LA GRANDE — The staircase many generations of La Grande residents climbed on the way to school each morning is set to clear another hurdle.

According to Tim Seydel, Eastern Oregon University vice president for university advancement, bids from construction companies for the university’s Grand Staircase project are due by Tuesday, April 11.

“The process will start this spring, but it really depends on the condition of the soil (for when ground will be broken),” he said. “Bid documents give the company until December 2023 to complete the project. We are really hoping to have it done by homecoming.”

A point-to-point laser scan was taken so that the staircase will be as close to the original as possible. Composite testing of the materials used in the original staircase was also done to ensure the color of the staircase is a reflection of the original.

Due to the extent of deterioration, the staircase will be torn down completely and rebuilt to code, as well as built to last another 75-100 years.

“While we aren’t using concrete from the 1940s, we still want the staircase to match (the original). The whole idea is for it to match as closely as possible,” Seydel said.

Landscaping around the Grand Staircase, on the north side of the campus, is being planned and designed alongside the renovations.

“A few rogue trees that were not planted there will need to be removed to ensure their root systems do not lead to erosion of the staircase,” Seydel said. “That will also open up space to create a view for the neighborhood below, and a view of Mount Emily from the staircase.”

Friends of the Grand Staircase

The process to secure funding for the restoration really started to take off about nine years ago, according to Marcia Loney, who administers the Friends of the Grand Staircase social media accounts.

The Grand Staircase was built in 1929 and was designed to allow access to the campus for students and staff who resided north of what was then Eastern Oregon Normal School, a training college for teachers located in what is now known as Inlow Hall.

Over the years, Ackerman Elementary School closed, the campus expanded and more people relied on driving to campus instead of walking.

The staircase, which was listed as one of Oregon’s most endangered places in 2017, deteriorated due to lack of use and maintenance, Northeastern Oregon winters, vandalism and physical changes in the ground beneath the staircase.

The staircase closed to public access in 2004.

“I remember climbing those stairs to get to Ackerman when it was still an elementary school,” Loney said.

Friends of the Grand Staircase played a major part in EOU securing funding for saving the Grand Staircase.

The vintage architectural edifice was granted a new lease on life when the Oregon Legislature earmarked $4 million — part of a $100 million rural infrastructure package — for its renovation.

According to Loney, her sister, Anne Olson, is the one who truly deserves recognition for her efforts in helping the university find the funding for restoration efforts.

“In 2014 (Friends of the Grand Staircase) catapulted into being more involved in the process after the article for Restore Oregon. I got the idea to contact Restore Oregon from a postcard I received from them,” Anne Olson said. “I reached out to them, and they had no idea this incredible structure existed. They wanted an article about it.”

Olson explained that Eastern Oregon University should also be recognized for their role in securing funding for the project.

“It really was a collaborative effort between EOU and Friends of the Grand Staircase. It was a very long process. There is no great source or amount of funding for historic restoration, so ‘one step at a time’ was an appropriate saying for a very long time,” Olson said.

Perseverance pays off

There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening once the project is complete.

The idea behind this is to introduce students to a new way to get to campus, and to show them a part of EOU and its history they might not be familiar with, according to Seydel.

“We are overjoyed,” Loney said. “The staircase has been loved by the community for decades, but the realization that people will be able to walk on it again — kids find it magical. Even in its current state, there is beauty in the ruins. We couldn’t be happier.”