We are going to move away from the East 11th Avenue neighborhood back to West 5th Avenue and some of Eugene's older homes. The Rev. Dr. Edward Geary was Oregon's first Superintendent of Indian Affairs and later founded and was President Albany Collage in Eugene before becoming Pastor of Eugene's Presbyterian Church. The Geary house, built at 516 Lawrence (southwest corner of 5th and Lawrence) was one of the larger homes built in Eugene at that time (1878) and was in the then very fashionable Italianate style. Although large tree's and shrubs partially obscure the house in all the surviving photos it is evident that the Geary house was a particularly well designed and constructed home. A full two stories with staggered quoins to simulate masonary construction, a large entrance porch with second story balcony above. The house also had a nicely proportioned bay window that adorned the right block of the house, which probably contained the parlor. All this was topped by a bracketed cornice and low hipped roof. This exceptional house stood intact until 1960 when it was demolished for a string of cinder block retail shops which still stand on the site.
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