Geary School, 4th and Madison

Named for Dr. Edward Geary, an early Eugene educator, the Geary School built circa 1890 stood on the Northwest corner of 4th and Madison until about 1950 when it was torn down after later serving as The Eugene Vocational School. One of the largest school buildings in Eugene at the time, it stood two stories over a full basement with a large attic gymnasium and a prominent bell tower. The building with it's tasteful Victorian ornamentation was particularly attractive. The property, still owned by the 4J school district houses offices and maintenance buildings.

The Rev. Dr. Edward Geary Home

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.