EOU clarifies plans to completely rebuild its iconic Grand Staircase

LA GRANDE – EOU recently announced that it had officially begun work on renovating its iconic, but aging, Grand Staircase. The contract for the project was given to Garco Construction, who will begin by removing the current staircase this month in preparation for a full rebuild. This latter part of the announcement, however, raised some questions amongst the community over the decision to fully replace rather than update the current structure.

Elkhorn Media Group reached out to Tim Seydel, Vice President of University Advancement at EOU, to clarify the University’s decision. According to Seydel, EOU had originally hoped to, “restore at least some portions of the Grand Staircase.” Unfortunately, following an engineering analysis in 2021, it was determined that the Staircase would need to be completely rebuilt to meet modern construction and seismic standards. As explained by Seydel:

“Unfortunately, the concrete laid in 1928, and then being fully exposed to the weather for 95 years, is not safe to build on. Further, it is critical that we update the structure of the Staircase itself and how it sits on the hillside to ensure the new version will last even longer.”

As it stands, the original structure and design are simply too far compromised to be maintained and updated safely without a complete rebuild. That said, EOU isn’t going to let the memory of the near century old staircase simply fade away. As further explained by Seydel:

“We have made full three-dimensional digital scans of the Staircase to ensure we maintain and manage the historical context of the design John Bennes created when Inlow Hall and the Grand Staircase were built, while bringing the new Staircase up to current standards.”

The original announcement of the Staircase’s reconstruction can be found at https://elkhornmediagroup.com/garco-construction-begins-renovation-of-eastern-oregon-universitys-iconic-grand-staircase/

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Elkhorn Media Group