HISTORY

Standing Strong Since 1925

In 1923, brothers W.E. and Henry T. Miner came to Eugene from Wisconsin where they made their livelihoods as dedicated businessmen in timber and real estate. Right from their arrival, both Miner brothers believed in the future of Eugene and the prosperity of the people of the Willamette Valley. Devoted supporters of education, they donated The Miner Building as a gift in trust to the University of Oregon in February of 1933 as a permanent endowment for teaching and research in the School of Business Administration.

In 1947, the State Board of Higher Education sold the property to 38 local doctors. At the time, the entire 68,000 sq ft was occupied by over 100 tenants.

The Miner Building has been the birthplace of hundreds of companies over its 90 years at the center of the Eugene. Nike had its first shoe waffle press in our basement, The Slocum Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine started here, and so many companies are growing and thriving here today. At the heart of the city, The Miner Building is an incubator of business, prosperity, and success, just as W.E. Miner envisioned in 1923.

Historic Gallery

Eugene Hotel and Miner Building

W. E. Miner Building

Intersection of 8th and Willamette

Skinner's Butte

The Willamette River from Skinner's Butte

Eugene and Spencer Butte looking south from Skinner's Butte

Skinner's Butte from Willamette Street

Willamette Street

HISTORical Quick Facts

The Miner Building's 95-Year History

The Miner Building was designed by John Hunziker who also designed the Eugene Hotel, the Eugene Armory, and the Oregon Apartment Hotel.

Broke ground on St. Patrick’s Day in 1924 and finished in 1925 for $500,000.

It opened in 1925 as Eugene’s tallest structure.

Its footprint is 60 ft x 160 ft and exactly fits the lot.

It has 8 floors and contained nearly 300 rooms at its debut.

The Renovation

Breathing New Life into The Miner Building

In 2016, a $2.4 million renovation project on The Miner Building began led by a partnership of a variety of local Eugene companies. With a phased plan that included demolition, renovation, and improvement of both common and tenant spaces, the project aimed to maximize building space, improve internal design, and refocus the building’s purpose.

We revitalized the building entrances with marble details, added tenant spaces and open seating areas to the newly modernized lobby, upgraded the elevators, built a lobby-level bike room and new bathrooms, and improved tenant spaces on upper floors.

For a few decades before the renovation, the building had been known as The Eugene Professional Building. As the final touch of this project, we returned to our original name of The Miner Building to honor our founding by W.E. Miner as a landmark of prosperity in the region.

Renovation Gallery