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Facilities Services Records, 1888-2003

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon State University. Facilities Services.
Title
Facilities Services Records
Dates
1888-2003 (inclusive)
1930-1990 (bulk)
Quantity
324 cubic feet, including 8650 sheets and 271 photographs, (131 boxes, including 13 oversize boxes, and 172 map folders)
Collection Number
RG 193
Summary
The Facilities Services Records document the physical campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis as well as OSU facilities throughout the state of Oregon beginning with construction of the first building on the current campus in 1888. The records consist predominantly of architectural drawings and files for the design, construction, and modification to structures.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Facilities Services at Oregon State University is reponsible for planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of campus facilities and providing a safe environment for faculty, staff, students, and visitors.

Until the early 1990s, Facilities Services was known as the Physical Plant. Until the 1940s, it was common for the head of the physical plant to also be a faculty member in the School of Engineering.

Gordon V. Skelton, a Professor of Highway Engineering, was Superintendent of Surveys, Maps, Roads and Walks, and Fire Protection from 1932 until 1940. From the early 1900s until 1932, he functioned in this role as Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering.

Mark Clyde Phillips, an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, served as Superintendent of Heating from 1910 to 1933 and 1940-1947; he was Superintendent of the Physical Plant from 1933 to 1940. Louis N. Traver served as General Superintendent of the Physical Plant from 1940 to 1947, when Richard A. Adams was appointed to the post. Adams held the position until his retirement at the end of 1971. Subsequent Directors were Everett H. Lillig (1971-1981) and Howard A. Wells, Jr. (1981-1988); and Kathleen Mulligan (1988-1999).

Prior to 1932, there were individual superintendents for heating, buildings, campus and greenhouses, light and power, and plumbing and no general superintendent or head of the Physical Plant.

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Content Description

The Facilities Services Records provide in-depth documentation of the physical campus of Oregon State University in Corvallis and OSU facilities throughout the state of Oregon. The records include architectural drawings and plans for structures used in teaching, research, and administration; athletic events; and student housing and dining.

Documentation of the design and construction of major buildings, major renovations, and minor remodeling projects are available in several series and include building specifications, contracts, project manuals, and agreements with architects and engineers. Information about major campus systems, such as electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and heating, are also included. For new construction and major renovations, records of proposals for the Percent for Art public art program are available.

The records include documentation of campus planning; capital expenditures and funding; policies and procedures; land acquisition and ownership; space use; and planning, transportation projects, and other development for the City of Corvallis.

In addition to architectural drawings and plans for individual structures and campus-wide systems, the records include book plans; campus, farm, and property maps; and aerial photographs. The records include plans by numerous architects and designers including John V. Bennes; the Olmsted Brothers; Charles H. Burgraff; Lee Thomas; Burns, Bear, McNeil, Schneider, Bloodworth, and Hawes; Hewlett and Jamison; and Jeppsen and Miller.

The bulk of the records pertain to facilities on the OSU campus in Corvallis. However, materials pertaining to facilities at other locations are also available, including Camp Adair and Adair Village; United States Department of Agriculture buildings at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest; and research vessels, docks, and buildings at the the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.

The Gordon V. Skelton correspondence in Series X includes materials pertaining to Skelton's role as chair of the Civil Engineering Department, including curriculum, graduate programs, and interactions with the Dean of Engineering and other campus administrators.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Facilities Services Records (RG 193), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The records consist of 22 series: I. Architectural Drawings and Plans, 1901-1999; II. Building Project Files, 1938-2002; III. Building Specifications and Reports, 1909-2003; IV. Capital Construction Project files, 1962-1997; V. Facilities Planning and Use Committee Records, 1981-1985; VI. General Construction Files, 1989-1997; VII. Minor Building Modifications Files, 1985-1993; VIII. General Subject Numbered Files, 1968-1991; IX. Committee Records, 1966-2003; X. Correspondence, 1888-2003; XI. Land Ownership and Property, 1940-1951; XII. Policies and Procedures, 1986-1994; XIII. Publications, 1989-2001; XIV. Space Use, 1960-1969; XV. Staff Meeting Minutes, 1992-2001; XVI. Time Records, 1913-1939; XVII. Renderings (Drawings) of Campus Buildlings, 1949-1975; XVIII. Book Plans, 1960-1993; XIX. Lighting (Interior) Study, circa early-mid 1980s; XX. Campus, Farm, and Property Maps, 1899-1900; XXI. Aerial Photographs, 1952-1979; and XXII. Photographs, 1963.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from Facilities Services (and the Physical Plant) in numerous accessions from the 1970s through 2007.

Future Additions

Additions to the collection are expected.

Related Materials

The Memorabilia Collection includes brochures and general information about Facilities Services, information about individual structures, and materials pertaining to campus planning. More detailed information about the construction of some major buildings is available in the records of the corresponding office or department; for example, information about construction and remodeling of the Valley Library (and its predecessors, the Kerr Library and Kidder Hall) are available in the Library Records (RG 009).

Capital Construction Funding Records for 1952-1989 as well as other materials pertaining to buildings and facilities are part of the Business Affairs Records (RG 017).

Additional correspondence of Gordon V. Skelton is available in the Civil Engineering Department Records (RG 030).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Nielsen.
2008

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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