5th Street Public Market marks 50 years in downtown Eugene

A half-century after its first artisan tables rented for $2 a day, 5th Street Public Market has grown into one of downtown Eugene’s busiest gathering places, drawing more than 2 million visitors a year. The anniversary is marked with a history art show at Inn at the 5th on July 17 and free Market Fest on July 18 and 19.

Eugene Skinner filed his land claim in 1846, and the city’s early development grew from that original settlement near Skinner Butte, with milling, rail access and agricultural commerce shaping what downtown became long before the modern retail district took hold.

The modern market began in 1976, when Norm and Donna Fogelstrom opened the 5th Street Market Craft Room in a part of downtown that had fallen into disrepair as industrial businesses moved away. Inspired by public markets they had seen in Europe, they built a place where local makers could sell face-to-face and residents could gather in a shared urban space. Brian Obie joined as a founding partner and investor that same year, and the project expanded in 1979, moved into the former feed mill in 1981 and added Station Square in 1990. Obie acquired sole ownership in 1985.

The district expanded in 2021, adding a full city block, The Gordon Hotel, Gordon Lofts and coworking space. The Market District spans six or seven blocks, depending on what is counted, and includes more than 80 local businesses, two boutique hotels and the 127-unit Gordon Lofts residential community. Cobblestone walkways, brick buildings, fountains and open courtyards remain part of the setting, even as the district has grown into a mixed-use downtown center.

Brian Obie, honored as Eugene’s 2025 First Citizen in January, said downtown should embrace an entertainment district model to support revitalization.