said. In
addition to science majors who might be headed for careers as doctors or
researchers, and wine studies majors, it will offer classes for students from
all disciplines. In addition, he said, it will be part of the program for
nursing majors who spend their first two years on the McMinnville campus, then
attend the nursing school in Portland.
:::
Linfield seeks to replace old dorm with science
facility
Linfield seeks to
replace old dorm with new science facility
By Dora Totoian, McMinnville
N-R/News-Register March 9, 2021
The
historic landmarks committee will consider this week an application to demolish
Mac Hall on Linfield University’s campus to site another science building.
The
building, located at 900 S.E. Baker St., is designated a “significant” historic
resource on the McMinnville Historic Resources Inventory. The university argues
that building another science facility to connect to existing ones Graf and
Murdock halls is necessary to ensure Linfield has competitive academic
offerings.
The
architect who would build the new building, Brian Jackson, also said in the
application the building cannot be renovated into the type of facility the
university needs.
The
historic landmarks committee must consider several review criteria in
comparison to the building’s historic significance in order to approve the
application. The application does not have to meet all criteria to be approved,
but the committee must find they outweigh the building’s historical
significance. They include:
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Preserving the building deters an improvement program that would greatly
benefit the city.
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Preserving it would result in financial hardship for the university.
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Preserving it wouldn’t be in the best interest of most residents.
Mac
Hall began as a men’s dorm in 1937. In 2007, it was turned into offices for
information technology staff, but only one of its three floors is used.
Planning
staff supports Linfield’s argument that more modern science facilities are
necessary for the university’s success and that it would be unreasonably
expensive to remodel the building for these purposes. However, staff also noted
the building’s historical value and significance.
The
department ultimately recommends the committee approve the application, with
the condition that 20 photos of the interior and 20 of the exterior be
submitted to the Planning Department before issuing the demolition permit.
The
architect also included a space for a small memorial plaque and time capsule
near the potential new building as a way to acknowledge its history.
The
historic landmarks committee will decide on the application at its Thursday
meeting, and the decision may be appealed to the planning commission within 15
days.
The
university has identified its nursing and science programs overall as critical
to its success, Jackson wrote in the application. Forty-four percent of the
class of 2018 earned a nursing degree, and 25% of students at any given time
are taking science courses. The university also plans to expand enrollment in
its nursing program.
The
new science complex would have 111 additional lab seats, which would allow the
university to accommodate at least 166 more students each semester. That would
result in an additional $1.8 million each year, Jackson said.
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