Welcome to the Friends of the Grand Staircase website. Whether you arrived here by intent or by happenstance, we are glad that you found us.
Five tiers, 178 steps, and 418 balusters – the Grand Staircase was completed in 1929, just after Eastern Oregon Normal School opened its doors. The staircase was built to provide pedestrian access to the campus. The steps are low and wide, which makes them easy to climb. Renowned Oregon architect John V. Bennes designed this architectural treasure, once described as the “most majestic steps in Oregon”.
The architecture is Italian Renaissance Revival. Bennes found the style a fitting choice for eastern Oregon because the dry climate reminded him of northern Italy. He also chose this style for EOU’s Inlow Hall and Ackerman Hall. The shape of the staircase balusters is repeated in the window detail of both buildings.
The staircase is made of buff-colored concrete – an estimated 17,470 square feet. The balusters are cast stone with a molded concrete core. They have a fine grain rosy colored finish with a light-catching aggregate. This gives them their pinkish hue.
The Grand Staircase, often simply called the “college steps”, is one of La Grande’s most cherished landmarks. Generations of children remember it as a magical playground. There are stories of a staircase cat and art shows on the landings. Townspeople and high school and college students ran up and down the steps as a fitness routine.
And, in the winter, it is magical.
The college steps are remembered as the perfect place for wedding proposals and a favorite backdrop for photos. Faculty members sat on the steps and ate their lunches. People utilized the space for meditation and reflection, akin to the labyrinths that have increased in popularity in recent years.
At the top of the steps is the View Terrace. From there, you can see an ever-changing view of La Grande and the Grande Ronde Valley.
Ask people about their favorite Grand Staircase memory, and any number will answer “Evensong”, the beloved spring commencement week pageant that took place on the steps for nearly 40 years. Seniors in caps and gowns and undergraduates in white shirts and pastel dresses lined the staircase as dusk fell and a choir sang.
The event was presided over by the Queen of Knowledge and her court.
Architectural historians have compared the Grand Staircase to the Spanish Steps in Rome and ventured that no other place in the country can boast a monumental exterior staircase of this scale, complexity, and beauty. The Grand Staircase, Inlow Hall, and the View Terrace are listed together in the National Register of Historic Places.
Sadly, the staircase has deteriorated over the decades and was closed to public use in 2004. In 2015, it was added to Restore Oregon’s Most Endangered Places List.
Years of collaborative efforts to fund restoration finally led to success, and in March of 2022, the Oregon Legislature voted to give the university $4 million to restore the staircase. Follow us on Facebook for updates and other news. And, you can also find us on Pinterest and Instagram for photos, photos, photos.
If you would like to learn more about the Grand Staircase, visit our Blog page or click on one of the categories listed below.
Follow us on Facebook for restoration updates and other news. And, you can also find us on Pinterest and Instagram for photos, photos, photos.
Friends of the Grand Staircase 