The city of Portland could condemn the “Made in Oregon” sign atop the White Stag building to prevent the University from changing the words written on the sign.
Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard filed an ordinance Thursday authorizing the city to use eminent domain to take possession of the sign from its owner, Ramsay Signs, Inc. The move would preserve the text currently on the sign.
The University leased the White Stag building in May 2006 and is renovating it to incorporate classrooms and the headquarters of its study abroad program. In November, Ramsay Signs filed to change the sign to read “University of Oregon.”
Portland residents objected to the proposal, calling the sign an important part of the city’s identity. Leonard wrote a letter to University President Dave Frohnmayer proposing a more locally oriented message on the sign, which was changed to its current wording in 1997. Leonard also said the city could purchase the sign.
Frohnmayer rejected the proposal, maintaining that the sign would go black if the University didn’t purchase it. In response, Leonard issued the order.
“University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer’s efforts to change the sign to ‘University of Oregon’ would confiscate a Portland community asset and exchange it for the exclusive benefit of the Eugene-based University,” Leonard wrote in a post on his blog.
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