First Congregational Church (Eugene, Oregon)

The First Congregational Church building, of Eugene, Oregon, is a former church building listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1925. Also known as the Old Congregational Church and more recently as the Willcox Building, it includes Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals and Mediterranean Revival architecture.

First Congregational Church
The Willcox Building (former First Congregational Church) in 2011
Location492 E. 13th Ave., Eugene, Oregon
Coordinates44°2′42.9″N 123°5′7.7″W
Built1925
ArchitectWillcox, Walter R. B.
Architectural styleLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Mediterranean Revival
NRHP reference No.80003333[1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 12, 1980

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1][2] Having ceased to be used as a church, the building was sold in 1956. It then served as a memorial chapel from 1956 to 1979.[3] After being sold again in 1979, to Associated Management, Inc., it was put to use for other activities. It was renamed the Willcox Building, after the architect who designed it, Walter R. B. Willcox[3] (1869–1947).[4]

The building is now a theater known as the Bijou Art Cinema, established in 1980.[5]

According to its NRHP nomination, it "is significant for its architectural excellence. It is the best of the remaining local structures designed by Walter R. B. Willcox, a Northwest architect and educator of considerable renown, and considered to be his only ecclesiastic building in Oregon."[3]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "Oregon National Register List" (PDF). Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. June 6, 2011. p. 21. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  3. Janet K. Walsh (August 28, 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: First Congregational Church / Willcox Building". National Park Service. and accompanying photos
  4. "Campus Loses Note Figure: Professor Willcox, Emeritus, Dies". (April 21, 1947). The Oregonian, p. 9.
  5. Bijou-cinemas.com
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