Item 6: PH - Ordinance Renaming 3rd/4th Connector

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Shelton- McMurphey- Johnson House The area's only Victorian House Museum. March 1, 2006 Planning Commission City of Eugene Dear Members of the Planning Commission: For several months, members of Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson Associates have been in contact with the city manager, mayor and council in hopes of naming the newly improved 3rd/4th Connector Street to one that acknowledges the history oftheShelton-McMurphey- Johnson House and the prominent family that built it. Led by Building and Grounds Chair, Ray Wiley, the Associates have made some significant findings regarding the area around the Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson (SMJ) House at 303 Willamette Street (The area's only Victorian House Museum); a City owned treasure built in 1888. Those fmdings are as follows: The east-west street in front of the house, that we have been calling the 3rd/lh Connector has never been officially named by the City. That roadway is very old; it shows in photographs going back to 1890 when it was called "The Carriage Road" by Dr. and Mrs. Shelton. The road right-ol-way was part of the Southern Pacific RR Reserve (given to them by Eugene Skinner) until it was transferred to Eugene on February 6, 1975. After that the City paved a very narrow strip between Pearl and Lincoln, but never named it. Now it has been brought up to City Standards, a wide boulevard, with landscaped islands and set back sidewalks, and antique gooseneck street lamps to match those at our historic renovated train station. It needs to be given an historic name. Ken Guzowski has researched old Sanborn Insurance Maps going back to 1890. The most interestingjindingfrom those maps is that the road that goes up to the top of Skinner Butte from 3rd and Pearl (running behind the SM.! House) was named Shelton Boulevard on the 1925 and 1962 maps. Then wefound an old ca. 1910 map of Eugene 's Historic District that also shows that road named Shelton Boulevard. In 1890, Dr. Shelton owned almost all of the land north of the right of way in question, all the way to the Willamette River. In 1886, as an owner of the Eugene Water Company, he built the first reservoir in Eugene on the Butte. In 1888 he sold a small piece of land on the east summit of the Butte to the University of Oregon, so they could build an observatory. At that time, Dr. Shelton committed to building an improved gravel road to the summit. That road was completed in 1892 and we surmise that he named it Shelton Boulevard. (Continued back) 303 Willamette Street : Eugene, OR 97401 I Phone (541) 484-0808 I Fax (541) 984-1413 I director@smjhouse.org