A.W. and Amanda Patterson Former Residence, a.k.a., 'Animal House' - Eugene, OR - Oregon Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Located along E 11th Ave. is a boulder with a plaque monumented in front and located in front of a parking lot. The plaque reads:

SITE OF THE HOME OF A. W. AND AMANDA PATTERSON. HE WAS A PIONEER LANE COUNTY DOCTOR AND SURVEYOR WHO PLOTTED A GREATER PART OF EUGENE. IN 1853, PATTERSON WAS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE OREGON LEGISLATURE AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN ESTABLISHING THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON.

AMANDA PATTERSON CAME ACROSS THE GREAT PLAINS IN THE FIRST WAGON TRAIN OF 1843. THEIR DAUGHTER, IDA, WAS A EUGENE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL.

IN THE 1950's AND 1960's THE HOUSE WAS USED BY A FRATERNITY AND POPULARIZED IN THE LATE 1970's BY THE FILM "ANIMAL HOUSE."

This plaque's text can be confusing to the reader because it contains no picture or indication of the current state of the Patterson home and almost hints that a couple of fraternity houses on either side of the plaque were the site of the Patterson home (they weren't). Fortunately, after doing a little online investigation I discovered that this residence was demolished in 1986 and is now the parking lot you see in front of you. In addition, I discovered that this home, depicted in the movie Animal House, was actually the second home for Amanda Patterson, who had it built in 1910 after her husband died. I located a blog site that highlights the history of this site and includes pictures of the first and second homes of the Pattersons and reads:

We can't leave the East 11th Avenue area with out touching on the two Patterson houses that stood at 751 E. 11th. The first house, built in 1863 was a simple, "L" shaped side gabled Gothic, with little ornamentation, other than two classically styled porches. The house was used at times as an early hospital by Dr. Patterson, who was not only an early Eugene physician but a school teacher, text book author and the surveyor of the original Eugene town site. Dr. Patterson died in 1904 at age 90. Around 1910 the old home was cut in two and moved by horses on log skids (at one point across the Millrace) to Agate St. After the lot was cleared construction was started on a larger more modern home for the widow Patterson and her unmarried daughter. The house in the Colonial revival style, was 2 1/2 stories with a large wrap around front porch, with an additional second floor covered porch over the front entrance. The third floor gable was lighted by a large Palladian window. The house remained in the Patterson family until 1956 when Dr. Patterson's daughter Harriet died. It was sold and became a fraternity house and later student housing. The houses lasting infamy came in 1978 when it was used in the movie Animal House. Developers later purchased the property and razed the house in 1985 to build a small medical complex.

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Wikipedia has this to say regarding this former historical home and its use in the movie Animal House:

The actual house depicted as the Delta House was originally a residence in Eugene, the Dr. A.W. Patterson House. Around 1959, it was acquired by the Psi Deuteron chapter of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and was their chapter house until 1967, when the chapter was closed due to low membership. The house was sold and slid into disrepair, with the spacious porch removed and the lawn graveled over. At the time of the shooting, the Phi Kappa Psi and Sigma Nu fraternity houses sat next to the old Phi Sigma Kappa house. The interior of the Sigma Nu house was used for many of the interior scenes, but the individual rooms were filmed on a soundstage. The Patterson house was demolished in 1986.[11] The site is now occupied by Northwest Christian University's school of Education and Counseling. A large boulder placed to the west of the parking entrance displays a bronze plaque commemorating the Delta House location. The parade scene takes place in downtown Cottage Grove, Oregon on Main Street.

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FYI, the white Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house (to the left of this marker) was reinstated in 2010 after being inactive since 1999. The former Sigma Nu fraternity house (to the right of this marker) is currently home to the School of Professional Studies and part of the Northwest Christian University campus. There is also a building in the back part of the lot (behind the parking lot) that is also part of the Northwest Christian University campus.

Historic Topic: Pioneer Group Responsible for placement: City Government Marker Type: City Region: Willamette Valley County: Lane State of Oregon Historical Marker "Beaver Board": Not listed Web link to additional information: Not listed

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