| The Men’s Dormitory was constructed to accommodate the influx of students at Oregon State University following the end of World War I. Enrollment nearly doubled in the early 1920s, causing a housing shortage. University President William Jasper Kerr envisioned the erection of seven buildings of similar size to Weatherford, laid out to create a large quadrangle between them. However, the Depression years cut funding short and caused enrollment to decrease, leaving the grand dormitory to stand alone.
The Men’s Dormitory was originally broken into five independent halls, named Buxton, Poling, Weatherford, Hawley, and Cauthorn, that housed a total of 332 men. Students enjoyed dances held under the arches of the building’s entryway. Many war veterans lived in the Men’s Dormitories after returning from WWII. They called themselves the “Weatherford Warriors,” and held study groups to assist each other in the transition back to University life.
In 1957 the five dormitories were renamed Weatherford Hall to honor James K. Weatherford, an OSU alumnus who graduated in 1872 and served on the University’s Board of Regents for 44 years. In the 1970s and 1980s, students enjoyed the freedom to personalize their living spaces in Weatherford, painting murals and building sleeping lofts in rooms with vaulted ceilings. Though it had been a men’s dormitory for nearly sixty years, it became a co-educational dorm in 1987. Weatherford’s history of creativity and sharing continued into the early 1990s as residents built the first campus intranet, running phone cables room to room to connect their computers. Following Weatherford’s example, the University expanded on the concept and created similar systems in all campus residence halls.
The University decided to close the dormitory in 1993 because the building needed major renovation. This incited student protest and a petition to keep the dormitory open for one more year. Weatherford closed in 1994 and most of the building was vacant for many years, with space occasionally opening for workshops and training exercises.
Efforts to salvage Weatherford started with a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant in 1997 that enabled a seismic analysis and funded repairs that would halt further deterioration to the building. In 2002, the private donation of $4 million and $14 million in bond funding allowed further renovation that converted the building into the center of OSU’s entrepreneurship program, opening in 2004. |
