In the years before its closure in 2004, the Grand Staircase connected Eastern Oregon University to neighborhoods to the north by providing pedestrian access to the campus. Among those who made the climb were some of the children who attended J.H. Ackerman Elementary School. Ackerman was located on the EOU campus and designed to train teachers in working classrooms.
Children who walked to school by way of the “college steps” could also have climbed the steep 8th Street hill or zigzagged up and down the “Billy Goat Path“ that rambled down the hillside below what is now Badgley Hall. However, ascending and descending the staircase was arguably just a lot more fun. Plus, architect John V. Bennes’ design of steps with a low, wide tread made them easy for little feet and legs to climb.
The sheer size, combined with the fanciful architectural style, served as a launching pad for a child’s imagination. On the way up you could be scaling the walls of a fortress or eluding the bad guys with the Lone Ranger. And, from the top, looking out over La Grande and the Grande Ronde Valley, you were the Prince or Princess of Everything.
Endnote: In 1996, after 60 years of providing thousands of students with an extraordinary education, J. H. Ackerman Elementary School closed its doors. It is now known as Ackerman Hall and houses faculty offices and classrooms.
Friends of the Grand Staircase 