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Eugene is the third largest , and is also the County Seat of Lane County, Oregon , USA . It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley , at the confluence of the McKenzie River and the Willamette River , about 60 miles (97 km) east of the Oregon Coast . Eugene is home to the University Of Oregon . The city is also noted for its natural beauty, activist political leanings, alternative lifestyles, recreation opportunities (especially Bicycling , Rafting , and Kayaking ), and arts focus. In fact, Eugene's motto is "The World's Greatest City for the Arts and Outdoors" and is also referred to as "The Emerald City" and "The Track Capital of the World." The Nike corporation had its beginnings in Eugene. HISTORY Eugene is named after its founder, Eugene Franklin Skinner . In 1846 , Skinner erected the first cabin in the area. It was used as a Trading Post and was dubbed as a Post Office in 1850 . Skinner founded Eugene in 1862 and later ran a ferry service across the Willamette River where the Ferry Street Bridge now stands. Columbia College was founded around the same area as the University Of Oregon , a few years earlier, but fell victim to two different major fires over four years, and it was decided not to rebuild it again. Commonly even today, people refer to parts of Eugene's campus area as "College Hill," and this name does not come from the adjacent location of the University of Oregon, but rather the former location of Columbia College. The town raised the initial funding to start a public University, which later became the University Of Oregon , with the hope of turning the small town into a cultural center of learning. In 1872, the Legislative Assembly passed a bill ratifying the University. The nearby town of Albany was Eugene's biggest competitor to provide a home for this institute. In 1873, community member J. H. D. Henderson donated the hilltop land for the campus, overlooking the city. The University first opened in 1876 with regents electing first faculty and naming John Wesley Johnson as president with the first students registering on 16 October , 1876 . It would not be until 1877 that the first building would be completed; it would be later known as Deady Hall (for the first Board of Regents President and community leader Judge Matthew P. Deady .) The University of Oregon has been a leader in diversity since its very beginning; its inaugural class included two Japanese students. Eugene is the home of Oregon's largest publicly owned Electric Utility , the Eugene Water & Electric Board, which got its start in the first decade of the last century after there was a Typhoid epidemic traced to the groundwater supply. Eugene condemned the private utility and began treating river water (first the Willamette, but now the McKenzie) for domestic use. EWEB got into the electric business when power was needed for the water pumps and excess electricity was used for street lighting. GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE Geography Eugene is located at 44°3'28" North, 123°6'37" West (44.057663, -123.110345) (see Geographic References ) at an elevation of 426 feet. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 105.0 km&2 (40.6 mi&2). 104.9 km&2 (40.5 mi&2) of it is land and 0.1 km&2 (0.04 mi&2 or 0.10%) of it is water. To the north of downtown is Skinner Butte park. Forested Hendricks Park is famous for its Rhododendron Garden. Alton Baker Park , along the Willamette river, attracts visitors to jog its running paths, bike its endless bike paths and bike bridges, swim the wild Willamette, canoe the millrace, sit at the duck ponds, and visit the Owens Rose Garden. A climb up Spencer Butte, south of the city, offers a lovely look at Eugene and the headwaters of the Willamette. Mount Pisgah Arboretum , to the east, is another large and special park, and host to the annual mushroom festival. Eugene has a striking urban forest. The town is packed with trees, and its citizens are very proud and protective of them. The University Of Oregon campus is itself a world-class arboretum, with over 500 species of trees, and its own tourbook. The city operates and maintains scenic hiking trails that pass through and across the ridges of a cluster of small mountains in the southern portion of the city, on the fringe of residential neighborhoods. Some trails allow biking and others are for hikers only. The Willamette and McKenzie rivers run through Eugene and its sister city Springfield . Climate Eugene's Mean annual temperature is 52.1 °F (11.2 °C) its annual rainfall is 50.9 inches (1293 mm) [http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/nrmpcp.txt . Eugene is actually colder on average than Portland, despite being located more than 160km (approx. 100 miles) south and having only a marginally higher elevation. Eugene's average July low temperature is 10.6 °C (51.1 °F) while Portland's average July low is 13.6 °C (56.5 °F). [http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N45W122+1304+356751C . Average winter temperatures (and summer high temperatures) are similar for the two cities. This disparity may be largely caused by a "heat island effect" in Portland, where the combination of black pavement and urban energy use can actually raise the temperature. A lesser heat island may also exist in downtown Eugene. DEMOGRAPHICS Eugene has a significant population of people in pursuit of alternative ideas, and a strong aging hippie population. Eugene's trainyard and welcoming valley climate used to be the center of this. There is also a significant population of outdoor enthusiasts and young retirees from California and elsewhere. As of the Census of 2000, there were 137,893 people, 58,110 households, and 31,321 families residing in the city. As of July 1 , 2003 , the US Census Bureau estimated the population of Eugene to be 142,185. The city's population is expected to further grow to 228,400 within the next 10 years. The Population Density was 1,313.9/km&2 (3,403.2/mi&2). There were 61,444 housing units at an average density of 585.5/km&2 (1,516.4/mi&2). The racial makeup of the city was 88.15% White , 3.57% Asian , 1.25% Black or African American , 0.93% Native American , 0.21% Pacific Islander , 2.18% from Other Races , and 3.72% from two or more races. 4.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 58,110 households, of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were Married Couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 17.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,850, and the median income for a family was $48,527. Males had a median income of $35,549 versus $26,721 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $21,315. 17.1% of the population and 8.7% of families were below the Poverty Line . 14.8% of those under the age of 18 and 7.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. GOVERNMENT In 1944, Eugene adopted a council-manager form of government, replacing the day-to-day management of city affairs by the part-time mayor and volunteer city council with a full-time professional city manager. The subsequent history of Eugene city government has largely been one of the dynamics--often contentious--between the city manager, the mayor and city council. Nine people have held the city manager position. These include Deane Seeger (1945-49), Oren King (1949-53), Robert Finlayson (1953-59), Hugh McKinley (1959-75), Charles Henry (1975-80), Mike Gleason (1981-96), Vicki Elmer (1996-98), Jim Johnson (1998-2002), and Dennis Taylor (2002-present). Recent mayors include Gus Keller (1977-84), Brian Obie (1985-88), Jeff Miller (1989-92), Ruth Bascom (1993-96), Jim Torrey (1997-2004), and Kitty Piercy (2005-present). Eugene City Council: Mayor: Kitty Piercy
City Manager: Dennis M. Taylor Sister cities Eugene's Sister Cities include Boulder , Colorado ; Kathmandu , Nepal ; Irkutsk , Russia ; Kakegawa , Japan ; and Chinju , Korea . ECONOMY Eugene's largest industries are wood products manufacturing and recreational vehicle manufacturing. The largest employers are the University Of Oregon , local government, and Sacred Heart Hospital . Eugene has one of the highest municipal unemployment rates in the entire nation (6.4% as of July 2004 - 257 out of 331 for all U.S. MSAs .) Corporate headquarters for the employee-owned Bi-Mart corporation are located in Eugene. Monaco Coach Corporation has its headquarters in nearby Coburg, Oregon . Hynix Semiconductor America has a large semiconductor plant in west Eugene, producing DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) for use in computers. Like most municipalities, Eugene solicits outside business investment, but it is also partial to locally-developed small businesses, some of whom have formed a coalition called Unique Eugene . Many national businesses were launched in Eugene. Some of the most famous include Nike , Taco Time and Broderbund Software . EDUCATION Eugene is the home of the , Pacific University: Eugene Campus, and Linfield College: Eugene Campus. Eugene has many private and alternative schools, including the Eugene Waldorf School , a nondenominational school serving grades K-8 that is certified by the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America. Magnet School s and alternative education are key elements of the Eugene Public Schools system. CULTURE Eugene is perhaps most noted for its "community inventiveness." This usually leads to community projects; many U.S. trends in community development originated here. The University Of Oregon 's participatory Planning process, known as The Oregon Experiment , was the result of student protests in the early 1970s. The book of the same name is a major document in modern enlightenment thinking in planning and architectural circles, even thought the process is no longer used at the University. The process was created by Christopher Alexander , whose works also directly inspired the creation of the Wiki . Much of the research for the book '' A Pattern Language '', which inspired the Design Patterns movement and Extreme Programming , was done by Alexander in Eugene. Not coincidentally, those engineering movements also had origins here. ''A Pattern Language'' is the best-selling book on architecture and planning of all time. In the 1970s, Eugene was packed with co-operative and community projects. It still has small natural food stores in almost every neighborhood, some of the oldest student cooperatives in the country, and alternative schools have been part of the school district for years. The Eugene Waldorf School was founded in 1980 and serves grades K-8. The old Grower's Market, downtown near the train depot, is the only food co-operative in the U.S. with no employees. It is possible to see Eugene's trend-setting nonprofit tendencies in much newer projects, such as the Tango Center and the Center For Appropriate Transport [http://www.catoregon.org/]. Landmarks Cultural attractions in Eugene include the , walking tours, 23 art galleries such as OPUS6IX and museums, including The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural and Cultural History, both at the University of Oregon, and the Science Factory Children's Museum & Planetarium. The nearest ski resort, and the Oregon Dunes are just a short drive away. The and Craftspeople themselves can sell there. Libraries, museums, and art collections Eugene has several museums, including the Oregon Air and Space Museum at the airport, Conger Street Clock Museum in West Eugene, the Lane County Historical Museum downtown, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, that houses a large collection of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art. Galleries also exhibit European, American and Regional art, Russian Icons, and exciting changing exhibitions of contemporary art,(http://jsma.uoregon.edu). Eugene also boost the Maude Kerns Art Museum and Shelton McMurphy Houses, both offer a large quanity of contemporary art in a historic building. The largest library in Oregon is in Eugene, the chips. Over a dozen private in the world in off-hand, lampworked, and fused glass. Annual cultural events and fairs The annual non-profit . Performing arts Eugene is home to numerous cultural organizations, including the {Link without Title} , which is primarily a venue for alternative music. Because of its status as a College Town , Eugene has many music acts, especially of underground Punk Rock such as 2Bucks Short and original independent artists such as Nero and The Crash Engine . Eugene is also the home of the Rock N Roll Soldiers . The city also boasts hip hop musicians The Phormula , and Undermind . The Cherry Poppin' Daddies made their start there in the mid-'90s and then went national with their album of swing hits, ''Zoot Suit Riot''. Five Fingers Of Funk with Mac Brown are also based in Eugene. A surprising number of dedicated live theaters, all non-profit or governmental, are busy in Eugene: {Link without Title} etc. Cinema The film '' Animal House '' was filmed in Eugene and nearby Cottage Grove . John Belushi had the idea for the film '' The Blues Brothers '' during filming of ''Animal House'' when he happened to meet Curtis Salgado at what was then the Eugene Hotel. The "Chicken Salad on Toast" scene in the Jack Nicholson movie '' Five Easy Pieces '' was filmed at the Denny's restaurant at the southern I-5 freeway interchange (Glenwood exit). In addition, Eugene is home to the Bijou Art Cinemas, an independent movie theater located in a building modeled after Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style by the first dean of the University Of Oregon School of Architecture in 1925 . Media Some of the most familiar names in public radio come from the local NPR affiliate KLCC . The Pacifica Radio affiliate (airing Democracy Now! and FreeSpeech Radio News ) is the University of Oregon student-run radio station, KWVA . Additionally, the community supports two other radio stations: KWAX (classical) and KRVM (alternative). The Eugene-Springfield area is served by '''' {Link without Title} , the independent newspaper serving the University of Oregon campus. Local television stations include KMTR ( NBC ), KVAL ( CBS ), and KEZI ( ABC ). SPORTS | |||||
| ''Club'' | ''Sport'' | ''Founded'' | ''League'' | ''Venue'' | ''Logo'' |
| Football , Basketball , Track And Field , Softball , Volleyball , Golf , Tennis , Wrestling , Lacrosse , Soccer | 1876 | Autzen Stadium , McArthur Court , Hayward Field | |||
| Baseball | 1955 | Northwest League | Civic Stadium | ||
| Basketball | 2006 | International Basketball League | Morse Event Center | ||
| Hockey | 2005 | Lane County Ice |
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