EOU Grand Staircase restoration earns statewide concrete award

Eastern Oregon University’s Grand Staircase has won a 2026 Excellence in Concrete Award in the decorative category, a recognition that points to something bigger than a polished campus feature: a restored public connection between the university and downtown La Grande.

The award was presented May 1 during the 46th Annual Excellence in Concrete Awards ceremony. EOU said the project, funded by $4 million from the Oregon Legislature, preserved the historic link between campus and the city while bringing the structure up to modern safety standards. The staircase, closed to public access in September 2004 after years of deterioration, had long been one of La Grande’s most visible shared landmarks.

Built in 1928 and 1929 as part of the Eastern Oregon Normal School, the staircase once functioned as a main route between the school and the community. EOU’s historical timeline says it served as a primary connection from 1929 to 1972 and remained a pathway until 2004. Evensong was held on the stairs until 1972, and over the decades the site also hosted concerts, wedding proposals and marriages tied to the university’s public life.

The restoration carried both practical and preservation value. Restore Oregon added the staircase to its Most Endangered Places List in 2015, and it was listed among Oregon’s most endangered places in 2017. The staircase has also been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Architect John V. Bennes designed it in an Italian Renaissance Revival style with 178 steps, 418 stone balusters and 17,470 square feet of concrete over five tiers.

Garco Construction said the project had to be phased after an earlier design exceeded the available budget. The company completed poured-in-place concrete footings, stair and retaining walls, and the stairs themselves, along with a decorative balustrade made of precast elements. Garco said the work cost $3,975,680 and finished in October 2024.

For EOU leaders and longtime supporters, the staircase is not just architecture. President Kelly Ryan said faculty, staff, alumni and supporters shared memories tied to the site, while Vice President for University Advancement Tim Seydel described it as a “historic community icon” and a significant connection between the university and the community. Anne (Hanford) Olson and Marcia (Hanford) Loney also helped champion restoration efforts, and private donations to the EOU Foundation’s staircase fund were designated for the work.

The concrete award suggests the project was more than cosmetic recognition. It restored a heavily used community asset, reinforced a physical and symbolic link between EOU and Union County, and preserved a landmark that has shaped downtown La Grande’s identity for nearly a century.