When students and visitors come to the University, it’s likely that their first off-campus experience in Eugene will come at the intersection of 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street. However, most know little about the colorful and long history of the street and the businesses in the area.
Before the 1970s, 13th Avenue was open to general traffic all the way through campus, but because of high congestion the street was closed. Logging trucks and the high volume of traffic using the road were seen as a danger to students on campus. Permanent closure from Agate Street to Alder Street was considered in 1970, but only part of this area has been closed.
Former Associate Director of the Office of Planning and Institutional Research Larry Bissett said that more than half of the traffic was University students, staff, and
others with University business, but noise from the cars and trucks took away from the quiet study environment vital to students’ needs.
After the closure in the 1970s, a number of creative ideas for the use of the street were developed. Architecture and Allied Arts students came up with a plan for inflatable buildings that could be dismantled when not in use. These buildings would add more space for students to work. Concepts were also developed for adding structures that would house craftsmen’s fairs and art exhibits, turning the street into “the Craftsman’s Hideaway.”
Thirteenth Avenue has also proven to be a popular venue for students staging protests, and since the partial closure of the street, there have been numerous demonstrations and anti-war gatherings. During the Vietnam War, 13th Avenue served as the staging area for many such protests.
Jim Williams, manager of the University of Oregon Bookstore, said that ultimately, the street is a reflection of the community that uses it.
“If you were a student in 1965 and a student in 2005, you would notice that you have more in common with the street now than you would have in the ’60s,” said Williams, a student at the University in 1965.
Although there have been few physical changes to the outside of the buildings on 13th Avenue near campus, there have been a number businesses coming and going, such as Face the Music, Sunshop Electronics and Taco Bell. Yet many businesses, like Sy’s Pizza, Taylor’s Bar & Grille and the US Bank branch, have operated in the same location for decades.
David Andersen, the general manager at the Glenwood Cafe, came to campus in 1972. He said that the Glenwood, which sits nearby on Alder Street, is one of the structures completely original to the 13th Avenue area. The building was formerly a physician’s home and became Aunt Lucy
Divine’s, the forerunner of today’s Glenwood.
Andersen said there has always been a steady stream of people, mostly students, moving through the area, but things are different now. There were more transient young people in the 1970s than there are now, he said.
“The Glenwood Cafe was at one point open 24 hours, and in the evenings, one could find many young people here spending the night,” he said. “Many students would come in looking for a place to stay for the night, and eat and drink with their friends.”
Williams said that much of the pan handling, which was a problem in the 1980s and 1990s, has been cleaned up now.